Large Dining Bonuses with United, Delta and US Airways
I'm a big fan of dining for miles, since it requires little effort and there are a wide range of restaurants to choose from (at least in New York City). Through June 30, 2011, United, Delta and US Airways Dining are running pretty generous promotions. United is offering a 1,000 mile bonus per $100 spent (in addition to the normal rate of 3-5 miles per dollar spent) with no maximum. Delta and US Airways Are offering the same bonus but are capping the earning at 5,000 miles: Delta, US Airways. If you aren't already a member of each program make sure to sign up for the 1,000 mile bonus for new members: United, Delta, US Airways.
You can be a member of multiple programs, but you can only have one card attached to one program at one time. Trust me, they've thought ahead and put restrictions into place so you can't double/triple/quadruple (etc) dip on rewards. If your credit card is already attached to Delta and you now want to focus on getting United miles with your dines, simply add that credit card your United Dining profile and it will automatically drop off the Delta profile.
If you do any sort of client entertaining and you have an option of what restaurant you go to, you should browse the restaurants near you that participate in rewards programs. You also earn the points from your credit card spend, so if you used a British Airways Visa on a $1,000 dinner at a restaurant that participated in the United dining program, you'd earn:
1,000 x 1.25 normal earning ratio on BA Visa= 1,250 British Airways miles
1,000 x 5 for VIP dining member (remember, all you need to do is "dine" 10 times to get VIP, which can be as easy as buying 10 sodas from a participating restaurant and having them ring them up separately)= 5,000 United miles
1,000 x 10 for the May/June bonus = 10,000
= 16, 250 miles!
TPG featured card
at Capital One's secure site
Terms & restrictions apply. See rates & fees.
| 5X miles | Earn 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel |
| 2X miles | Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day |
Pros
- Stellar welcome offer of 75,000 miles after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
- You'll earn 2 miles per dollar on every purchase, which means you won't have to worry about memorizing bonus categories
- Rewards are versatile and can be redeemed for a statement credit or transferred to Capital One’s transfer partners
Cons
- Highest bonus-earning categories only on travel booked via Capital One Travel
- Enjoy a one-time bonus of 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day
- Earn 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- Miles won't expire for the life of the account and there's no limit to how many you can earn
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®
- Use your miles to get reimbursed for any travel purchase—or redeem by booking a trip through Capital One Travel
- Enjoy a $50 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Lifestyle Collection
- Transfer your miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Top rated mobile app