You'll now know immediately how many bonus miles you earned for dining out
If you utilize an airline-sponsored dining program to earn miles for dining out, you may have received an email similar to this one that landed in my inbox this morning.
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Beginning in early December, Rewards Network — the company that operates dining rewards programs for Alaska Airlines, American, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit and United — will begin sending real-time email updates to customers as soon as they pay at participating restaurants. Rewards Network will collect data from American Express, MasterCard and Visa about the date and time of the dining transaction, which in turn will be shared with diners in the form of an email listing the number of estimated points they will earn on their spend before tip and tax are calculated.
Related: How to maximize restaurant spending with dining rewards programs
This is exciting news for loyal customers of Rewards Network airline partners. While dining rewards programs have been around for years, the Rewards Network system has also stayed more or less the same since then. With this change, Rewards Network brings its platform up to speed with newer competitors like Dosh, Drop and Yelp, which already offer real-time updates summarizing the amount earned in cash back or points and miles awarded.
Dining rewards programs are a fantastic way to double-dip your earnings when you eat out. The first tier of rewards comes from using a credit card that earns bonus miles on dining. The second tier comes from programs like Rewards Network, which track your credit card number and offer additional bonuses for dining at restaurants that participate in the program. You'll either earn cash back, like with Yelp, or earn miles as with Southwest. You can earn a further small bonus for completing a quick online survey within a few days of your dining experience.
