Best Credit Cards for Restaurant Spending (2019)
Make sure to read the tips and general advice in our Optimize Rewards by Using Different Cards for Different Purchases guide.
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Card suggestions
- If you want to keep it simple, stick with the Sapphire Reserve card. It earns 3x easy-to-use Ultimate Rewards points on restaurants (and travel), valued at 5.1 cents per dollar. After adjusting for the $300 automatic travel credit, the effective annual fee is $150. It also unlocks the ability to earn 1.5x Ultimate Rewards points on every day purchases with the Freedom or Ink Unlimited cards.
- You can get even more value from the Citi Prestige card. It earns 5x Thank You points on restaurants (and airfare), worth at least 7.5 cents per dollar. To get the most value from ThankYou points, you'll need to transfer them to frequent flyer programs and use them for award tickets. But, even if you just use them to purchase travel through Citi, 5 points are worth 5 cents per dollar (6.25 cents if you also have the Citi Premier card), which can be better than with the Sapphire Reserve. The drawback is the effective $245 annual fee (starting in September), which is a lot to pay for higher reward rates. But, if you spend at least $10,000 per year on restaurants, can take good advantage of the Prestige card's unique 4th night free benefit, or only need to pay a lower annual fee as a CitiGold customer, it can make sense to use this card, instead of the Sapphire Reserve, for restaurant and airfare purchases.
- If you have the Altitude Reserve card, and don't have one of these other card, you should use the Altitude Reserve whenever you can pay with your mobile wallet. The Altitude Reserve card earns 4.5%, but only on restaurants that accept Apple Pay and other mobile wallet payments. This is higher reward rate than you can get from any other card. But, you won't be able to use it on all of your restaurant purchases.
- If you can deal with some extra complexity, the Wells Fargo "Combo" is your next best option. It earns 4.5% on dining, without any annual fees. The trick is that you need to have two different Wells Fargo cards. And because you can only get one Wells Fargo card every 15 months, it will take some time to put this plan into action. The Wells Fargo Propel card earns 3x points on Restaurant (and Travel, Gas, and Streaming Services). Normally these points are only worth 1 cent each. But, if you also have the Wells Fargo Visa Signature card, you can redeem points at 1.5 cents each, for airfare purchases through the Wells Fargo portal. That works out to 4.5 cents per dollar.
- Otherwise, the Uber Visa card is your best option. It earns 4% back on dining, and has no annual fee.
Alternatively, you can forgo the Sapphire Unlimited combo altogether, use the Citi Prestige card for restaurants, airfare, and hotels, and use the Double Cash card as you general purpose reward card.
if you are planning to get the Amex Gold Card for purchasing supermarket gift cards and you aren't otherwise interested in the Citi Prestige card, or you simply don't want to start to collect ThankYou points, you might settle for its 4x Membership Rewards points on Restaurants. However, keep in mind that many restaurants, especially outside of the United States, won't accept Amex cards.
Quick comparison
The point values used in the table below are estimates based on a typical traveler. They may need to be adjusted for your individual preferences and travel patterns. For example, if you highly value premium cabin award tickets and are willing and able to build up large point balances, Ultimate Rewards, Membership Rewards, and ThankYou points are much more valuable and you should earn as many of those types of points as you can. If you have trouble finding good frequent flyer redemptions, you might want to focus on cards that earn points that can be used more like cash. Deciding What Type of Points to Earn
The annual costs in the table below reflect the annual fee minus any travel credits. For travel credits that are harder to redeem, we value the credit at 50% of the maximum credit amount. We value the Amex Airlines Incidental Credit at only 25% of the maximum credit amount. If you are willing to do the work or are otherwise able to get full value from these credits, the effective annual fee can be considerably lower.
Some cards waive the annual fee for the first year. But the table focuses on what you would pay in the longer term.
| Card | Value | Earns | Annual Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citi Prestige | 7.5% | 5x TY | $245‡ |
| Amex Gold | 6% | 4x MR | $30-250 |
| Amex Business Gold Rewards Card (if it is one of your two bonus categories) |
6% | 4x MR | $295 |
| Sapphire Reserve Card | 5.1% | 3x UR | $150 |
| Wells Fargo Propel Card (with Wells Fargo Visa Signature) |
4.5% | 3x GoFar | $0 |
| US Bank Altitude Reserve (on mobile wallet purchases only) |
4.5% | 3x | $75 |
| US Bank Flexperks Gold | 4.5% | 3x FP | $85 |
| Amex Green Card | 4.5% | 3x MR | $150 |
| Uber | 4% | 4% | $0 |
| Capital One Savor Card | 4% | 4% | $95 |
| CNB Crystal Infinite* | 3.6% | 3x | $150 |
| BOA Premium Rewards | 2-3.5%† | 2-3.5x | $45 |
| Ink Cash (business card) | 3.4% | 2x UR | $0 |
| Chase Sapphire Preferred | 3.4% | 2x UR | $95 |
| Hyatt Card | 3.4% | 2x | $75 |
| Morgan Stanley* (for Morgan Stanley customers only) |
3% | 2x MR | $0 |
| Capital One SaverOne Card | 3% | 3% | $0 |
| Costco / Sam's Club Credit Card | 3% | 3% | $0 |
| AARP | 3% | 3% | $0 |
| Citi Premier | 3% | 2x TY | $95 |
| Hilton Surpass | 2.7% | 6x | $75 |
* Cardholders with more than $20,000 in combined balances at BOA / Merrill Lynch earn bonus rewards, maxing out at 3.5 points, or 5.25 cents on travel purchases.
† Bonus rewards on US Restaurants only.
‡ Citigold customers get an effective annual fee of $100.
Supercharge your dining rewards with a credit card dining program
By taking advantage of credit card based dining programs, you can earn even more points from using your credit card at some restaurants. You simply register your card with the dining program, and you’ll earn extra points each time you use it at a participating restaurant. Earn Extra Rewards by Enrolling in Credit Card Dining Programs
