Instacart gave its Express delivery subscription service a facelift and is relaunching it as Instacart Plus as the platform continues to be revamped.
InstacartPlus is currently being launched (opens in new tab) and will add two new “family-centric” features, as well as migrating the cash discounts people got from Instacart Express. First, there will be new family accounts for members to add another member of their family at no extra cost. According to an Instacart representative, you can’t pay more to add someone else.
And Family Carts allow both people on one account to put all the food they want in a single shopping cart. The rep clarifies that you can add as much as you like in a single cart, so feel free to stock up on Oreos.
Members can still enjoy “free delivery on orders over $35” and five percent credit return on qualifying pickup orders, which were a part of Expresso. And if you’re a Delta SkyMiles member, you can still earn those free air miles. Please be aware that alcohol is excluded from the credit return agreement.
Other than these, the other changes are minor perks that depend on you being a Chase Bank customer. For example, if you have a Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card, you can get the Instacart+ annual plan for free.
You can try Instacart Plus as part of a two-week trial if you live in the US or Canada. After that, you will have to pay $9.99 for the monthly plan or $99 for the annual plan.
better protection
In addition to expanding its delivery service, Instacart has recently improved security for customers and employees.
In 2020, the company suffered a data breach that exposed the information of thousands of users. Nothing has been hacked. Instead, it appears that some members and staff may have used the same login credentials on Instacart and other platforms.
To combat this, Instacart forced affected customers to reset their passwords and added new security measures (opens in new tab) to your buyers, who are your paid drivers. Measures included new authentication features such as identity verification and the addition of the reCAPTCHA system.
Speaking of Buyers, they also get some worker protections. Apparently, there was an issue with customers rescinding tips when reporting problems with the order, even though everything was fine. Now Instacart will refund (opens in new tab) these professional buyers up to $10 for the loss. It’s great to see Instacart help their employees like this.
If you’re interested in how Instacart compares to other grocery delivery services, compared service for Amazon Fresh and Walmart Grocery.
