There are many ways to earn points and miles, from the obvious (like flying or spending with a credit card) to the lesser known (like online shopping portal). One of my favorite ways to “double up” and earn more bonuses on purchases I plan to make is to sign up for an airline. food rewards program.
Almost every airline has a dining rewards program that allows members to earn miles when they sign up for a credit card and use them when dining at participating restaurants. It’s a low-effort way to score extra points when dining out rewards earned from your credit card.
Today, we’re going to look at everything you need to know to maximize American Airlines AAdvantage Food program.
Overview of AAdvantage Dining
One of the best things about AAdvantage Dining is that you can set it up and forget it (and reap bonus miles whenever you eat at a participating restaurant). Go aadvantagedining.com to register and link your credit card to your AAdvantage account.
Even better, the miles you earn while dining are counted as base miles. This means they counted as Loyalty Pointscan help you get closer to American Airlines Elite Status. The elite year ends on February 28, so you still have a few weeks to dine and your Loyalty Points count towards the current five statuses. Just be aware that miles can sometimes take six to eight weeks to post to your AAdvantage account, so there’s no guarantee they’ll post in time.
Related: 6 quick and easy ways to earn Loyalty Points before the end of America’s elite year
You’ll only earn miles for dining at participating restaurants and paying with the associated card, but participating restaurants can be easily found on the AAdvantage Dining website. You can search for specific restaurants by name, but I find it easier to enter the zip code and scroll through the list of nearby options.
You can link as many cards as you want to your AAdvantage Dining account, but you can only Associate each card with an airline’s dining program. In other words, you can’t link your restaurant pass to either United MileagePlus Dining program and program AAdvantage Dining.
Joining AAdvantage Dining is free and your membership will continue to work as long as you have at least one qualifying dining experience every 36 months.
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Related: How to redeem miles with American Airlines AAdvantage
AAdvantage Eating and drinking income ratio
There are three different membership tiers in the AAdvantage Dining program:
- Basic members: Earn 1 mile for every dollar spent if you choose not to receive email communications from AAdvantage Dining.
- Select member: Earn 3 miles for every dollar spent if you choose to receive email communications from AAdvantage Dining.
- VIP members: Earn 5 miles for every dollar spent if you choose to receive email communications from AAdvantage Dining and have completed 11 qualifying transactions in the current or previous calendar year (members begin earning at VIP level in their 12th qualifying transaction).
These earnings levels are unrelated to your American Airlines elite status. Therefore, having higher AAdvantage elite status will not earn you more miles in the AAdvantage Dining program.
Miles will appear in your AAdvantage Dining account as soon as the restaurant completes the transaction — usually within five days — and will be deposited into your primary AAdvantage account within one to two weeks of the transaction. .
Related: How to earn bonus miles through the AAdvantage shopping portal
Which card to use?
Depending on your status in the AAdvantage Dining program, you’ll earn between 1 and 5 miles for every dollar spent at eligible restaurants. The good news is that these AAdvantage miles are in addition to any card rewards you earn with purchases. The restaurant you’re dining at will still process your transaction, so you’ll want to choose a card with a great bonus catalog to dine in. Some popular choices include:
Or, you might consider using Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® if you just focus on earn American Airlines miles. This card offers 2 miles for every dollar spent at restaurants, representing a lower return than other options on this list.
If you have multiple cards that you frequently use when dining out, you’ll want to make sure you link them all to your AAdvantage Dining account so you don’t have any problems when it comes time to pay your bill. single. I regularly switch between my Amex Gold and Chase Sapphire Reserve (depending on whether I’m more interested in earn member rewards or Final bonus points), so I linked both cards to my account.
bottom line
Whether you sign up with American Airlines or another carrier, airline dining rewards programs offer a great opportunity to double dip and earn more miles when eating out. If you eat out often and a restaurant you frequent is one of the approved partners, then you can easily win VIP status and significantly increase your earning rate.
The AAdvantage Dining program is also great for earning elite status, as the miles earned from dining count as Loyalty Points. So, if you’re planning a business event or business meal, consider choosing a restaurant that participates in the AAdvantage Dining program so you can earn miles for a refund. mine.
Additional reporting by Ehsan Haque and Ryan Patterson.
