More Ways to Earn Points
Dining Programs
Most airlines and even some hotel programs have dining programs you can earn additional miles and points
You can also often earn a few thousand bonus miles when you first sign up for these programs.
Most work by linking a certain credit card to the program and you will automatically earn points on dining purchases.
It can be well worth signing up if you dine out frequently.
One key thing thing to understand
Almost all of these programs are run by the same company — Rewards Network — and only one card can only be linked to one program at a time.
If your card is linked to the American Airlines dining program and you then link that same card to the United program, it will be dropped from the American program. You cannot earn points in 2 programs. You earn once, with whichever program you linked most recently.
What this means practically:
- Pick one program to focus on, based on which currency you actually want to earn.
- Grab the signup bonuses across several programs over time. A lot of programs offer 1,000+ miles for joining the dining program. You can join one, earn the bonus, and later move your card to a different program when it's running an increased offer.
- Your spouse or partner can join the same programs separately with their own loyalty accounts, doubling the signup bonuses your household earns.
- Pay with a card that already earns well on dining The dining program rewards stack on top of whatever your credit card earns. A card earning 3x or 4x on restaurants plus a dining program earning 5x means you're getting both on the same meal.
