TikTok user Refilwe Mathibedi (@refilwe.mathibedi) claims that she’s found the trick to enjoying a much more affordable experience hitching rides with Uber as a result of using a “white” name on the ride-hailing app.
Her money saving methodology was seemingly supported by a number of other folks in the comments section of her viral clip that’s accrued more 399,000 views since it was posted on Sept. 25.
@refilwe.mathibedi This is actually sad 😭😂#fyp #fypシ ♬ original sound – TarieChinyamas
“Me after putting a yt name on Uber so I can get more discounts,” Mathibedi writes in a text overlay of her video. She stares into the camera while squinting her eyes, craning her index finger over her mouth and bopping her head from side to side.
“This is actually sad,” she adds in the caption.
It seems like this is a tactic several folks have employed while using the popular ride-sharing application. One TikToker penned, “The way im chowing 50% uber discounts as Demitri.”
Another remarked that they’ve been reaping the savings benefits from fibbing about their name as well. “Changed my surname to Matthews because my name is English anyways beeeen chowing 50% discounts,” the user wrote.
In case you’re wondering what “white” name Mathibedi used on Uber to get a discount, she revealed it in the comments section while responding to a viewer. “Hi my name is Kayla,” she penned.
There seemed to be some folks who were a bit incredulous as to how or why this “trick” would even work in the first place. “Are you guys serious? Does this actually work?” one user asked. Another inquired, “why is nobody explaining why or how this works.”
One user was confused as to what Mathibedi meant about “changing” her name in order to get discounts on Uber. Another TikToker chimed in, stating that she wasn’t talking about altering her profile name on the application. Instead, Mathibedi was putting in random “white” names into the discount code box while ordering rides and the discounts started rolling in. “put in the whites names known to mankind in the discount/promo code box and keep doing it to one work. it automatically deducts it,” they wrote.
Relieved, someone else replied to the white-name-discount-code-thread by stating, “Ohhhh I thought I had to change my name on the profile to get the discount.”
One user, named Brittany seemed to confirm this phenomenon. She wrote, “Hold on I was wondering why I keep getting 40% off.”
“Literally have had a discount for THE PAST YEAR because of this,” another wrote.
Although it seems that Mathibedi’s Uber discount “hack” appears to be a random stab in the dark that has a relatively high success rate for whatever reason, there was a time when Uber’s promo/discount code system was easily manipulated. In fact, one rider for the app was able to successfully nab himself $50,000 in free rides with Uber after implementing a unique way to generate promo codes.
The Daily Dot reached out to Uber via email and Mathibedi via TikTok comment for further information.
