Everyone knows that you can earn bonus points & miles by taking advantage of travel credit cards, but did you know that you can supercharge those earnings with dining rewards programs? These networks are free to join and allow you to squeeze even more value out of your credit card when traveling & dining out.
Most of these dining programs (with the exception of Seated) reward users automatically once you link your credit card to your favorite network. The next time you swipe that credit card at a partner restaurant, bonus rewards are automatically captured in your account.
There are over a dozen dining rewards programs to pick from. Some allow you to collect hotel points, others accumulate airline miles, and some earn you cash back.
After testing out a bunch of these for myself, I have compiled a breakdown to help you choose which dining rewards program is best for you.
Support for this site comes from our readers, and this post contains affiliate links. Consider using the affiliate links below to help the StandbyWithMe team continue creating useful content for travelers like you.
Dining Rewards Programs that Earn Cash Back
Seated
The Seated app is currently only available in a handful of large cities, but it offers a much higher earning rate than the rest of these programs. If you find yourself dining in any of the cities where Seated does have a presence, I highly recommend downloading this app.
- Members can expect to earn 12%-35% cash back
New users can earn a $15 bonus on their first meal by using my affiliate link.
Dosh
Dosh offers one of the few dining rewards programs that isn’t operated by Rewards Network. Members will earn between 2-10% cash back when dining at partner restaurants. Beyond dining, Dosh also offers a cash back shopping portal & hotel booking discounts.
New members can earn $1 per linked card by signing up using my affiliate link.
Rakuten
Like Dosh, this shopping cash back portal also offers automatic dining rewards. Members earn 5% cash back on your entire bill (including tax & tip) when dining at Reward Network’s partner restaurants.
New members can earn up to $30 by signing up using my affiliate link.
Neighborhood Nosh
Formerly known as iDine, this program is part of Rewards Network. Cash back earned through this program is distributed via $20 American Express gift cards. Neighborhood Nosh features two tiers of earning rates:
- 5% cash back until you have spent $750 in qualifying purchases, then
- 10% cash back on all purchases made after you reach $750 in spend
New members will earn 10% cash back during your first 30 days after completing a review.
Dining Rewards Programs that Earn Airline Miles
American Airlines AAdvantage Dining
American Airlines aficionados can earn AAdvantage miles based on the standard Rewards Network membership tiers:
- Basic members earn 1 AAdvantage mile per $1 spent
- Select members earn 3 AAdvantage miles per $1 spent after signing up for email communication
- VIP members earn 5 AAdvantage miles per $1 spent after completing 11 qualified transactions at participating restaurants
New members can earn 1,000 AAdvantage miles by spending at least $25 & completing a review in your first 30 days.
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
Members earn Alaska Airlines’ Mileage Plan miles based on the standard Rewards Network membership tiers:
- Basic members earn 1 mile per $1 spent
- Select members earn 3 miles per $1 spent after signing up for email communication
- VIP members earn 5 miles per $1 spent after completing 11 qualified transactions at participating restaurants
New members can earn 1,000 bonus miles by spending at least $30 & completing a review in the first 30 days.
Delta SkyMiles Dining
Members earn Delta Air Lines Skymiles based on the standard Rewards Network membership tiers:
- Basic members earn 1 mile per $1 spent
- Select members earn 3 miles per $1 spent after signing up for email communication
- VIP members earn 5 miles per $1 spent after completing 11 qualified transactions at participating restaurants
New members can earn 1,000 bonus SkyMiles by spending at least $30 in the first 30 days.
United Airlines MileagePlus Dining
Travelers who prefer United Airlines can earn United MileagePlus miles based on the standard Rewards Network membership tiers:
- Basic members earn 1 mile per $1 spent
- Select members earn 3 miles per $1 spent after signing up for email communication
- VIP members earn 5 miles per $1 spent after completing 11 qualified transactions at participating restaurants
New members can earn 3,000 bonus miles by spending at least $25 and completing a review in your first 30 days.
JetBlue’s True Blue Dining
JetBlue’s TrueBlue dining program offers a more simplified earning structure than other airlines in the Rewards Network:
- All members earn 3 points per $1 spent
New members can earn 500 bonus TrueBlue points by spending at least $25 & completing a review in first 30 days.
Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Dining
Southwest Airlines also offers a dining program via Rewards Network, but the way to earn Rapid Rewards points is different than other airlines’ earning structure:
- Basic members earn 1 point per $2 spent
- Select members earn 3 points per $1 spent after signing up for email communication
- 10 points are awarded for completing dining reviews
All Rapid Rewards Dining members are also eligible for 300 bonus points every time they accrue an additional 1,000 points via the dining program.
New members can earn 1,000 bonus miles by spending at least $25 & completing a review within the first 30 days.
Free Spirit Dining
If you love cheap flights & yellow planes, you can earn Free Spirit points based on standard Rewards Network membership tiers:
- Basic members earn 1 point per $1 spent
- Select members earn 3 points per $1 spent after signing up for email communication
- VIP members earn 5 points per $1 spent after completing 11 qualified transactions at participating restaurants
New members can earn 1,000 bonus Free Spirit points by spending at least $30 & completing a review within the first 30 days.
Dining Rewards Programs to Earn Hotel Points
Hilton Honors Dining
Hilton loyalists will appreciate the ability to earn extra Hilton Honors points while dining out across the country at Rewards Network partner restaurants:
- Basic members earn 2 point per $1 spent
- Select members earn 5 points per $1 spent after signing up for email communication
- VIP members earn 8 points per $1 spent after completing 11 qualified transactions at participating restaurants
New members can earn 1,000 bonus Hilton Honors points by spending at least $25 & completing a review within the first 30 days.
IHG Rewards Club Dining
I frequent IHG properties quite a bit so I have taken advantage of the IHG Rewards Club dining program to earn extra hotel points via the Rewards Network:
- Basic members earn 1 point per $1 spent
- Select members earn 5 points per $1 spent after signing up for email communication
- VIP members earn 8 points per $1 spent after completing 11 qualified transactions at participating restaurants
New members can earn 1,000 bonus IHG points by spending at least $30 & completing a review within the first 30 days.
Eat Around Town by Marriott Bonvoy
Marriott is one of the newest Rewards Network partners, and it rewards anyone with Marriott Bonvoy Elite Silver status or higher with bonus points:
- Regular Marriott Bonvoy members earn 4 points per $1 spent
- Marriott Bonvoy Elite members earn 6 points per $1 spent
New members can earn up to 6,000 bonus Marriott Bonvoy points within the first 30 days.
Caesars Rewards Dining
Vegas lovers, rejoice! Everyone’s favorite casino empire now has their own dining program with Rewards Network tdshat allows you to earn rewards credits.
- Members earn 1 Caesars Reward credit per $1 spent
Other Ways to Earn with Dining Rewards Programs
Shell Fuel Rewards
If gasoline is a major expense for you, consider signing up for Shell’s Fuel Rewards dining program. This Rewards Network program isn’t the most lucrative option, but it could be valuable to you based on your travel habits.
- Earn 10¢/gal in Fuel Rewards savings for every $50 spent
Upromise
If you have a Upromise account and are actively saving money in a 529 plan, you can use this Rewards Network program to supercharge your college savings account. Upromise Dining offers 2.5% cash back at participating Rewards Network restaurants, and your rewards will be deposited directly into your Upromise account.
Verdict
Signing up for a dining rewards program is a no-brainer. The vast majority of these are truly set-it-and-forget-it programs. You automatically receive rewards once you link your favorite credit cards.
It is important to note that many of the dining rewards programs listed above are offered by a larger parent group: Rewards Network. A credit card can only be linked to one Rewards Network partner at a time. That means you can’t link a single credit card to both IHG Rewards Club Dining & AA’s AAdvantage Dining; you will have to choose one or the other.
That won’t stop you from linking that same card to other non-Rewards Network programs (like Dosh).
To simplify matters, allow me to share my dining rewards strategy. I link all my cards to a single Rewards Network partner (Rakuten), a non-Rewards Network partner (Dosh), and use the Seated app whenever I can. By expanding my restaurant searches to those 3 systems, I am guaranteed to find somewhere to earn extra money wherever I go.
Pingback: Seated app review: Is it too good to be true?