Dining out is something that almost everyone does once in a while. Although eating at restaurants may be more expensive than cooking at home, you actually can recoup some of those losses by earning miles and points through hotel and airline dining rewards programs. These programs have been around for years, yet they’re often overlooked as a way to rack up additional points with pretty much no downside.

Most dining rewards programs work in a similar fashion. They’re free to join. All you have to do is link a credit card to your account, and you’ll earn miles or points every time you use that credit card at a partnered restaurant.

Essentially, you can just set it and forget it and then be pleasantly surprised when you earn points for dining out or picking up takeout. Plus, most of these programs have status tiers that reward you with higher earnings the more you dine at participating restaurants.

There are a lot of airline and hotel dining rewards programs, and they’re not all the same. Some of these programs have different earnings rates and sign-up bonuses, and others can even help you earn elite status. Unfortunately, you can link each of your credit cards to just one dining rewards program, so it’s important to pick a preference wisely.

Let’s take a look at some of the best hotel and airline dining rewards programs out there and the different benefits that they offer. Most of these programs partner with about 11,000 restaurants. So, chances are that you could earn points or miles by dining at a restaurant near you.

Airline Dining Rewards Programs

In general, airline dining rewards programs provide the highest return on spending because airline miles are almost always worth more than hotel points. Here are some of the best airline dining rewards programs to be aware of.

American Airlines AAdvantage Dining

  • Earnings: 1X to 5X AAdvantage miles per dollar
  • First-dine bonus: 1,000 AAdvantage miles when you spend $25 or more at a participating restaurant within 30 days

When you sign up for AAdvantage Dining, you’ll automatically start earning 1X mile per dollar spent. However, if you opt in for email notifications, your earnings will immediately be increased to 3X miles. Then, if you complete 11 transactions at participating restaurants in a calendar year, you’ll earn VIP status and 5X miles per dollar.

Since AAdvantage miles are worth about 1.4 cents apiece, you can get a return of between 1.4% and 7% when you use AAdvantage Dining.

One of the best things about the AAdvantage Dining program is that it can help you earn elite status with American Airlines. Every mile that you earn through AAdvantage dining (with the exception of bonuses) counts as a Loyalty Point, which can help you qualify for elite status.

American Airlines AAdvantage Dining

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Dining

  • Earnings: 0.5X to 5X Mileage Plan miles per dollar
  • First-dine bonus: 1,000 Mileage Plan miles when you spend $30 or more at a participating restaurant and write a review within 30 days

When you sign up for Mileage Plan Dining, you’ll receive 0.5X mile per dollar spent if you elect not to receive emails. However, by simply enrolling in the email delivery from Mileage Plan Dining, you’ll become a Select member and earn 3X miles. Complete more than 11 qualified transactions in a calendar year and get bumped up to a VIP membership and earn 5X miles per dollar.

According to our valuations, Alaska Mileage Plan miles are the most valuable airline currency out there, clocking in at around 1.8 cents apiece.

This program is full of sweet spots that offer tons of value. For example, Alaska Mileage Plan has a generous stopover policy on one-way awards that, essentially, translates to more free flights. Alaska Airlines also has no transfer partners apart from Marriott Bonvoy. So, because Mileage Plan miles are so hard to come by, Mileage Plan Dining is a fantastic way to boost your balance.

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Dining

Delta SkyMiles Dining

  • Earnings: 0.5X to 5X SkyMiles miles per dollar
  • First-dine bonus: 1,000 SkyMiles miles (or 1,500 SkyMiles if you’re a SkyMiles Medallion member) when you spend $30 or more at a participating restaurant and write a review within 30 days

When you sign up for SkyMiles Dining, you’ll receive 0.5X mile per dollar spent. By electing to receive emails from SkyMiles Dining, you’ll become a Select member and earn 3X miles. If you complete more than 11 qualified transactions in a calendar year, you’ll be bumped up to a VIP membership and earn 5X miles per dollar.

Delta SkyMiles are valued at around 1.4 cents apiece, which is higher than most other airlines. It’s common to find decent redemptions through the Delta SkyMiles program, both on Delta- and partner-operated flights.

SkyMiles Dining is also one of the only airline dining rewards programs to offer second- and third-dine bonuses. Unfortunately, not all SkyMiles Dining members qualify for these bonuses. If you do qualify, you’ll receive the offer from SkyMiles Dining via email.

Spirit Airlines Free Spirit Dining

Spirit Airlines Free Spirit Dining

  • Earnings: 0.5X to 5X Free Spirit miles per dollar
  • First-dine bonus: 1,000 Free Spirit miles when you spend $30 or more at a participating restaurant and write a review within 30 days

By signing up for Free Spirit Dining, you’ll receive 0.5X mile per dollar spent if you elect not to receive emails. By saying “yes” to emails from Free Spirit Dining, you’ll start earning 3X miles. If you complete more than 11 qualified transactions in a calendar year, you’ll be bumped up to a VIP membership and earn 5X miles per dollar.

According to our valuations, Free Spirit miles are worth around 0.8 cent apiece, which is pretty subpar compared to most other airline currencies. However, one advantage of the Free Spirit program is that it offers low-cost award flights.

While Spirit Airlines isn’t at the top of most people’s lists in terms of customer experience, it’s hard to argue with the fact that Spirit award flights start at just 2,500 miles. That means that, if you get the 1,000-point first-dine bonus and opt in for emails, you can save up enough points exclusively through Free Spirit Dining to purchase an award flight by spending less than $500 in your first year. Many people spend more than $500 per year on dining anyway, so why not get a free flight out of it?

JetBlue TrueBlue Dining

JetBlue TrueBlue Dining

  • Earnings: 1X to 3X TrueBlue points per dollar
  • First-dine bonus: None

When you sign up for the TrueBlue Dining program, you’ll earn 1X TrueBlue point per dollar spent. By opting in for email notifications, your earnings will be bumped up to 3X points. Unlike many of the other aforementioned programs, TrueBlue Dining doesn’t have any status tiers. It also doesn’t offer a first-dine bonus.

JetBlue TrueBlue points are typically valued at about 1.3 cents apiece, which isn’t as impressive as some of the other airline currencies out there.

In general, TrueBlue Dining offers less earning potential than most other airline dining rewards programs, and TrueBlue points aren’t the most valuable airline currency. Still, if you tend to fly with JetBlue more than other airlines, it may be worth linking your credit card to the TrueBlue Dining program.

Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Dining

Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Dining

  • Earnings: 0.5X to 3X Rapid Rewards points per dollar spent
  • First-dine bonus: 1,000 Rapid Rewards points when you spend $25 or more at a participating restaurant and write a review within 30 days

You’ll start out earning 0.5X Rapid Rewards points per dollar spent simply for joining the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Dining program. However, when you opt in for email, you’ll start earning 3X points. There’s no VIP status within the program, but there are other ways to earn points.

Every time you leave a review, you’ll receive 10 Rapid Rewards points. After you earn your first 1,500 points from dining and reviews with Rapid Rewards Dining, you’ll receive a “first-step bonus” of 500 points. Plus, each time you earn 1,000 points from dining and reviews, you’ll receive a “thank-you bonus” of 300 points.

Southwest Rapid Rewards points are typically valued at around 1.5 cents apiece, which is solid. Considering Southwest award flights are often inexpensive, Rapid Rewards Dining may be the all-around best dining rewards program on this list.

On top of all the other amazing aspects of this program, points earned through Rapid Rewards Dining also count toward the Southwest Companion Pass, one of the most valuable perks in the entire airline industry. This definitely makes Rapid Rewards Dining worth paying attention to.

United Airlines MileagePlus Dining

United Airlines MileagePlus Dining

  • Earnings: 0.5 X to 5X MileagePlus miles per dollar
  • First-dine bonus: 3,000 MileagePlus miles when you spend $25 or more at a participating restaurant and write a review within 30 days

Similar to most airline dining rewards programs, you’ll start out earning 0.5X MileagePlus miles per dollar if you don’t opt in for email communication. However, if you do opt in for emails, you’ll immediately start earning 3X miles. After completing 11 qualifying transactions in a calendar year, you’ll earn VIP status and start earning 5X miles per dollar.

United MileagePlus miles are typically valued at about 1.3 cents apiece, which is pretty average. However, United is one of the largest U.S. carriers by destinations, so you’ll have a lot of choices when it comes time to redeem your miles.

The biggest advantage of MileagePlus Dining over other airline dining rewards programs is that it offers the largest first-dine bonus of them all. Since United offers award flights as low as 5,000 miles sometimes, that 3,000-mile bonus from MileagePlus Dining will get you more than halfway to a free flight.

Choice Hotels Eat & Earn

Hotel Dining Rewards Programs

While earnings rates with hotel dining rewards programs can be higher than with airline dining rewards programs, hotel points are significantly less valuable than airline miles (in most cases). Still, if you stay at hotels far more often than you fly, then you might want to consider signing up for a hotel dining rewards program.

Here are the programs you might want to consider.

Choice Hotels Eat & Earn

  • Earnings: 5X Choice Privileges points per dollar at restaurants, 2X points per dollar on online orders
  • First-dine bonus: 500 Choice Privileges points when you spend $25 or more at a participating restaurant within 30 days

By signing up for the Choice Eat & Earn program, you’ll automatically start earning 5X Choice Privileges on dining and 2X points on online orders. Each time you complete a dine and leave a review about that restaurant, you’ll earn an additional 10 bonus points.

Choice Privileges points are usually valued at around 0.6 cent apiece, which is fairly standard compared to other hotel points. However, considering that all of the other major hotel companies have their own dining rewards programs, you’re probably better off signing up for a dining rewards program with a larger company (such as Marriott or Hilton) that will give you more redemption options for the points you earn.

Still, if you find yourself staying with Choice Hotels more than other hotel companies, then you may want to consider signing up for Eat & Earn.

Hilton Honors Dining

Hilton Honors Dining

  • Earnings: 2X to 8X Hilton Honors points per dollar
  • First-dine bonus: 1,000 Hilton Honors points when you spend $25 or more at a participating restaurant and write a review within 30 days

Just for signing up for the Hilton Honors Dining program, you’ll start off by earning 2X Hilton Honors points per dollar if you opt out of emails. When you opt in for emails, you’ll immediately be upgraded to a Select member and start earning 5X points. Then, by completing 11 qualifying transactions in a calendar year, you’ll achieve VIP status and start earning 8X points per dollar.

Hilton Honors points are typically valued at about 0.5 cent apiece, which is standard compared to other hotel points but far less valuable than most airline miles. Even as a VIP member, the Hilton Honors Dining program would provide just a 4% return on your spending. You could do much better with an airline dining rewards program.

While the Hilton Honors Dining program doesn’t stack up well against other dining rewards programs, some of Hilton’s co-branded credit cards offer spending bonuses on dining that are worth noting.

In particular, the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card earns 7X points on dining (a return of 3.5% on spending), and the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card earns 6X points on dining (a return of 3% on spending). If you have the Aspire card linked to your Hilton Honors Dining account and you have VIP status, you could earn 15X points per dollar spent (a return of 7.5% on spending).

IHG One Rewards Dine & Earn

IHG One Rewards Dine & Earn

  • Earnings: 1X to 8X IHG One Rewards points per dollar
  • First-dine bonus: 1,000 IHG One Rewards points when you spend $30 or more at a participating restaurant and write a review within 30 days

You’ll start out earning 1X IHG One Rewards point per dollar after signing up for the IHG One Rewards Dine & Earn program. However, by opting in for email notifications, you’ll be bumped up to Select membership status and earn 5X points. If you complete 11 qualifying transactions in a calendar year, you’ll gain VIP status and earn 8X points per dollar.

IHG One Rewards points are worth about 0.7 cent apiece on average, which is slightly higher than most other hotel points. As a VIP member of the IHG One Rewards Dine & Earn program, you’d receive a 5.6% return on your spending.

It’s worth noting that IHG points expire after 12 months of inactivity for non-elite members. So, if you have a balance of IHG points that are in danger of expiring, earning points through Dine & Earn could be a good way to preserve those points.

Marriott Bonvoy Eat Around Town

Marriott Bonvoy Eat Around Town

  • Earnings: 2X to 8X Bonvoy points per dollar
  • First-dine bonus: 1,000 Bonvoy points the first time you spend $30 or more at a participating restaurant and write a review within 60 days
  • Second-dine bonus: 2,000 Bonvoy points the second time you spend $30 or more at a participating restaurant and write a review within 60 days
  • Third-dine bonus: 3,000 Marriott Bonvoy points the third time you spend $30 or more at a participating restaurant and write a review within 60 days

All Marriott Bonvoy members who sign up for the Eat Around Town program earn at least 4X Marriott Bonvoy points per dollar. However, if you have elite status with Marriott, your earnings will be bumped up to 6X points. Every time you complete 10 qualifying dines, you’ll earn an extra 1,000 points.

Marriott Bonvoy points are valued at around 0.8 cent apiece, which is about as good as it gets when it comes to hotel points. So, return on spending would be 3.2% for non-elite members and 4.8% for elite members, which is pretty unimpressive.

However, where the Eat Around Town program really shines is its introductory bonuses that can be earned within the first 60 days of signing up for an account. If you earn all three of these bonuses (which would require you to make three qualifying transactions of $30 or more at participating restaurants within the first 60 days), you’d earn 6,000 points, which is worth about $48.

Even if you don’t plan on participating in Marriott’s Eat Around Town program for the long term, it’s worth signing up for and getting these bonuses and then switching to another dining rewards program.

Best Credit Cards to Use with Dining Rewards Programs

One of the nicest parts about all hotel and airline dining rewards programs is the fact that any points or miles you earn through them will be in addition to the points or miles you earn with your credit card.

For instance, let’s say that you have the American Express® Gold Card, which earns 4X American Express Membership Rewards points on dining, and you link that card to your Hilton Honors Dining account. If you have VIP status in the Hilton Honors Dining program, you’d earn 4X Amex points and 8X Hilton points per dollar spent at participating restaurants.

Since Amex points are valued at around 2 cents apiece and Hilton points are valued at about 0.6 cent apiece, you’d essentially be getting a return of 12.8% on dining purchases at participating restaurants with this combination of credit card and dining rewards program. Those are some pretty significant savings.

As you can see, one of the best parts about these dining rewards programs is the ability to stack your points or miles earnings by linking a credit card that offers good spending bonuses on dining. So, if you’re wondering what the best cards to link to your dining rewards program of choice is, here are a few of our suggestions.

Of course, when deciding which credit cards to add to your wallet, you should consider more than just how much they earn on dining. Annual fees, statement credit, interest rates, travel protections and many other factors should be considered as well.

Still, you can get a solid return every time you go out to eat or order in by choosing a credit card with good spending bonuses for dining and then stacking those bonuses with earnings from a hotel or airline dining rewards program.

The Bottom Line

No matter which airline or hotel dining rewards program you choose, you won’t have to pay anything to enroll. So, there’s really no reason not to join one of these programs and start earning points or miles on any dining purchases at participating restaurants.

However, it’s definitely worth taking some time to decide which dining rewards program is going to benefit you the most because you can link each of your credit cards to only one of these programs. Things to consider include:

  • Which hotel/airline you use most often
  • The value of the rewards currency you’ll be earning
  • Points/miles earnings per dollar
  • Any sign-up/anniversary bonuses available
  • Whether your earnings will contribute to elite status

Once you take all these things into account, you can start earning points or miles on dining, takeout or delivery from restaurants in your area. You might be surprised to learn that one of your favorite restaurants is part of your dining rewards program of choice.