Uber Is the Real Star of Amex's Beyoncé Promotion

American Express is giving a limited number of Uber riders access to Beyoncé's Formation concert tour, in the latest example of a financial services company allying with the tech-savvy ridesharing service.

Uber is quickly drawing in partners from different corners of the banking and payments markets. In March it launched a partnership with prepaid card issuer Green Dot Corp. to enable faster payments to drivers. It also lets consumers book rides from the Facebook Messenger chat app and previously teamed with Capital One to offer the issuer's customers a 20% statement credit for purchasing fare with a Quicksilver card.

The Beyoncé promotion rides on top of a three-year-old partnership with Amex that provides double points for every Uber ride they take or use their Amex loyalty points within the Uber iOS or Android app.

Many in the payments industry see Uber's app experience, which handles payments seamlessly in the background, as a model for future development. The Merchant Customer Exchange, a mobile wallet venture headed by Walmart, Target and other mega-retailers, has cited Uber's technology as inspirational to its own strategy.

“Most people know Uber as a convenient and affordable way to get from A to B,” Amy Friedlander Hoffman, Uber’s head of business development and experiential marketing, said in an April 27 news release. “But it is these types of surprise-and-delight opportunities – like the opportunity to see Beyoncé live – that make the Uber experience truly unique.”

During Beyoncé's tour Amex will give Uber customers two free tickets when they are matched to a car linked to the promotion, and Uber will comp their round-trip uberX rides to and from the show.

Uber customers can participate by entering the "FormationAmex" promo code and request the Formation view within Uber's mobile app.