Skip to footer

Foodie on a budget? Four ways to maximize restaurant discounts.

Going out to eat at a nice restaurant is one of life's great pleasures, but doing it often can get expensive. Read on for ways to maximize restaurant discounts and rewards to cut down on your bill. 

|
Lynne Sladky/AP/File
Customers eat lunch in the main dining room at Joe's Stone Crab restaurant in Miami Beach, Fla. For foodies looking for a deal, booking reservations and enrolling in dining programs are effective ways to cut down a restaurant bill.

My wife and I love to go out and try new and exciting restaurants. It's our way of enjoying some quality time together, and over the last five years there have been so many amazing restaurants opening up here in Denver. Unfortunately, since our daughter was born a couple of years ago, our nights out don't come quite as frequently as we would like, so when we do get the chance to go out we do all we can to cut down our bill.

 Below are are four different ways that we try and maximize discounts and rewards to save money.

1.  Booking reservations

When I look into booking a reservation for a night out, the first place I go is to OpenTable.com.  They have a huge selection of some of the best restaurants all across the country. The best part is that they offer a reward for each completed reservation.  The standard reward is 100 points, however they occasionally will offer 1,000 points for certain restaurants.  Once you accumulate 2,000 points you can cash them out for a $20 dining check that can be used at any restaurant on OpenTable.

My wife and I have a restaurant that we love eating at and it's almost never booked, but even if we make a last minute decision to go, I will still book a reservation so that I can earn the points.

2.  Using a coupon

My wife hates using coupons, but if I can save a few dollars here and there then I am all about them.  If we are going to be going to dinner and don't have a particular restaurant in mind, I check out Groupon and LivingSocial.  They both feature a bunch of restaurants and you can usually save 50 percent off your meal.

Restaurants.com is another great place to go and purchase discounted restaurant certificates.  I find a lot of the restaurants offer $25 worth of food for just $10; some even go higher then that.  Just make sure you read the fine print, because some restaurants require your bill to be a certain amount, which might not make sense for your family.  Before you purchase from Restaurants.com check and see if there is a coupon code available because a lot of times there will be.

3.  Connect your credit card to a dining program

Most airline and hotel loyalty programs having dining programs.  All you need to do is sign up and sync your credit or debit card to your account.  Every time you eat at a participating restaurant you will earn bonus loyalty points or miles.

Right now American Airlines and US Airways are offering 2,000 bonus miles when you sign up for their dining program and make a visit to a participating restaurant within 30 days.  Delta Airlines is a little more lucrative because they will give you 2,500 miles after your first dining trip.

Both American Airlines and US Airways offers three points per $1 spent and Delta offers up to five points per $1 spent.

4. Credit card rewards

If you don't use your credit card when you go out to eat then you really need to start.  There are quite a few cards that offer bonus rewards when you dine at restaurants.  It's a great way to rack up your rewards even faster.  Here is a list of some of my favorite credit cards that offer bonus dining points.

  • Chase Sapphire Preferred - You will earn 2x points on travel and dining.  Every first Friday of the month you can earn 3x at restaurants.
  • IHG Rewards Card - You will earn 2x points on purchases at gas stations, restaurants and grocery stores.
  • US Bank Flex Perks Rewards Card -  With this US Bank card you will earn 2x points on cell phone bills, restaurants, airlines, gas and groceries.
  • Discover It - During the second quarter of 2015 (April through June) you will receive 5% cash back at movie theaters and restaurants.
  • BarclayCard Arrival - With the Arrival Plus card you will earn 2x points on all purchases.  With the no annual fee Arrival card you will earn 2x points on travel and dining.
  • Chase Freedom - During the second quarter of 2015 (April through June) You will receive 5% cash back on up to $1,500 at restaurants.
  • Citi ThankYou Premier - You will earn 3x points at restaurants.
  • Hilton HHonors Surpass - This version of the Hilton card will give you six HHonors points at restaurants.

The next time you are planning a night out make sure you grab a deal from Groupon,LivingSocial or Restaurants.com and book your reservation on OpenTable.com.  And don't forget to use the best credit card in your wallet for earning bonus points at restaurants.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.
editor@csmonitor.com
Subscribe
Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Subscribe to insightful journalism

QR Code to Foodie on a budget? Four ways to maximize restaurant discounts.
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Saving-Money/2015/0219/Foodie-on-a-budget-Four-ways-to-maximize-restaurant-discounts
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe