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Dining programs are a great way to earn extra points and miles every time you eat out. Unlike many of the most lucrative ways to earn points, dining rewards programs require almost no effort. You can just pick a program, register the rewards card you use to pay at restaurants, and watch the points pile up.
While this strategy isn’t likely to account for a huge percentage of the points you earn, a family that spends around $500 per month at restaurants could easily earn enough rewards for a domestic one-way ticket — or even a round trip with a clever redemption. Don't sleep on the value here. Here’s our complete guide to top dining rewards programs.
Dining programs earn a commission from participating restaurants when they refer customers to these restaurants. The programs then send a portion of their revenue back to members in the form of points or miles. With most of the programs listed in this guide, spending is tracked via a registered credit card. When you use a card (that you've added to your profile) to pay at a restaurant in the network, you'll automatically earn miles or points.
This makes dining programs among the easiest ways to earn extra points. You don’t need to keep track of anything. You can sign up for a program, register your credit card, and get extra points with every meal. The restaurants are hoping you will choose them over a competitor when you see they participate in a rewards program. But, even if you don’t plan your meals specifically for the rewards, you’ll still automatically pick up extra points if you patronize a restaurant in the network.
Let's walk through the airline, hotel, and other dining programs you can use.
Airline Dining Programs
American Airlines
American Airlines; AAdvantage Dining has plenty of participating restaurants. What you earn depends on your level of membership. The three levels are Basic member, Select member, and VIP member, which earn according to the following criteria:
Basic member: Earn one AAdvantage mile per $1 spent if you elect to not receive email communication from AAdvantage Dining.
Select member: Earn three AAdvantage miles per $1 spent if you elect to receive email communication from AAdvantage Dining.
VIP member: Earn five AAdvantage miles per $1 spent if you elect to receive email communication from AAdvantage Dining AND have already completed 11 qualifying transactions in the calendar year (VIP Members start earning at the VIP level on their 12th qualified transaction).
Basic member: Earn one Alaska mile per $2 spent if you don't provide a valid, deliverable email address and/or marketing permission
Select member: Earn three Alaska miles per $1 spent if you elect to receive emails from the Mileage Plan Dining program and provide a valid, deliverable email address.
VIP member: Earn five Alaska miles per $1 spent if you elect to receive emailsAND have completed 11 qualifying transactions in the calendar year (VIP Members start earning at the VIP level on their 12th qualifying transaction).
Delta Air Lines
Delta also has its own dining program, SkyMiles Dining, also bearing three membership levels:
Members: Earn one Delta mile per $2 spent if you choose to not receive email communication from SkyMiles Dining.
Select Members: Earn three Delta miles per $1 spent if you choose to receive email communication from SkyMiles Dining.
VIP Members: Earn five Delta miles per $1 spent if you choose to receive email communication from SkyMiles Dining AND have already completed 11 qualifying transactions in the calendar year (VIP Members start earning at the VIP level on their 12th qualifying transaction).
Hawaiian Airlines
Hawaiian Airlines does not have its own unique dining program. Instead, it has a “Marketplace,” which is a collection of retailers (including restaurants). Here is the alphabetical directory of Hawaiian partners that earn extra miles, which you can filter by category (choose “food and beverage”).
While not every restaurant listed returns the exact same amount of miles, most partners in Hawaii return 2 or 4 miles per dollar spent with no requirements or restrictions. Partners outside Hawaii typically advertise 2.5 bonus miles per dollar spent, but many of these require paying with the Hawaiian Airlines® World Elite Mastercard® to unlock the bonus earnings.
On a positive note, you may be able to stack this program with another dining program, given that there don't appear to be any ties to Rewards Network (which runs most other dining programs).
JetBlue Airways
JetBlue’s TrueBlue dining program is a bit simpler than the previous programs since it only has two membership levels. There's no VIP level here.
Earn one TrueBlue point per $1 spent at a participating location if you elect to not receive email communication from TrueBlue Dining.
Members earn three TrueBlue points per $1 spent at a participating location if they elect to receive email communication from TrueBlue Dining.
Southwest Airlines
Southwest’s Rapid Rewards Dining is an excellent program from Southwest Airlines. You earn points depending on which option you choose, plus additional points from completing dining reviews:
Members who choose not to receive email communications earn one Rapid Rewards® point per $2 spent at participating restaurants.
Members who opt-in to receive email communications earn three Rapid Rewards® points per $1 spent dining at participating restaurants.
Earn an additional 10 points for each completed dining review.
Additionally, the Southwest dining program offers additional bonus points for hitting dining milestones:
Earn a First Step Bonus of 500 bonus points after you've earned 1,500 points from dining and completing reviews. You can only earn this once.
Then earn a Thank You Bonus of 300 bonus points after each subsequent 1,000 points you accrue.
You can earn the First Step and Thank You bonuses even if you choose not to opt-in to email communications.
Spirit Airlines
Not to be outdone by its competitors, Spirit Airlines has its own program: Free Spirit Dining. The program is very similar to other airlines’ programs. There are three earning levels, which are determined by your use and how much information you share:
Basic member: Earn one Free Spirit point per $2 spent if you choose not to receive emails.
Select member: Earn three Free Spirit points per $1 spent if you choose to receive emails from Free Spirit Dining and provide a valid, deliverable email address.
VIP member: Earn five Free Spirit points per $1 spent if you choose to receive emails from Free Spirit Dining and have completed 11 qualifying transactions in the calendar year (VIP Members start earning at the VIP level on their 12th qualifying transaction).
United Airlines
The United Airlines MileagePlus Dining program is very similar in structure to Delta's Skymiles Dining. Again, you'll see three earning levels:
Basic member: Earn one MileagePlus mile per $2 spent if you choose not to receive emails.
Select member: Earn three miles per $1 spent if you provide a valid, deliverable email address and choose to receive program emails.
VIP member: Earn five MileagePlus award miles per $1 spent if you elect to receive emails from MileagePlus Dining AND have completed 11 qualifying transactions in the calendar year (VIP Members start earning at the VIP level on their 12th qualifying transaction).
Hotel Dining Programs
Caesars Rewards
The Caesars Rewards Dining program varies from the others since it has two levels based on whether you are a credit card holder or not:
Earn one Reward Credit for every one dollar you spend at participating restaurants.
Register your Caesars Rewards Visa® card and earn 4X Reward Credits at participating restaurants.
Hilton Honors
Similar to the airline award programs, the Hilton Honors Dining program offers varying levels of rewards depending on your interaction level:
Basic members: Earn two Hilton Honors bonus points per $1 spent if you elect to not receive email communications from Hilton Honors Dining.
Select members: Earn five bonus points per $1 spent if you elect to receive email communications.
VIP members: Earn eight bonus points per $1 spent if you elect to receive email communications AND have already completed 11 qualifying transactions in the calendar year (start earning at VIP rate starting on your 12th eligible transaction in a calendar year).
Marriott Bonvoy members will receive four Marriott Bonvoy points per $1 spent.
Any member holding Bonvoy elite status (Silver, Gold, Platinum, Titanium, or Ambassador) will earn 6 points per $1 spent (50% percent more).
There is no limit to the total number of points you can earn. However, restaurants may have individual limits.
Cash-Back/Financial Services Programs
Chase Dining
The Chase Dining portal made its debut in late 2020. Ultimate Rewards cardholders can use this site to order takeout, delivery, and make reservations with thousands of restaurants. You can pay by redeeming points, or you can make your purchase using your Chase card and earn points instead. As of August 17, 2021, Chase Sapphire Reserve® cardholders can earn 10x points on orders that are prepaid through the Chase Dining site. Check out this post to learn more about the new Chase Dining 10x benefit.
Dosh
Located within the Dosh App, you can earn cash rewards on dining purchases. Once you've loaded the cards you intend to pay with, the earning structure is very simple. Pick a restaurant listed on the map, and you'll earn a percentage back in cash. There is no fixed amount, but a quick survey will show that most restaurants range between 3% and 5%. Even though this is part of Rewards Network, some of your purchases may stack with airline dining programs.
The example above shows earnings of nearly 55,000 Amex points. That could have been $550 in cash! However, the idea is to get better value for your travels. You could book a business-class flight to Europe in some programs, thanks to these points. It's unlikely you'd get that flight for $550 in cash. AwardWallet users tend to redeem Amex points for 2.14¢ apiece.
Other Dining Programs
Shell Fuel Rewards
Get cash back towards fuel fill-ups with the Shell Fuel Rewards program.
If you aren't already saving in one of the other programs and would like to earn discounts on gas, the Shell Fuel Rewards program is another alternative. Earn a 10¢-per-gallon discount (on up to 20 gallons) for every $50 spent dining out. You can add to your earnings by linking one of the top cards for spending at restaurants, such as the American Express® Gold Card (4x Membership Rewards points) or Chase Sapphire Reserve® (3x Ultimate Rewards points). Since Shell limits fill-up discounts to 20 gallons, your maximum discount here is $2 (10¢ per gallon x 20 gallons). This equates to a 4% return on spending ($2 divided by the $50 spent to earn it).
You can earn 50% more rewards ($3 or 6%) when earning Gold status. Additional Terms & Conditions apply:
Dine at our participating restaurants and pay with a linked Mastercard®, Visa® or American Express® card.
Earn 10¢/gal for every $50 you spend across all participating restaurants, bars, and clubs.
Rewards earned while dining out will post to your account within 10 days.
In order to earn Fuel Rewards savings while dining out, you must opt in to receive emails about participating restaurants.
The Dining program is powered by Rewards Network®.
While Rewards Network lists many other programs such as Visa, Acorns, Upromise, and ShopYourWay, some of these are difficult to locate or may not be worth chasing when compared to many of the options listed above.
Here are some final tips for getting the most out of dining programs:
Link your best credit card(s) for earning points at restaurants. The points you earn from dining programs stack with the points you already earn through your credit card. You can earn 4-5x points with every dining purchase just by paying with the right card. Maximize by using a card like the Amex Gold.
Pick one or two programs and let the points earning work on autopilot. For most travelers, these points will complement other earning. If you truly want to maximize your return, though, make sure to check this page for sign-up bonuses and create each new account when there are extra points for joining and meeting a modest spending requirement.
Know which credit card you have registered with each program. Rewards Network manages most dining programs. You can't register the same credit card for more than one Rewards Network dining program at a time, so it isn't possible to add the same card to all the programs and stack your earning. Instead, register a different card with each program and know which is which if you want to maximize your rewards.
Use dining points to stop miles from expiring. You can use dining programs to earn miles in programs you infrequently use. This can be a useful tool to stop your miles from expiring. If you have a significant balance to protect and don't generate account activity from flying or credit card spending, you may be able to reset your expiration date with points earned from dining programs.
If you plan to set up an account with multiple dining programs, be sure to review our post on the best rewards cards for restaurants and dining. Register each card with a dining program, and your next trip will be in reach before you know it!
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Can you register a credit card that already gives miles or points? For instance, if you have a JetBlue card can you register it with the AA dining program, and get miles in both programs? Can you register a Chase Sapphire card and get 3x points on dining and AA miles on the same transaction?
No! You can use any credit card that can be entered into the system. That means you can use a cashback card (like the Capital One Savor card to get 4% cashback) and also get airline miles through the dining program.
I normally jump around to different dining programs in order to keep my points active in certain programs. However, it just crossed my mind that if I cancel my membership when I bounce to a different program, would that open me up for a potential Sign-Up bonus in the future?
This is interesting, ill have to remember some of these details. I wonder if I can access these programs when I travel to the usa, since these programs wont work in Canada.
As someone who is new to this, is there any way to join multiple programs and earn from multiple programs for a single transaction to maximize rewards/points/miles earned?
I tend to forget about this. Definitely need to get my new cards posted as that’s where I’m spending to satisfy the spend requirement. Appreciate the info.
Ok I make sure to take advantage of this when I do go out. Most of the time we are not going to the restaurants on the list. Plus, they keep changing who is on the lists. I wish they all had an app but nothing. I did find out that I was auto enrolled in the AS dinning program when I got their credit card. That was an interesting twist.
I’ve always found that dining programs are the easiest way to accumulate points, because everyone has to eat right? If you eat out, this will boost your points.
I enjoyed your post. Mostly I use this program for keeping miles / points from expiring ( but I learned the Marriott one doesn’t extend pint expiration). I do wish there were competitors, and that there were mor restaurants in my area though.
This is a great breakdown. I didnt know Hilton had a dining program. Can you double dip with these (register your card for more than one program and get points for both)?
I don’t believe you can double dip because many of the programs are run on the back end by the same company, so I think you simply end up switching enrollment.
The article stated that for the most part the rewards portion is all run by the same people so you can’t register for more than one program. Maybe if you read into the fine print and look for a program run by different companies?
You can register for multiple programs, you just can’t register the same credit card. So I can have my Prestige tied to Alaska dining and my Amex Gold tied to United Dining, but I can’t pay with any single card and get credit in more than one program (at least those run by RewardsNetwork)
I am enrolled in many of the dining programs. Its a great way to keep some of those points from expiring. I use one of the apps to find restaurants in cities that I am visiting. I have certainly enjoyed great restaurants that I never would have found if the dining program hadn’t pointed me to them. It’s also fun when I have eaten somewhere by chance, and a few days later I get an email saying I have earned points!
Does anyone know if Canadians are eligible to use these programs? I know the participating restaurants are located in the US, at least for the two programs I checked, but I was hoping to sign up so I could use this when in the States. Earning miles while dining would be amazing. The Marriott terms do say you need to be a resident of the US so I’m guessing I’m SOL despite seemingly being able to register through my Marriott account.
Quite a few years ago, AAdvantage Dining used to have almost a dozen participating restaurants in southern Ontario. Alas, that does not seem to be the case anymore…
The key here I think is to focus on or concentrate spending activity earning on a program that you would use frequently. Thant’s how to make the points matter before they expire.
Sage advice as always Steven, but essentially with all of the loyalty programs a US-based individual is going to interact with, **if you have ongoing earning activity, your points will not expire**.
There used to be nearly perpetual registration bonuses (typically 1000 points/miles) available for nearly all of these programs, as well as frequent bonus-for-dining opportunities for existing members. Unfortunately, in my experience, the existing member promos have been non-existent for the last handful of years, and now it appear the registration bonuses have dried up too.
Can you register a credit card that already gives miles or points? For instance, if you have a JetBlue card can you register it with the AA dining program, and get miles in both programs? Can you register a Chase Sapphire card and get 3x points on dining and AA miles on the same transaction?
Absolutely! Earning points through these dining programs doesn’t keep you from earning points through your credit card.
I believe the link for American Airlines Dining program is now: https://www.aadvantagedining.com/
Thanks! Updated.
General question please.
In order to get miles through dining programs, do I have to pay with airline credit cards? Grateful for comments.
No! You can use any credit card that can be entered into the system. That means you can use a cashback card (like the Capital One Savor card to get 4% cashback) and also get airline miles through the dining program.
I normally jump around to different dining programs in order to keep my points active in certain programs. However, it just crossed my mind that if I cancel my membership when I bounce to a different program, would that open me up for a potential Sign-Up bonus in the future?
This is great info–I missed that Rakuten had added restaurants!
I have used the American airlines dining program! It is excellent!
This is interesting, ill have to remember some of these details. I wonder if I can access these programs when I travel to the usa, since these programs wont work in Canada.
> …Marriott Convoy members…
Do you have to show up to the restaurant in a line?
Sometimes we don’t realize it, but there are more ways to get the desired AA miles. Thanks for the reminder.
Very good article. Use for American Airlines and didn’t realize there were so many programs available.
As someone who is new to this, is there any way to join multiple programs and earn from multiple programs for a single transaction to maximize rewards/points/miles earned?
I tend to forget about this. Definitely need to get my new cards posted as that’s where I’m spending to satisfy the spend requirement. Appreciate the info.
Ok I make sure to take advantage of this when I do go out. Most of the time we are not going to the restaurants on the list. Plus, they keep changing who is on the lists. I wish they all had an app but nothing. I did find out that I was auto enrolled in the AS dinning program when I got their credit card. That was an interesting twist.
Dining programs need to come to Canada!
“Alaska’s Mileage Plan Rewards Network normally comes with a 1,000-mile signup bonus”
Is the bonus given just for signing up or you only after first reservation with a restaurant?
I think there is a spend $30 requirement in the first 3 months after signing up. Did you check the Alaska signup link?
I did. But I didn’t find any information on the minimum spend required. Thanks anyway!
The Marriott is definitely one of my favourite ones.
I am a member of the American Airlines program. Always a nice surprise when I visit a restaurant that is part of the program.
I need to remember to register new cards
Wow, so many ways to get miles!
Thank you so much for this information. I don’t eat out much but even a few miles could help in the long eum
I view these as another shopping portal. I don’t go out of my way to spend more, but you’re dumb not to be registered and utilizing them when you can.
Charge your 20% tips onto the credit card to earn more miles too.
Do these dining programs work out of the USA as well?
Unfortunately, most seem to be U.S. based. If you find exceptions, please let us know.
I’ve known about this for around two years now but I really wish I knew this six years ago when we didn’t have kids and we ate out a lot. 🙁
Also used the AA portal, excellent tracking.
not enough options in smaller cities.
I’ve always found that dining programs are the easiest way to accumulate points, because everyone has to eat right? If you eat out, this will boost your points.
I enjoyed your post. Mostly I use this program for keeping miles / points from expiring ( but I learned the Marriott one doesn’t extend pint expiration). I do wish there were competitors, and that there were mor restaurants in my area though.
I earn quite a few miles via the AA dining program – they definitely add up!
As a beginner I enjoyed this information. Really thank you
This is a great breakdown. I didnt know Hilton had a dining program. Can you double dip with these (register your card for more than one program and get points for both)?
I don’t believe you can double dip because many of the programs are run on the back end by the same company, so I think you simply end up switching enrollment.
The article stated that for the most part the rewards portion is all run by the same people so you can’t register for more than one program. Maybe if you read into the fine print and look for a program run by different companies?
You can register for multiple programs, you just can’t register the same credit card. So I can have my Prestige tied to Alaska dining and my Amex Gold tied to United Dining, but I can’t pay with any single card and get credit in more than one program (at least those run by RewardsNetwork)
I am enrolled in many of the dining programs. Its a great way to keep some of those points from expiring. I use one of the apps to find restaurants in cities that I am visiting. I have certainly enjoyed great restaurants that I never would have found if the dining program hadn’t pointed me to them. It’s also fun when I have eaten somewhere by chance, and a few days later I get an email saying I have earned points!
Does anyone know if Canadians are eligible to use these programs? I know the participating restaurants are located in the US, at least for the two programs I checked, but I was hoping to sign up so I could use this when in the States. Earning miles while dining would be amazing. The Marriott terms do say you need to be a resident of the US so I’m guessing I’m SOL despite seemingly being able to register through my Marriott account.
I don’t think it would hurt to try.
Quite a few years ago, AAdvantage Dining used to have almost a dozen participating restaurants in southern Ontario. Alas, that does not seem to be the case anymore…
Oh interesting! That’s too bad they seem to have taken the program out of Canada completely.
I use the American Airlines dining program and have garnered a number of miles from it. Thanks for providing alternate program information.
What great information. I’ll have to connect more of my CC’s to my wallet!
The key here I think is to focus on or concentrate spending activity earning on a program that you would use frequently. Thant’s how to make the points matter before they expire.
Sage advice as always Steven, but essentially with all of the loyalty programs a US-based individual is going to interact with, **if you have ongoing earning activity, your points will not expire**.
Or alternate train of thought, set this for a program you don’t use often to then record activity so those points don’t expire.
There used to be nearly perpetual registration bonuses (typically 1000 points/miles) available for nearly all of these programs, as well as frequent bonus-for-dining opportunities for existing members. Unfortunately, in my experience, the existing member promos have been non-existent for the last handful of years, and now it appear the registration bonuses have dried up too.
I’ve been waiting for a signup bonus. I live overseas at the moment and can’t capitalize on this but I’m waiting.
I have used the American airlines dining program! It is excellent!
… especially when the AAdvantage miles still expire.
Yeah! Hope they decide to take the same decision that united took some weeks ago!
Very true. If there was just an easy way to get a few miles, say just 5 or so, now and then it would be really cool.
We also used the dining points offer to collect 500 xIHG points the other day.
This short guide about different programs is amazing. I would totally share it. Is Uber eats in any of these programs?
Great question. I don’t think so, but let us know if you find a way to get credit via UberEats.
Great post with very helpful info. The Hawaiian info in particular was new for me.