Uber advertises bonuses for its drivers—particularly its new drivers—quite frequently. The sign-up guarantee help give new drivers the confidence that they will earn a set dollar amount at the beginning of their time with Uber. However, these bonuses are always up for change and vary by market.

The good news is that driver bonuses are on the rise. The average bonus comes in at around $200 after 50 trips. However, they go as high as $1,025 for drivers around San Francisco Bay area.

How does the Uber sign-up guarantee work?

The sign-up bonus for Uber recently became a sign-up guarantee. This means that Uber will guarantee new drivers a certain amount of earnings for a set number of their first rides (usually between 20 and 100). These new rides must be completed within the first 30 days of being a driver.

Uber calculates the minimum earnings before their 20 percent cut, which makes the $1,025 guarantee for the first 100 rides slightly less impressive. However, drivers are guaranteed the payment after their first 100 rides—no matter how much they actually made. If their earnings come in under $1,025 pre-commission, Uber will make up the difference. Pretty simple, right?

Now, how do you maximize the bonus?

Hack #1: UberPool Rides Count Separately

So you need 100 rides to get to your bonus, and you see a request for an UberPool with three pick-ups on it. That’s only one ride, right?

Wrong.

UberPool ride requests each count as a separate ride, even though you’re actually only making one trip with multiple stops. Taking an UberPool route can let you rack up the number of required trips in as few miles (and hours) as possible.

Hack #2: College Campuses Have Short Rides

UberPool trips near college campuses tend to be fairly short—one to two miles. These students often don’t have a car of their own but also don’t have time to walk, meaning they’re willing to pay a few dollars to get to a nearby restaurant, grocery store, or shopping mall. The cost for these trips individually isn’t huge either, coming in around $3-$5. However, many drivers can do 3-4 trips with multiple passengers per hour. San Francisco drivers have reported this strategy coming out to around $35 per hour gross profit (before Uber’s cut).

Hack #3: Don’t Do Surge

Surge is Uber’s incentive to drive during busy or high-demand times and they come with a higher earnings potential. However, these trips are usually high-traffic times or after dark, both of which are going to be stressful for a new driver. Besides that, remember how the sign-up guarantee works? You get paid at least the minimum regardless of how many trips you do—so don’t stress yourself out by driving during peak times while you’re still learning the ropes of Uber. Instead, focus on learning how the app works, how to best use your time, and how to provide great customer service.

Hack #4: Switch For a Limited Time

Already a Lyft Driver? Postmates? DoorDash? Sign up for Uber just for the time it takes to get the bonus. You’re under no obligation to any of the on-demand platforms, which means you’re free to work for Uber for as long—or short—as you want. The sign-up guarantee can make it fiscally appealing to switch to Uber from whatever platform you’ve been using. If you like it, stick with it (and check back here for more Uber hacks). Otherwise, you’re at least a couple hundred dollars richer, and you can go back to your favorite platform after your minimum number of rides are completed and the bonus is in your pocket.

What if I’m already driving for Uber?

If you’re already an Uber driver, you’re no longer eligible for the sign-up guarantee. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t sign up for Lyft and get their bonus ($350 for 150 rides in 45 days). Remember, you can also refer friends to drive for Uber and earn a bonus for that as well.

Also, be sure to check out the Uber promotions here.