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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. 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 make up 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 or even a round trip with a clever redemption. Here’s our complete guide to top dining rewards programs.
Dining programs earn a commission from participating restaurants when they refer customers, and they rebate 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 when a credit card that has been registered with the program is used to pay at a restaurant in the network.
This makes dining programs among the easiest ways to earn extra points because you don’t need to keep track of anything. Just register your rewards card, and you’ll 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 around the rewards, you’ll still pick up extra points automatically if you patronize a restaurant in the network.
Airlines
American Airlines
American Airlines has its own dedicated dining program, AA Rewards Network, which has plenty of participating restaurants. What you earn depends on your level of membership. As of July 24, 2019, the three levels are Basic member, Select member, and VIP member:
Basic members earn 1 American Airlines AAdvantage® mile per $1 spent if you elect to not receive email communication from AAdvantage DiningSM.
Select members earn 3 AAdvantage® miles per $1 spent if you elect to receive email communication from AAdvantage DiningSM.
VIP members earn 5 AAdvantage® miles per $1 spent if you elect to receive email communication from AAdvantage DiningSM AND have already completed 11 qualified transactions in the calendar year. (Members start earning at the VIP level on their 12th qualified transaction.)
Basic member – You have not provided Mileage Plan Dining with a valid, deliverable email address and/or marketing permission, so you will earn one mile per too dollars spent
Select member – You elect to receive emails from the Mileage Plan Dining program and provide a valid, deliverable email address, so you will earn three miles per dollar spent
VIP member – You elect to receive emails from the Mileage Plan Dining program and provide a valid, deliverable email address. Plus, you have already completed 11 qualified transactions in the calendar year (Members start earning at the VIP level on their 12th qualified transaction.). Five miles per dollar spent
Delta Airlines
Needless to say, Delta Airlines also has its own dining program, the SkyMiles Rewards Network. The program also has three membership levels. As of July 24, 2018, the rate you earn depends on your membership level:
Members earn one mile per two dollars spent if choosing not to receive email communication from SkyMiles Dining.
Select Members earn three miles per one dollar spent if you choose to receive email communication from SkyMiles Dining.
VIP Members earn five miles per one dollar spent if you choose to receive email communication from SkyMiles Dining AND have already completed 11 qualified transactions in the calendar year (Members start earning at the VIP level on their 12th qualified transaction).
JetBlue Airways
JetBlue’s TrueBlue dining program is simpler than the previous three, in that it does not have membership levels. The JetBlue program offers just ONE level of earning effective 8/1/2018:
Members earn three TrueBlue points for every dollar spent at a participating location.
Southwest Airlines
Southwest’s Rapid Rewards dining is an excellent program from Southwest Airlines. Members earn points depending on which option they choose:
Share your email and sign up for notifications and earn three points per dollar spent
Opt-out of sharing your email and you will earn one point per two dollars spent
United Airlines
The United Airlines MileagePlus Dining is very similar in structure to Delta's Skymiles Dining. United Airlines has three levels with different earning rates depending on what information you are willing to share and how frequently you use the program:
Basic member – member has not provided a valid, deliverable email address and/or marketing permission. Earns one MileagePlus award mile per two dollars spent
Select member – member has elected to receive emails from MileagePlus Dining and provide MileagePlus Dining with a valid, deliverable email address. Earns three MileagePlus award miles per dollar spent
VIP member – member elected to receive emails from MileagePlus Dining as well as provided a valid, deliverable email address. Plus, has already completed 11 qualified transactions* in the calendar year (Members start earning at the VIP level on their 12th qualified transaction). Will earn five MileagePlus award miles per dollar spent
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:
Members do not need to share their email or any other information and will earn 1X per $2 spent
Online members need to share their email and opt to receive emails from Free Spirit Dining and will earn 3X miles per $1 spent
VIP members are online members with 11 or more qualifying transactions and will earn 5X per $1 spent
Hawaiian Airlines
HawaiianMiles Marketplace
Hawaiian Airlines does not have its own unique dining program. Instead, they have created a “Marketplace,” which is a collection of retailers (including restaurants). Here is the alphabetical directory of Hawaiian partners that earn extra miles. While not every restaurant listed returns the exact same amount of miles, the majority of them seem to return 2.5 miles per dollar spent with no requirements or restrictions. Furthermore, this program may be able to be stacked, given there doesn't appear to be any ties to Rewards Network.
Effective 11/12/19, Marriott Convoy members will receive four Marriott Convoy Points for each eligible U.S. dollar spent.
Any member holding Elite status (Silver, Gold, Platinum, Titanium, or Ambassador) will earn 6X points (50% percent more) after November 12.
Hilton Honors
Acting more like the airline award programs, the Honors Dining program offers varying levels of rewards depending on your interaction level:
Earn two bonus points per one dollar when you don't opt-in for email notifications.
You can earn five bonus points per dollar when you dine 10 or fewer times a year, and opt-in for email notifications from Hilton Honors Dining.
Earn eight bonus points per dollar when you dine 11 or more times in a year, and opt-in for email notifications from Hilton Honors Dining.
Caesar's 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 3X Reward Credits at Caesars Rewards Dining locations.
Cashback/Financial Services
Dosh
Located within the Dosh App, you can earn cash rewards on dining purchases. Once you've loaded the cards you intend to spend on, 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 three and five percent. Even though this is part of Rewards Network, some have suggested this will stack with other airline dining programs.
The example above shows that almost 55,000 points were earned. That could have been $550 in cash! However, the idea is to get better value for your travels. A Delta One business-class flight to Europe booked with Virgin Atlantic is just 50,000 points one way. Personally, I've never redeemed Membership Rewards points for less than three cents each, so while you might redeem these for cash, $1,700+ in travel sounds more appealing to me! Here's our full Rakuten review.
Other Programs
Orbitz Rewards
After you've joined this rewards program, you'll find the earning structure fairly simple. There are no complicated earning tiers in Orbitz Rewards Dining. Pick one of the 11,000+ restaurants in the network, and you'll earn 5% cash back.
Shell Fuel Rewards
Cash back towards fuel fill-ups
If you aren't already saving in one of the other programs and are still paying for fuel, Shell Fuel Rewards is another alternative. Earn a 10 cent-per-gallon discount (on up to 20 gallons) for every $50 spent dining out. You can add to your earnings by linking your one of the top cards for spending at restaurants, such as the Citi Prestige® Card (5X), American Express® Gold Card (4X), or Chase Sapphire Reserve® (3X). Since Shell limits fill-up discounts to 20 gallons, that's two dollars (four percent) for every $50 spent. You can earn 50% more rewards (three dollars or six percent) 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, be sure to opt in* to receive emails about our 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.
Final Thoughts
For most travelers, the ideal strategy is to pick one or two programs and let the points earning work on autopilot. If you truly want to maximize, it could make sense to keep an eye out for signup bonuses and create each new account when there are extra points for joining and meeting a modest spending requirement. It's worth noting that Rewards Network manages the dining programs for many of the airlines and hotels. You can't register the same credit card for more than one dining program at a time, so it isn't possible to just add your card to all the programs and stack your earning.
Since points and miles from dining aren't likely to add up to a round-the-world trip, it makes sense to focus your earning on a program you know well and use often. However, points from dining can also 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 from dining.
If you plan to set up an account with one or more of these dining programs, be sure to review our post on the best rewards cards for restaurants and dining. You can earn 4-5X points with every dining purchase just by paying with the right card. Register that card with a dining program, and your next trip will be in reach before you know it.
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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.
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.