When a rewards credit card offers you a spending bonus for travel or dining expenses, it might not mean what you think it does. Each card issuer applies different criteria to charges that will qualify for these bonuses, and you might not receive the bonus rewards you expected.
In this guide, we'll take a closer look at which travel rewards credit cards offer bonuses for travel and dining purchases and, more importantly, which expenses will qualify for those extra points and miles. Then, we'll offer some tips and tricks to help you maximize your rewards.
Many popular Amex cards that earn Membership Rewards points offer bonuses on different kinds of travel purchases.
Among the most popular is The Platinum Card® from American Express, which offers:
The American Express® Gold Card offers:
The American Express® Green Card offers the broadest perk here, as it earns 3 points per dollar on the following travel purchases (including transit):
The information for the Amex Green Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
When it comes to restaurants, several American Express cards do offer bonuses, but some of the cards only offer the bonus at eligible restaurants. In these cases, the following are excluded:
In addition, a purchase may not qualify for additional points if the merchant submits the purchase using a mobile or wireless card reader or if you use a mobile or digital wallet.
Amex cards that offer bonuses for each dollar of eligible purchases at restaurants include:
Related: Why the Amex Gold is the perfect 'in-between' card
Thankfully, Barclays defines dining expenses simply as charges from restaurants and fast food establishments, with no apparent exclusions.
These Barclays-issued cards offer bonuses on dining:
The information for the Frontier, JetBlue Plus and Hawaiian Airlines cards has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
The Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card offers 1.5 points per dollar on all purchases, and points can be redeemed for statement credits toward travel expenses. Fortunately, Bank of America goes to great lengths to define travel, even disclosing the actual merchant codes that qualify.
The Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card offers you 2 points per dollar on travel and dining and 1.5 points per dollar on all other purchases.
Dining includes:
Travel includes:
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card offers 2 miles per dollar on purchases, and the no-annual-fee Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card offers 1.25 miles per dollar spent. These miles are worth one cent apiece as statement credits toward travel expenses.
Capital One defines travel expenses as purchases made from:
The Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card offers you 4% cash back on dining, entertainment, and popular streaming services, and the Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card offers 3% cash back on dining, entertainment, popular streaming services and at grocery stores (excluding superstores like Walmart and Target).
Capital One defines qualifying dining purchases as those from:
The information for the Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Related: Best ways to maximize Capital One miles
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers 2 points per dollar on all travel and 3 points per dollar on dining expenses, and the Chase Sapphire Reserve® offers 3 points per dollar for travel and dining.
Merchants in the travel category (by Chase's definition) include and exclude the following:
Qualifying merchants | Ineligible merchants |
---|---|
Airlines Buses Campgrounds Car rental agencies Cruise lines Discount travel sites Ferries Hotels Limousines Motels Parking lots and garages Passenger trains Taxis Timeshares Toll bridges and highways Travel agencies | Educational merchants arranging travel Inflight goods and services Onboard cruise line goods and services Sightseeing activities Excursions Tourist attractions Merchants within hotels and airports Merchants that rent vehicles for the purpose of hauling Gift card merchants |
For Chase, the dining category includes "merchants whose primary business is sit-down or eat-in dining, including fast food restaurants as well as fine-dining establishments." Chase adds that "some merchants that sell food and drinks located within larger merchants such as sports stadiums, hotels and casinos, theme parks, and department stores may not be included in this category."
Below are some of the other Chase credit cards that offer bonuses for dining or travel:
Related: Sweet spots: The best ways to use Chase Ultimate Rewards points
Cards in the Citi ThankYou Rewards program offer some bonuses for travel and dining. The Citi Premier® Card (see rates and fees) offers 3 points per dollar on airfare, hotels, gas stations, restaurants and supermarkets, and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases.
Dining qualifying purchases and exclusions include:
Qualifying purchases | Exclusions |
---|---|
Cafes Bars Lounges Fast food restaurants | Bakeries Caterers Restaurants/cafes inside another business Third-party dining delivery services |
Other Citi credit cards that offer dining bonuses include:
The information for the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite credit card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
The Discover it Miles card earns 1.5 miles per dollar on all purchases and allows you to redeem rewards for travel purchases. Discover includes airline tickets, hotel rooms, car rentals, travel agents, online travel sites, commuter transportation, restaurants and gas stations as travel purchases. Nevertheless, any restrictions are moot, as you can redeem your miles for cash anyway.
The information for the Discover it Miles credit card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Many banks will exclude purchases from warehouse stores from eligibility for bonus rewards. These stores negotiate steep discounts on the fees that card issuers charge, and the banks really don't want to offer additional rewards when they're already making less money from these transactions.
In some cases, purchases from travel agents are considered travel, while in others, they're not. For example, most card issuers will classify charges from travel agents as travel; however, some cards only award bonus points on travel that's specifically categorized as flights purchased from the airline or the issuer travel portal. Be sure to know your card's stated policy before purchasing from an online travel agency.
If you have what you considered an eligible expense that didn't earn a bonus or wasn't eligible for rewards redemption, consider contacting the card issuer and asking for an exception. This won't work every time, but the credit card industry is intensely competitive, and banks have good reason to resolve these issues in your favor.
American Express excludes foreign transactions from many bonus categories it offers. While other card issuers are less explicit about it, foreign transactions are also more likely to be incorrectly categorized. As a result, if you have major travel or dining expenses during a trip abroad, be sure to double-check that they have been properly credited when you return. And, of course, be sure to swipe a card with no foreign transaction fees to avoid being hit with the one-two punch of lower rewards and added fees for the purchase.
It's good practice to review a credit card's bonus-earning categories and see which purchases are eligible to earn bonus points versus which purchases are not included. Based on your spending habits, some credit cards and their strict definition of travel and dining purchases may not allow you to maximize your point-earning potential. Keeping a diverse mix of credit cards in your wallet is a good idea to overcome any restrictive purchase classifications.
Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.