6 Ways to Save Big on Dining: Find Faves, Get Points + Cashback With Every Visit
Eating out is probably my biggest weakness. I give myself a couple of things to spend relentlessly on. And beyond that, I save like a madman.
My 2 things are: eating out and travel. I do well stocking up at Costco and cooking at home most nights. But my god if a good happy hour deal doesn’t get me.
I pay pennies on the dollar when I travel. Dining is easy, too. By enrolling my cards once and having a few go-to places, I get discounts close to 20% off in the form of points, miles, and cashback – and the savings add up!
I love happy hours at this cantina. Plus, I get points, miles, and cashback every time I visit
It’s not hard. Here’s how to do it.
Dining programs + cashback app + points card = big dining discounts
There are 3 main pieces of this delicious puzzle.
1. Mileage dining rewards
If you haven’t already enrolled in a dining rewards program to earn miles when you eat at participating restaurants, what are you waiting for? They’re completely free to join.
Get 1,000 Alaska miles when you join their dining program and eat out this month
You can choose to earn miles with the most popular airlines. And they usually have one-time bonuses when you sign up:
Alaska Air Mileage Plan
American AAdvantage
Delta SkyMiles
Southwest Rapid Rewards
United MileagePlus
All you have to do is enter your cards and frequent flyer number. And when you eat at a restaurant in the network, you’ll get bonus miles sent to your loyalty account.
I eat at all of these places
There are lots of popular restaurants on the list for my area. Places I already go to anyway.
Plus, I love earning bonus miles for eating at a place I didn’t even know was on the list. That happens a lot when I travel.
You earn 3 miles per $1 when you join. And when you dine more than 10 times in a year, you’re a “VIP” and earn 5 miles per $1. There is no minimum you have to spend. So if you go to a bar and order 3 drinks and close out each time, that counts as 3 visits.
And when you have a $100 dinner, you’ll earn 500 miles. I value my miles at 2 cents each, so 500 miles is worth $10 to me – or a 10% discount toward future travel.
Regardless of how you value your miles, these programs are free to join. And you only have to plug in your cards one time.
2. Dosh
Link: Download Dosh
Even cooler, you can double dip with cashback! Many of the same restaurants also earn rewards when you plug the same cards into the Dosh app.
Many of the same places are on the Dosh app and earn cashback
So if a restaurant is part of dining rewards AND on the Dosh app, you can earn 5 miles per $1, and also get cashback – usually 5%, but sometimes more or less.
Again, you just have to add your cards one time. You can withdraw the cash to your bank or PayPal account once you reach the $25 mark. So it’s literally free cash in your wallet. Plus, you get $5 when you sign-up with my link and add your first card. 
