Can you earn rewards with a dining rewards program and a credit card at the same time?
Editor's Note
If you're interested in earning more rewards on everyday purchases, you might want to start using — or using more frequently — dining rewards programs. While many travelers are familiar with online shopping portals, fewer are familiar with dining rewards programs. In short, dining rewards programs let you earn extra points or miles when you use an enrolled card to pay at select restaurants, bars and clubs.
You can't earn rewards from two dining rewards programs simultaneously, but you might wonder whether you can simultaneously earn rewards with a dining rewards program and a credit card. We'll look into this common question in this post.
Dining rewards programs
Many major airline and hotel loyalty programs offer dining rewards programs. These programs let you earn points or miles at participating restaurants, bars and clubs when you use an enrolled card to pay. For example, here are some of the most popular dining rewards programs:
- Alaska Mileage Plan Dining
- American Airlines AAdvantage Dining
- Choice Privileges Eat & Earn
- Free Spirit Dining
- Hilton Honors Dining
- IHG One Rewards Dine and Earn
- JetBlue TrueBlue Dining
- Southwest Rapid Rewards Dining
- United MileagePlus Dining
If you haven't yet joined a dining rewards program, consider enrolling when a program you like offers a new member bonus. By doing so, you can earn extra points or miles as you start to use the program.
When you join, you'll need to link at least one credit or debit card to the dining rewards program. Then, you'll automatically earn points or miles through the dining rewards program when you make eligible purchases at participating bars, clubs and restaurants with your linked card. Your exact earning rate will vary by program, but you'll usually earn more rewards if you opt in for emails from the dining rewards program and frequently dine at restaurants that participate in the program.
However, Rewards Network runs most dining rewards programs, and it only lets you link each credit card to one dining rewards program. So, you can choose one dining rewards program and enroll your favorite credit card for dining with that program. Or, you can register different cards with different dining rewards programs. For example, you could enroll your American Express® Gold Card in Delta SkyMiles Dining and your Chase Sapphire Preferred Card in Marriott Eat Around Town.
Related: Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Amex Gold: Which 1 is right for you?
Can you earn with a dining rewards program and a credit card?
You can simultaneously earn rewards with a dining rewards program and a credit card. For example, if you enroll your American Express Gold Card in Delta SkyMiles Dining, opt in to email communications from SkyMiles Dining and then dine at a participating restaurant using your Amex Gold card, you'll earn:
- 3 Delta miles per dollar spent from SkyMiles Dining (or 5 miles per dollar spent if you have VIP status with SkyMiles Dining)
- 4 Membership Rewards points per dollar spent from your card since the Amex Gold earns 4 points per dollar spent at restaurants worldwide (on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar).
This kind of "double dipping" is a great way to speed up your earning rate and earn more rewards without spending more money.
Related: Who should (and who shouldn't) get the Amex Gold?
Bottom line
Stacking a dining rewards program with a credit card bonus category is a great way to earn more rewards. Sign up for the dining program of your choice, link your preferred credit card(s) and watch your loyalty program balance climb.
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Rewards
| 2X miles | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
| 5X miles | 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel |
| 10X miles | 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel |
Intro offer
Annual Fee
Recommended Credit
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The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
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- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month
Rewards Rate
| 2X miles | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
| 5X miles | 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel |
| 10X miles | 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel |
Intro Offer
Earn 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200K miles when you spend $150K in the first 6 monthsLIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus milesAnnual Fee
$395Recommended Credit
Credit ranges are a variation of FICO® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.740-850Excellent
Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month