Ola points to velocity

[Bagpuss]

Can only be used with the airport pickup/drop off offer

I didn’t and got the points. Viewing the T&C’s I don’t see any such reference. The only reference is airport rides have a different point earn per $ spent.

1,000 Velocity Points Offer Terms and Conditions

1. Velocity members will earn 1,000 bonus Velocity Points when booking and completing their first ride with Ola. To be eligible for Velocity Points, members must:

• successfully download the Ola app (link to App Store/Android), register as an Ola user or already be a registered Ola user and have not already ridden with Ola;
• be a current Velocity member or join Velocity;
• enter a valid Velocity membership number in the “My Profile” section of the app to ensure their Velocity and Ola accounts are linked; and
• book and complete your first Ola ride before 30 August 2019.

1. The offer is valid until 30 August 2019. This offer is not valid with any other Velocity Points offer except the base earn of 2 Velocity Points for every $1 AUD spent on Ola Airport Rides and 1 Velocity Point for every $1 AUD spent on all other rides.
2. A valid Velocity membership number must be successfully linked to an Ola account prior to booking a ride for the member to earn the bonus Velocity Points. Only the person who makes the booking is eligible to earn the bonus Velocity Points and the member’s first and last name from their Velocity Account must match the account name registered with Ola.
3. Points will be allocated within 14 days of successful payment of your first ride.
4. To earn and redeem Velocity Points you must be a Velocity member. Velocity membership and Points earn and redemption are subject to the Velocity Membership Terms and Conditions as amended from time to time.
5. Ola booking Terms and Conditions apply to all rides.
6. Discount is up to a maximum value of $10 per ride. Offer excludes tolls and is not valid with any other offer or promotion. See the Ola website for full Terms and Conditions.

 

[odysseus]

The down side to Ola is you don't know the fare until the end of the trip, unlike Uber and you have to put in discount codes as part of the transaction.

I wish that were true. My one and only time using Ola they gave a fare 'estimate' upfront, of around $42.

The trip was fast, with the driver speeding most of the time, taking about 20 min. Got the bill straight after getting out and it magically matched the estimate.. with a whole bunch of extra fees listed. Most were valid, but one of them was something like 'fare adjustment' of $16.xx, which perfectly balanced out the difference.

It seemed overpriced, but since it matched the estimate, nothing to challenge them about. And Uber would have been dearer, but was overpriced for what it was.

 

[Bagpuss]

I wish that were true. My one and only time using Ola they gave a fare 'estimate' upfront, of around $42.

The trip was fast, with the driver speeding most of the time, taking about 20 min. Got the bill straight after getting out and it magically matched the estimate.. with a whole bunch of extra fees listed. Most were valid, but one of them was something like 'fare adjustment' of $16.xx, which perfectly balanced out the difference.

It seemed overpriced, but since it matched the estimate, nothing to challenge them about. And Uber would have been dearer, but was overpriced for what it was.

I've now discovered how to find the fare estimate in Ola (by tapping on the car, prior to click on Continue)

How Ola charges its fares: Fares | Ola cabs rates, Ola cabs tariff, Ola cabs fares, Ola cabs fare calculator.

 

[SeaWolf]

I used this a few days ago to get from Alexandria to the Sydney CBD and the points posted extremely promptly a few hours later. I wish flights would post this promptly...

 

[The-Aviator]

Must say I'm becoming addicted to this! Points are posting almost instantly in my experience. And getting a fair few rides thanks to EOFY late nights at the office.

 

[Pleb Status]

Due to their prominent advertising on a couple of Foxtel channels I had been watching over the past few days, I thought I would give Ola a go over the weekend. I signed up to receive the 1000pt VFF and $20 off first ride bonuses.

I received both bonuses without any problems. The points (including the sign on bonus) appeared in my VFF account in less than eight hours.

As expected, the ride experience etc is no different to Uber. The Ola app is not as flashy as Uber but did the job. The initial fare estimates were significantly higher than expected (by ~15-20%, based on previous Uber trips with no surge) but the final fares paid were only slightly higher (~2-3%) and this difference may be attributed to bad traffic conditions etc on both trips.

One negative to note is how Ola (appears to) authorises payments to your credit card. The initial authorisation is for the full initial fare estimate, not for some small amount like Uber does (normally $1.00). If the final fare is less than the initial fare estimate (and authorisation), Ola then makes another authorisation for the full amount of the final fare. The result is I now have four 'full fare' authorisations on my credit card for the two Ola trips. I assume that the two initial fare authorisations will drop off over time (they are still there at the time of posting) and only the two final fare authorisations will actually be charged. Those bumping their credit limits may want to note this issue however.

 

[Bagpuss]

One negative to note is how Ola (appears to) authorises payments to your credit card. The initial authorisation is for the full initial fare estimate, not for some small amount like Uber does (normally $1.00). If the final fare is less than the initial fare estimate (and authorisation), Ola then makes another authorisation for the full amount of the final fare. The result is I now have four 'full fare' authorisations on my credit card for the two Ola trips. I assume that the two initial fare authorisations will drop off over time (they are still there at the time of posting) and only the two final fare authorisations will actually be charged. Those bumping their credit limits may want to note this issue however.

Yep the pre-auths are super annoying and takes about 2 weeks to drop off. Unsure if this is my bank issuer for taking so long.
For one of my trips, despite taking the multiple pre-auths for the full amount, when it billed it was for two random amounts which totaled the correct fare.

On a side note, strangely my Ola trip yesterday hasn't credited yet. All previous trips credited very quick. I noticed the Velocity page says they credit within 48 hours.

 

[Genji88]

When I used Ola after linking my account, the ride + 1k bonus points were credited quickly.

However the Uber app is Much more user friendly, and had to wait only 5 mins when a spontaneous bus replacement occurred during a rainy night 30 mins away from the cbd.
45-50 mins away and Ola's are few & far between while Uber was available

 

[pangwen]

Ola points for me have posted quickly (within 2 hours today). I've mostly been catching them from Brisbane City (or Fortitude Valley), and they've been quick to pick me up each time. No problems for me so far. I'll probably stick to them given the price is similar to Uber and the speed of pickup is similar - happy to make sure the drivers get a bigger cut of the pie.

 

[Dane Charles]

You need to keep a close eye on OLA and their voucher codes.

2-3 weeks ago I signed up and enjoyed the 1000 points, and was happy with the way things were going.

But then on 4 separate occasions, a few days apart, I used the "30% off on the way to the airport" and then "30% off on the way from the airport".
When I looked at my statement later they had applied only 20% off on each of the 4 occasions.

I went back and took a screenshot of the voucher, then a screenshot of the receipt showing the difference and went off in search of a way to contact someone. The only way I could find was to use negative feedback on the ride itself from the app (these guys are basically invisible to the normal person without contact details available anywhere). I did that and expected a response, only to get an email a couple of days later saying "feedback case resolved". Maybe an email is coming to me, or just a refund? Waited a few more days and still heard nothing.

Thinking that this was likely to have happened to hundreds or thousands of other riders I reached out to Fair Trading who were, in my opinion (surprisingly?) awesome. It wasn't that I was too concerned over the $30 or so that was owed to me, but to make sure that they were pulled into line to make sure it wasn't happening to others.
$5-10 per trip x 10000 trips?

I ended up getting a small refund to my credit card of about $6 - they chose to process the refund on only the shortest trip for some reason. I didn't follow up any further, but its pretty clear that they aren't too concerned about doing the right thing.

If you are interested, go back and check that you received the discount promised and if not, take it up with Fair Trading again to make sure Ola are working on cleaning up their act.

 

[Bundy Bear]

I haven’t been able to get them to accept the credit card.
Card doesn’t work

Really annoying 1,000 points would be nice

 

[Mattg]

Well I took my first Ola ride yesterday and the 1,000 points had already posted the same day.

 

[odysseus]

Yeah, my first trip with them didn't give a lot of ethical confidence in their practice either.

I booked a quote from the airport, and it gave an estimate.

However, our driver sped massively such that we were there in a bit over 20 minutes, when the trip estimated 40 minutes. When the receipt came through I compared and expected a different result but was surprised the price exactly matched the estimate!

When I read the breakdown, there was an odd "Adjustment" entry of ~$15 that bumped up the actual time and distance costs to match the estimate. For the time, without that adjustment the cost would have been reasonable, but it was a high price for that sort of journey otherwise.

 

[Genji88]

I found out when I used one the other day that the same drivers that drive for Uber also drive for Ola. However Ola's software & GPS are vastly inferior.

The driver said his GPS showed Doncaster when I wasn't far from Mitcham!

 

[CPMaverick]

I'd like to try Ola on my next trip to the Airport. Is there a referral code that is best, or that I can use to help others out?

Also, I'll have 3 pc of luggage, is that any different on Ola vs. Uber?

 

[Stealthflyer]

I'd like to try Ola on my next trip to the Airport. Is there a referral code that is best, or that I can use to help others out?

Also, I'll have 3 pc of luggage, is that any different on Ola vs. Uber?

When I signed up last week there were three codes automatically in the system: the 50% off all rides for the first two weeks, 20% airport pick ups and 20% airport drop offs. The details are important though: the 50% discount is max $10 discount while the 20% airport discounts are max $20 so the 20% discounts can work out better. I have a personal referral code : B0DQ3RU that gets us both $10 credit but I don’t know if they’re compatible with the other deals. If you can use it then swell. If not, at least I hope my advice is of some help.

 

[RisingPhoenix]

I mourn the loss of OLAPICK and OLADROP the glory days of $25 rides to/from BNE.

 

[Isochronous]

I just referred my brother to Ola and he got the referral bonus but nothing for me so far. Very strange.

 

[pangwen]

I just referred my brother to Ola and he got the referral bonus but nothing for me so far. Very strange.

When I referred a colleague, I didn't receive a "credit" like the referee. Instead, I received a $20 voucher in the vouchers section. I guess to stop me combining the referral bonus with another voucher.

 

[bernardblack]

I used Ola for the second time yesterday, returning to SYD from Hilton Sydney. I did receive the Velocity points within seemingly minutes both times (including the 1000 bonus for the first ride).

However, on both occasions I've been charged more than the original estimate, by some margin. I can't recall having experienced that ever with Uber. And based on the points received for the second journey, a whole lot of the additional fees and adjustments don't earn.

Although I would prefer Velocity points to Qantas points (at the same rate), and obviously Ola offer Velocity points on all rides, and not just to the airport or through a rewards program which isn't even open to everyone yet, I may stick with Uber for the better interface and the ability to buy gift cards at the supermarket (and share with Uber Eats) and so on.