Best Dining Rewards Credit Cards: Life Is Too Short To Eat Bad Food

If you're a foodie like I am, you want the best dining rewards credit cards to rack up a bunch of rewards points. Because my wife and I have lived in New York City and San Francisco since 1999, we've been spoiled by the greatest food America has to offer.

My favorite dining rewards credit card is the Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card because it offers 3% cash back on all dining and entertainment expenses and 2% cash back on groceries. The Savor card is customized specifically for those who love to eat out.

Best Dining Rewards Credit Cards

Food brings us together. And going out to eat with friends, family, and relatives is one of the best way to build great relationships.

If you have the means, you should always try to pay the bill as well. Life is too short to split the check multiple ways!

If you're constantly taking clients out to eat, having a dining rewards card is great as well. However, you might want to consider a business rewards credit card like the Chase Business Ink Unlimited to keep your business expenses and personal expenses separate. It's much easier for book keeping.

Here are the best dining rewards credit cards today. I've spent dozens of hours reviewing hundreds of credit cards to come up with these top picks.

The Best Dining Rewards Credit Cards

As a financially savvy person, you don't have time to cook your own food. As a result, you eat out.

1) Capital One SavorOne Cash Back Rewards

Here are the reasons why we us the Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card every time we go out:

  • Dining (3% cash back): includes purchases at restaurants, cafés, bars, lounges, fast-food chains and bakeries.
  • Entertainment (3% cash back): includes tickets purchased for movies, plays, concerts, sporting events, tourist attractions, theme parks, aquariums, zoos, dance clubs, pool halls or bowling alleys. It also includes purchases at record stores and video rental locations. However, you won’t get the bonus rate on cable, digital streaming and subscription services.
  • Groceries (2% cash back): includes purchases at grocery stores, dairy product stores and specialty markets. Purchases at superstores like Walmart and Target, however, will earn 1% cash back — even if it’s for groceries.

Great Introductory Early Spend Bonus

Once you successfully apply for the card, you can earn a one-time $200 cash bonus after you spend $500 on purchases within the first three months of opening your card. That’s a huge 40% cash back!

Capital-One-SavorOne-Rewards-Credit-Card

It’s Easy To Redeem Your Rewards

Unlike some other credit cards, your rewards don’t expire so long as your Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card account remains open. Therefore, you never need to stress about forgetting to use your rewards points. You can use them whenever it’s convenient for you.

In addition, you can redeem cash back in any dollar amount as statement credits; checks; or as gift cards for restaurants, retailers and hotel chains. As a responsible credit card user, never carry a balance and always pay on time. Using your cash back as statement credit is the most responsible thing to do and it’s easy.

If you don’t use your cash back for statement credits, then your rewards might sometimes go farther if you redeem cash back for other items and gift cards. You just have to be on the lookout for other opportunities.

Other Features Of The Capital One SavorOne Rewards Credit Card

  • Earn unlimited cash back rewards that won’t expire as long as your account is active.
  • Rewards are simple and automatic. There aren’t any rotating categories or sign-ups to worry about.
  • Enjoy no foreign transaction fees when you travel.
  • As a cardmember, you get access to premium experiences in entertainment, dining, and even more.
  • Enjoy no annual fee
  • 0% APR for the first 15 months

2) Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card

CapitalOne Quicksilver Credit Card Review

Capital One Quicksilver is one of my favorite cash back rewards credit card because it gives you some of the best rewards points and a great amount of protection when traveling internationally.

Capital One Quicksilver offers unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase versus the standard 1% cash back on most cash back rewards credit cards. It's nice to get 1.5% cash back on every category, not just food and dining.

If you are budget conscience and don't like to pay any annual fee, the Capital One Quicksilver with $0 annual fee is great.

Here are the latest features of the Capital One Quicksilver offer.

  • Current Offer: 0% introductory APR on purchases for the first 15 months from account opening
  • Welcome Bonus: $200 cash bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in the first 3 months.
  • Annual Fee: $0.
  • Peace of Mind Features: Enjoy earning 1.5% unlimited cash back on every single qualifying purchase, with no expiration in sight. For example, if you spend $6,000 booking flights and hotels to Hawaii with your family, you get a nice $90 back that can be used for entertainment, food, or paying down your credit card bill.

3) Chase Freedom Unlimited

Chase Freedom Unlimited

If you’re looking for a flexible cash back rewards credit card that isn’t complex, this is it. The Chase Freedom Unlimited credit card offers great flat rate rewards just like the Quicksilver card.

The 1.5% unlimited cash back rewards percentage is above average, plus the card comes with an introductory $200 bonus offering.

Key Benefits

  • Earn a $200 bonus after spending $500 in the first 3 months after you open an account
  • Get unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases
  • Introductory 0% APR for first 15 months on purchases
  • No annual fee
  • Redeem cash back with no minimums

Use A Dining Rewards Credit Card For Every Meal

Best dining rewards credit cards

Using one or two of these dining rewards credit cards is the best way to accumulate points to get you lots of freebies.

Let's say you spend $36,000 a year on eating out and entertainment. Depending on which card you get, you'll receive 54,000 – 144,000 rewards points. Those points are worth ~$540 – $2,880, depending on what you redeem them for and whether there are any specials going on in the points store.

Perks Of The Best Dining Rewards Credit Cards

Being able to fly roundtrip to Hawaii, our favorite place on Earth, for two each year is one of the best perks of owning a dining rewards credit card. Being able to also buy a new laptop or phone with my rewards points is also great.

You can't go wrong with any of the above rewards credit cards. I personally use the Chase Freedom Unlimited and the SavorOne card for most of my personal and dining expenses. But the Quicksilver card is also great.

Just make sure you pay your bill on time each month to not incur any financing charges. Make credit cards work for you, not the other way around!

Pay Off Your Debt Faster With A Personal Loan

If you don’t have enough cash, getting a personal loan from Credible is a good place to start. If you have expensive credit card debt, consider consolidating your debt into a lower interest-rate personal loan.

Credible has the most comprehensive marketplace for personal loans. Lenders compete for your business so you can get the best rate. Get personalized prequalified personal loan rates in just two minutes after you fill out an application.

Prequalified rates are based on the information you provide and a soft credit inquiry. Receiving prequalified rates does not guarantee that the Lender will extend you an offer of credit. You are not yet approved for a loan or a specific rate. All credit decisions, including loan approval, if any, are determined by Lenders, in their sole discretion. Rates and terms are subject to change without notice. Rates from Lenders may differ from prequalified rates due to factors which may include, but are not limited to: (i) changes in your personal credit circumstances; (ii) additional information in your hard credit pull and/or additional information you provide (or are unable to provide) to the Lender during the underwriting process; and/or (iii) changes in APRs (e.g., an increase in the rate index between the time of prequalification and the time of application or loan closing. (Or, if the loan option is a variable rate loan, then the interest rate index used to set the APR is subject to increases or decreases at any time). Lenders reserve the right to change or withdraw the prequalified rates at any time.

About the Author

Sam worked in investment banking for 13 years at Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse. He received his undergraduate degree in Economics from The College of William & Mary and got his MBA from UC Berkeley. In 2012, Sam was able to retire at the age of 34 largely due to his investments that now generate roughly $350,000 a year in passive income.

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Disclosure: Credible Operations, Inc. NMLS# 1681276, “Credible.” Not available in all states. www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org.

Disclosure: Credit card terms and features are subject to change.