Americans spend 43% of their food expenditures on eating out, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s $3,095 per household per year.
More and more credit cards offering bonus rewards on dining purchases (hello, Chase Sapphire Reserve and Costco Visa). So, it’s easy to rack up rewards in a spending category that’s becoming more commonplace.
Earn more rewards without changing your habits
What if I told you that you could earn even more rewards when you’re eating out? Several airlines and hotel chains have dining rewards programs that can net you a decent amount of rewards. And here’s the kicker: you don’t need to use their co-branded credit card. You can use any card you want, making it easier to maximize your rewards on both fronts.
For each program, there’s a list of participating restaurants. You can usually sign up for only one program at a time (most of them are through a company called Rewards Network). Simply pick one you like, register your credit card, and start eating.
There are usually different tiers of earning power, and, depending on which tier you’re in, you may receive extra bonuses and VIP offers.
There are many non-travel related dining programs out there, but we’ll focus only on the ones that get you miles and points. Check out Rewards Network for the other options.
Airline dining programs
Alaska Airlines Mileage Dining Plan
- Earn 2 miles per $1 spent if you choose not to share your email address with Mileage Dining Plan.
- Earn 3 miles per $1 spent if you request promotional emails and provide a valid email address.
- Earn 5 miles per $1 spent if you request promotional emails, provide a valid email address and have 12 or more qualified transactions in a calendar year.
- Earn 1,000 bonus miles when you spend $30 or more on one restaurant visit within 30 days.
American Airlines AAdvantage Dining
- Earn 1 mile per $1 spent if you have no online profile with AAdvantage Dining.
- Earn 3 miles per $1 spent if you request promotional emails and provide a valid email address.
- Earn 5 miles per $1 spent if you request promotional emails, provide a valid email address and have 12 or more qualified transactions in a calendar year.
- Earn up to 2,000 bonus miles by spending $25 or more on three separate restaurant visits within 30 days.
- Earn 1 mile per $2 spent if you choose not to share your email address with SkyMiles Dining.
- Earn 3 miles per $1 spent if you request promotional emails and provide a valid email address.
- Earn 5 miles per $1 spent if you request promotional emails, provide a valid email address and have 12 or more qualified transactions in a calendar year.
- Earn up to 3,000 bonus miles by spending $30 or more at three separate restaurants within 30 days.
Hawaiian Airlines Dining Rewards
- Exchange $1 in cash back earned through Mogl for 40 HawaiianMiles.
- Mogl is available in over 250 cities.
- Earn 1 point per $1 spent.
- Earn 2 points per $1 spent if you have True Blue Mosaic status.
Southwest Rapid Rewards Dining
- Earn 1 point per $2 spent if you choose not to share your email address with Rapid Rewards Dining.
- Earn 3 points per $1 spent if you sign up for email notifications.
- Earn up to 1,000 bonus points by spending $25 or more at three separate restaurants within 30 days.
Spirit Airlines Free Spirit Dining
- Earn 1 mile per $2 spent if you choose not to share your email address with Free Spirit Dining.
- Earn 3 miles per $1 spent if you request promotional emails and provide a valid email address.
- Earn 5 miles per $1 spent if you request promotional emails, provide a valid email address and have 12 or more qualified transactions in a calendar year.
- Earn 1,000 bonus miles when you spend $30 or more at a single restaurant visit within 30 days.
- Earn 1 mile per $2 spent if you choose not to share your email address with MileagePlus Dining.
- Earn 3 miles per $1 spent if you request promotional emails and provide a valid email address.
- Earn 5 miles per $1 spent if you request promotional emails, provide a valid email address and have 12 or more qualified transactions in a calendar year.
- Earn up to 4,000 bonus miles by spending $25 or more on six separate restaurant visits within 30 days.
- Exchange $1 in cash back earned through Mogl for 30 Elevate points.
- Mogl is available in over 250 cities.
Hotel dining programs
- Earn 2 points per $1 spent if you choose not to share your email address with Honors Dining.
- Earn 5 points per $1 spent if you opt in for email notifications and have 10 or fewer qualifying transactions in a year.
- Earn 8 points per $1 spent if you opt in for email notifications and have 11 or more qualifying transactions in a year.
- Earn 1,000 bonus points when you spend $25 or more at any participating restaurant within 30 days.
- Earn 1 point per $1 spent if you choose not to share your email address with Rewards Club Dining.
- Earn 5 points per $1 spent if you opt in for email notifications and have 10 or fewer qualifying transactions in a year.
- Earn 8 points per $1 spent if you request promotional emails, provide a valid email address and have 12 or more qualified transactions in a calendar year.
- Earn 1,000 bonus points when you spend $30 or more at any participating restaurant within 30 days.
General travel dining
- Earn 5% back in Orbucks to redeem on hotel bookings.
- Earn $5 in Orbucks when you spend $25 or more at any participating restaurant within 30 days.
Conclusion
If you eat out regularly, there’s no reason not to sign up for one these programs. With over 11,000 restaurants, bars and clubs, you’ll be sure to find plenty of options where you live and travel. Regardless of which hotel or airline you choose, you can never go wrong with free rewards.