Editorial Note: We earn a commission from partner links on Forbes Advisor. Commissions do not affect our editors’ opinions or evaluations.
If you live in a city, chances are a Waymo is already roaming your streets. The autonomous-car company is expanding to major cities this year, and riders can save on trips with certain credit cards.
City Sights
Waymo, the self-driving car company under Google’s parent company Alphabet, is expanding rapidly to cities across the country. The robocar company kick-started its journey in December 2018 with testing in Phoenix and is now also available in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta, and Austin, Texas. The past year, the company has made big moves with its expansion plan, looking to add Miami and Washington, D.C., to its map starting in 2026. Users can book rides through the Waymo or Uber app if you’re in Austin or Atlanta.
In a March statement, the company revealed that riders pay for 200,000 fully autonomous trips every week to get from place to place.
In August, New York City granted a permit for Waymo to test its cars in parts of Manhattan and downtown Brooklyn with a trained safety specialist behind the wheel.
In April, the company announced its first international fleet in Tokyo in a partnership with Japanese taxi service Nihon Kotsu and taxi app Go.
And earlier in January, the company announced “road trip” visits to more than 10 cities, including Las Vegas and San Diego. The other cities remain undisclosed for now. The company also has announced a partnership with Avis Budget Group to manage a fleet in Dallas in 2026.
Savings: You’re in the Driver’s Seat
On Wednesday, the company announced a partnership with Lyft coupled with plans to expand to Nashville in 2026 with Lyft to offer Waymo rides on its network.
There are savings to be had should you be interested in trying out a robo-car for yourself.
Certain credit cards offer perks for rideshare purchases, which can make a difference if you’re reliant on the services for transportation.
Chase Freedom Flex®
The Freedom Flex leaves rewards as the dealer’s choice — cardholders earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in categories that rotate quarterly (requires activation), 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3% cash back on dining and drugstores and 1% cash back on all other purchases. If rideshare is something you shell out for each quarter, the Flex is worth picking up, especially with an annual fee of $0 and a $200 bonus after spending $500 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is a household name for travel card enthusiasts, thanks to its historically lucrative welcome bonuses. Currently, the card offers 75,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening, which can book riders many Waymos, Ubers and Lyfts, potentially for months. The card also offers 5X points on Lyfts through September 2027 and 2X on Ubers. Though it comes with an annual fee of $95, the welcome offer puts in the heavy lifting, making up for that initial cost many times over.
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
The Venture X is as straightforward as it gets in a travel card, granting cardholders 2 miles per dollar on all eligible purchases, 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Travel, 5 miles per dollar on Capital One Entertainment purchases through 12/31/25 and 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars when booking via Capital One Travel. While it’s the most expensive card on this list, with an annual fee of $395, a generous welcome bonus makes up for the first year’s cost. Capital One offers 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening which can go toward Waymos, Ubers, Lyfts, as well as hotels and flights.