How to earn miles and get 10% off your first ride globally with Blacklane chauffeur cars

Blacklane is, to some extent, the Uber of high end airport transfers – although Uber, of course, runs high-end cars itself in many cities including London.

You can find out more on their website here.

Long-term readers may remember that we ran a competition with Blacklane back in 2015.  It is a fast growing global provider of ground transportation services, now operating in 300 cities across 60 countries.  Via its website or app, you can pre-order a vehicle for a specific trip or by the hour.

The company was founded in Germany in 2011 with a plan to globalise what was previously a very fragmented industry.  Travellers can now book vehicles worldwide from just one website or app, and Blacklane is integrated into distribution systems such as Amadeus to make it easy for business travellers.

Pricing varies by city, especially in terms of how it compares with local car services.  Blacklane is an exceptionally high quality service, however, which is often worth the extra.  I booked one in October to take us from Dubai Airport to Ras Al Khaimah at midnight – I am less happy putting my kids into a local taxi at that time of night, given the poor general standard of driving.

At $96, which included being met inside the airport, for a uniformed driver and a Mercedes for an 81 km ride, it was fair value.  I also picked up some Miles & More miles.  The price is guaranteed when you book irrespective of traffic.

Blacklane has a number of frequent flyer partners.  This now makes it an attractive way of picking up a few miles if you are allowed to book your own ground transport.

The current airline and hotel partners are (click here for details):

Asia Miles (2 per £/$/€ spent)

KrisFlyer (2 per $/€ spent)

Miles & More (2 per £/$/€ spent)

Shangri-La Golden Circle (0.5 per £1/$/€ spent)

This list has shrunk over the last couple of months.  Blacklane has dropped:

Arrture (the Plaza Premium programme) 

Enrich (Malaysia Airlines) 

Flying Blue 

Qatar Airways Privilege Club 

Royal Orchid Plus 

There is a drop-down box during the booking process for you to add your loyalty details.  You can also create a profile in the Blacklane system which will automatically apply your details.

Note that you need to pre-book your ride at least an hour in advance to earn airline miles.

Get 10% off your first ride

For a limited period, Blacklane is offering 10% off your first ride.  You need to use promo code SAVE10%.  If that fails for some reason, use BLACK10%OFF.

Blacklane has a slightly odd way of entering promotional codes.  You will be presented with a page asking for your credit card details.  AFTER you type them in, there is an additional screen which asks if you have a voucher code.  Add SAVE10% on that page and 10% is deducted from your quote.

Your card is not charged until after the ride and you can cancel until 1 hour before pick-up.

Conclusion

With four frequent traveller partners, Blacklane is a good opportunity to pick up a few hundred miles or points here and there from your airport transfers or other ground transport needs.

It is a shame that neither Avios, Virgin Flying Club or any of the major hotel programmes are partners as that would make it more relevant to UK residents, but I know that many of you have Miles & More or KrisFlyer accounts.

You can book or find out more about Blacklane on their website here.

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How to get FREE car rental status and other benefits via UK credit cards (April 2025)

If you hire a car in the UK, you can get special benefits (discounts, upgrades, free additional drivers etc) if you have elite status with a car rental programme. You can get elite status for free via certain American Express cards.

The Platinum Card and American Express Business Platinum

The Platinum Card from American Express and American Express Business Platinum come with two free car hire status cards. Your supplementary Platinum cardholder can also receive status in their own right.

From Avis, you receive President’s Club status in Avis Preferred. This gets you up to 25% off standard rates, a free additional driver and a guaranteed one class upgrade. For weekend rentals you will receive a two class upgrade, subject to availability.

From Hertz, you receive ‘Five Star’ status in Hertz Gold Plus Rewards. This gets you up to 15% off standard rates, a free additional driver and a one class upgrade, subject to availability.

Hertz also offers Platinum cardholders a 4 hour grace period on rentals. Your final day is treated as 28 hours, so a 1pm pick up with a 5pm return the following day is only charged as one day, not two days. We wrote about the Hertz / Platinum 4 hour grace period here.

The Platinum Card also comes with full car hire insurance with no obligation to pay for the rental via American Express. You can refuse any attempts to sell you additional insurance at pick up. This benefit has substantial value if you rent on a regular basis.

You can find more details on the two Platinum cards, and apply, in our full reviews linked below. You can apply here for the personal card and here for the business card.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

American Express Business Platinum

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is an excellent card in its own right. You receive 20,000 Membership Rewards points for signing up (convert to 20,000 Avios amongst other things), four airport lounge passes and £120 of Deliveroo credit. Even better, your first year is free.

There are two car rental benefits:

• you receive Preferred Plus status in Avis Preferred

• you receive a special package with Hertz – 10% off best available rates at participating locations, a one class upgrade for rentals of 5 days or more, subject to availability, and no additional driver fees

Find out more about the benefits of American Express Preferred Rewards Gold in our review. You can apply here.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review