Resy Just Quietly Introduced a Loyalty Program
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
Anxiously waiting for a reservation to pop up at Pasquale Jones in New York? Or Majordōmo in Los Angeles? You're in luck if you are one of Resy's top diners.
Back in May, restaurant reservation service Resy quietly introduced a loyalty program called Resy Select. It flew under my radar in light of the news that they were being acquired by American Express. I hadn't heard about the program until I was recently invited to join, so here are the details of how Resy Select works.
To start, the program promises access to prime-time tables at some of the most popular restaurants in New York and Los Angeles. At my latest count, there are 27 participating restaurants in New York and 13 in LA. The exclusive reservations are marked with a golden box in the Resy app and website. I've definitely found expanded availability for Resy Select members, but mostly for tables of two or four. Unfortunately, participating restaurants are currently limited to the NY and LA markets, but the restaurant reservation site says more cities are coming later this year.
If you can't find the exact reservation you're looking for, Resy Select also offers a service called Priority Notify. Unlike its main competitor Opentable, Resy allows diners to sign up for push notifications if a table becomes available for your desired date and time. Resy Select members receive first dibs at these push notifications before Resy notifies other diners on the waitlist. I've found this feature to be really useful, since I've previously never had success at beating other diners to waitlisted reservations at popular restaurants like Rubirosa.
Other elite-member benefits include priority access to exclusive Resy events, customer support from a dedicated team and a special gold badge associated with your account to let restaurants know that you're elite.
Now, you may be asking yourself how you can get this status? Well, its unclear. Resy doesn't publish any qualifying criteria. Instead, they note that they extend invitations to their "most sophisticated diners," which they define as those who "eat out frequently, notify regularly, and rarely late cancel or no-show."
Taking a look at the terms and conditions of the program reveals that Resy may be considering charging for the Select program. It remains unclear if Resy is trying to pivot the program to a paid membership model.
However, with Amex's recent acquisition of Resy, I'd love to see them offer Resy Select status as a benefit to holders of the American Express® Gold Card (4x American Express Membership Rewards points at restaurants — it's one of our best credit card picks for dining) and The Platinum Card® from American Express, or at the very least, give members an opportunity to earn bonus points when they pay with an American Express card. Amex is currently running a limited-time promotion where you can earn 500 bonus Membership Rewards points when making a reservation through the app, so it will be interesting to see what else is in store.
At the moment, Resy Select is promising, albeit a bit limited in scope. I love that Resy started offering a loyalty program, and my hope is that American Express will take the program to the next level. In the meantime, check your email because you may have been given the golden ticket to skip the waitlist at your favorite restaurant.