Chase gave me $55 for a fancy dinner in Taipei
It's all true: Chase recently credited me $55.74 for a $278 holiday meal with my extended family.
The meal
It all started a few weeks ago, when my coworker discovered a Chase offer for 20% off of Kimpton Hotels, up to $120 total.
Curious, I checked my own account — and there it was for my Chase Sapphire Reserve, shining in all of its generous glory. (A number of TPG Lounge members have reported receiving this targeted offer as well.)
To be honest, I promptly forgot about the offer after adding it to my card since I didn't have any upcoming travel that called for a Kimpton booking, especially before the end of February.
But a week into the new year, my uncle proposed an innovative new restaurant in Taipei for our little family get-together over my visit to Taiwan. When I looked up The Tavernist online, I realized the restaurant was located on the 12th floor of the Kimpton Da An, smack-dab in the middle of Taipei.
I was already planning on paying for dinner to earn 3x points on the dining charge, so I was curious to see if a Kimpton restaurant charge would trigger the 20% offer. The fine print said that the promotion was for a stay, but didn't specify if dining would qualify or not.
My mom and I got to the hotel early to check out the rooftop patio and cocktail menu. There were heaters on the deck, which helped stave off the winter chill, and the innovative drinks were all inspired by local ingredients and culture. Mom opted for a classic pot of hot tea, while I went for The Good Old Times cocktail, marketed as a "roasted, creamy, nutty" beverage of whisky, seasoned millet mush, cream and honey. The puffed rice cube garnish made for a fun little snack.
We closed out at the bar before we were seated for dinner, and I knew our $22.78 drink bill would not trigger the Chase offer because the one-time promotion is for charges of $100 and up.
We ordered two sets of the seven-course chef's menu for two, split between five people, and also paid a modest corking fee for the bottle of wine my uncle brought for the table. The smoked abalone pictured above was my favorite course, although the lobster was a close second. (Fellow foodies can check out the rest of my Instagram photos here.)
As has been my experience at the handful of Kimpton restaurants I've dined at, The Tavernist combined local ingredients and innovative presentation, all wrapped up in great flavor. All five of us left the meal feeling pleased and surprisingly full, despite having ordered slightly less food than was recommended for our party size.
The restaurant left us with two parting surprises: A passionfruit slushie aperitif apiece, and a bonus 10% discount for IHG members. I pulled up my membership number for the waitress and she added the discount directly to my final bill.
In Taiwan, higher-end restaurants charge a flat 10% service fee in lieu of tips, so my IHG discount directly canceled out the service fee. Our total bill was $278.70, and I earned 836 Chase Ultimate Rewards points for the charge since the purchase coded as "travel" under Kimpton Hotels. (Note that, since I paid with my Chase Sapphire Reserve, I would have earned 3x per dollar even if the purchase had coded under the dining category.)
The money
Four days later, I received an email from Chase congratulating me on redeeming one of my card offers: The Kimpton offer did, in fact, work for my restaurant charge, and I had earned $55.74.
And while the email itself stated that the credit would be applied within seven to 14 business days, my online bank portal shows that I actually received the credit around the same time that the email was sent to me.
The best part? I still got to keep my total number of points because the $55.74 was applied as a credit back to my statement, and did not impact the $278.70 I originally paid (which resulted in 836 Ultimate Rewards points).
The Kimpton offer is targeted for select cardholders, and is valid for one-time use on charges or stays completed by Feb. 28, 2020. The fine print states that the offer is valid when you spend $100 or more using the card linked to the offer, for up to $120 max.
So if you decide to utilize this offer for a restaurant visit like I did, make sure you combine your drink and dining bills under a single charge of up to $600 in order to maximize the promotion.
All photos by Katherine Fan for The Points Guy.
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