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Beginner’s Guide: Join a dining program to earn extra points
Our Beginner’s Guide is dedicated to not only getting you started in points and miles, but also to drop a tip, hint, tutorial, or trick that maybe you’ve missed or haven’t heard before. If you’re an expert in this field, some of these may be things you already know, but a helpful reminder never hurts, and to those who haven’t heard of it – I gotchu baybay!
You probably already know about cards like the Amex Gold ( an absolute beast ) that have incredible category bonuses for dining.
But…did you know that you can sign up for a dining programs that will earn you another set of points when you eat at partner restaurants? Yes, you can earn your credit card points and airline or hotel points at the same time. Let’s dig into it.
You may not be able to pour two teas at one time, but you can earn two kinds of points and that is still pretty cool in my book.
What are award dining programs?
These are partnerships that loyalty programs have struck with restaurants to reward you with their points when you dine with them. You don’t have to do anything besides sign up for the program and enter your credit card details. This pairs that card with a dining program and each time you use it at a partner restaurant you’ll earn points. I use the Alaska MileagePlan dining program, so when I dine at a partner restaurant I earn both Alaska Points and my credit card points. No fuss, just pay and earn two kinds of points.
There is NO reason why you shouldn’t be doing it. It’s more mindless than watching the Kardashians. WAYO!
Here are a few links to Dining Programs
Almost every program has an offer between 1000 and 3000 points to sign up. Great opportunity if you haven’t done so yet.
- Alaska Airlines
- Bilt Rewards Dining
- United Airlines
- American Airlines
- Delta SkyMiles
- JetBlue
- Spirit
- Southwest
- Hilton
- Marriott
- IHG
- Choice
You can Double Dip: Earn Credit Card points + Airline/Hotel Points
I use my Amex Gold all the time for dining because it earns 4x points on every dollar I spend.
Read More About Amex Gold here
Every program is different, but my Amex Gold is linked to Alaska’s dining program. If I use it 11 times in a year, I get 5x at partner restaurants. That’s pretty awesome.
Link your credit card
This is so it knows when you use it. They don’t keep the security id, billing information, etc
How do you find partner restaurants?
Super easy. Each program has a search function. Here’s a look at my search for Studio City, CA
To Recap and more thoughts
- Keep your points alive – it’ll put activity in your account.
- It costs you nothing
- No thought or extra time after you’ve linked.
- Dip/Dip
If I eat out enough I’ll be enjoying some Cathay First Class again. Only 70k from the U.S. to Asia.
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