One of the easiest ways to rack up points and miles with almost no effort whatsoever is to enroll your credit cards in airline and hotel dining programs. Simply register your cards with a given program (you can register up to five cards per program), and then every time you use a registered card at a participating restaurant, you’ll earn extra points or miles – above and beyond what you’d ordinarily earn with your credit card.
I don’t specifically seek out participating restaurants, or even know when I’m in one for that matter– I just go about my life, and every so often I receive an email informing me that I dined at a participating restaurant and that extra miles are on their way to my account.
Every card I keep in my wallet is registered with a dining program. I use United and American, but Delta, US Air, Southwest, Alaska Airlines, Hilton, and Priority Club all have programs as well. What’s interesting is that all of these programs are administered by the same company – Reward Network, Inc. – and as a result each program has the same participating restaurants.
Participating restaurants aren’t as few and far between as you might think. A quick search for my zip code reveals quite a few participating restaurants within walking distance from my apartment:
The number of miles you’ll earn in each program depends on (i) whether you agree to receive the weekly emails from the program, and (ii) whether you’ve dined at a participating restaurant 12 or more times in the calendar year and are thus a “VIP.” The table below summarizes the earning potential of each program at each level of participation.
I’ve never actually made it to VIP status, but I do elect to receive the weekly emails so that I earn 3 miles per dollar rather than 1. You’ll notice that the two hotel programs offer a greater number of points than the airlines, but keep in mind that HHonors and Priority Club points are among the least valuable points currencies. I’d much prefer three United or American miles to 5 HHonors or Priority Club points.
Unfortunately – but understandably – a credit card can only be enrolled in one dining program at a time. If you try to register a card in a second dining program, the card will automatically be de-registered from the first program.
Lastly, I should mention that each program offers a signup bonus for new members who spend more than $40 at a participating restaurant within 30 days of opening their account and complete an online review of that restaurant. For most programs, the bonus is 1,000 miles (or points), but since Southwest always has to be inferior different, its bonus is only 300 miles.