The Power Duo: Rewards Credit Cards And Restaurant Cash Back Apps
From delicious dinners out to casual lunches on the go, dining expenses can pile up for even occasional restaurant visitors.
One way to partially offset these bills when dining out is to strategically pair the right credit card with a complimentary restaurant cash back app. This unlocks a dynamic duo that can maximize rewards for every meal purchase.
This guide will break down how rewards credit cards and restaurant rebate apps can work hand in hand to put more cash back into your wallet simply without demanding unnecessary paperwork or participating in programs that will result in an overflowing mail inbox.
How Dining Credit Cards Work?
Dining credit cards allow users to accumulate points upon completing mealtime purchases. These points can be ultimately converted into cash that is deposited to the user’s accounts or applied towards the debt that the card holds at the time. Cards focused specifically on dining tend to offer the highest cash-back rates compared to their traditional peers.
New dining cardholders can also earn sign-up bonuses of like 50,000 points (valued at around $500) just for spending a specific minimum amount within the first few months of ownership to quickly amass an available balance.
Ongoing rewards like 5x points (5%) per dollar spent at restaurants and 3x (3%) points for supermarket dining gift cards help balances keep building up over time.
In addition, these credits may offer introductory promotions like 0% intro APRs for specific periods or payment flexibility when initially taking on dining splurges while meeting sign-up requirements.
Down the road, these accumulated points can be cashed out and may foot a significant portion of a consumer’s dining-out spending.
Integrating Credit Cards with Restaurant Cash Back Apps
While the ongoing rewards that dining credit cards provide can serve as the foundation for consumers seeking to save money on his/her visits to restaurants and other dining locations, specialized rebate apps can further maximize these earnings by essentially adding an additional stream of cash and loyalty incentives without necessarily making dramatic changes to their habits or dining preferences.
Users can link the same dining credit card across multiple rebate apps to stack earnings. The apps themselves provide bonus cash rewards on top of the credit card points they already get and may add another 5 to 10% cash-back reward. This compilation effect means that a single $100 dining purchase could net a $10 app rebate plus 500 credit card points. This results in a 15% cash-back reward earned almost instantly.
Dining rebate apps also incentivize first-time app usage and tend to offer referral bonuses to accumulate sign-up perks similar to initial credit card incentives that bolster point balances. By combining both methods and using them alongside, consumers can compound their dining rewards and make their splurges more affordable.
Strategically Using a Two-Punch Rebate Solution – Dining Credit Card and Apps
Consider a few best practices for effectively pairing dining credit cards with cash back apps:
Activate Ongoing Alerts: These reminders will keep users in the loop regarding time-sensitive bonuses and offers so they avoid missing out on special periodic promotions. In addition, they may warn the user regarding upcoming expiration dates for their unclaimed rewards.
Pay with Mobile to Expedite Rewards: Digital wallets like those offered by Apple, Google, and Samsung Pay can speed up rewards posting across both channels.
Evaluate Seasonal Offers: Holidays and seasons where restaurant spending tends to increase usually prompt apps and credit card issuers to offer limited bonuses that can be combined and leveraged to reduce your dining-out budget during these budget-heavy occasions.
Avoid Overspending in Response to Rewards
With so many dining rewards coming in from both credit cards and apps, the psychological response for some consumers may be to overspend under the mindset of “I’m getting cash back anyway”. To avoid this mental trap, maintain reasonable budgets for eating out and don’t let the potential for a reward drive unnecessary extra restaurant trips or inflated bills.
Maximize Genuine Purchases Rather Than Manufacturing Rewards
Let consistent app and card pairing elevate the amount earned on routine dining that would carry out even if no rewards programs applied to the purchase. Don’t force excessive dining to try to manufacture rebates.
Consumers should organically integrate these platforms into their existing spending patterns to truly benefit from their positive impact on their dining-out budget.
Bottom line
While initially signing up for dining credit cards and companion apps takes a bit of work and activation steps, maintaining this duo can be a lucrative activity as money can be earned on these everyday purchases. Paying with the designated card automatically unlocks compound rewards over time from both programs simultaneously.
Dining out just twice a month easily offsets any annual fee that the card may charge while steadily building available sign-up, referral, and cash back balances that eventually redeem towards tangible savings on restaurant bills can prove to be a rewarding endeavor.
The next time you go out to dinner, pair up this dynamic earning duo and start making some money while you eat your favorite juicy burger.
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