On the heels of IHG’s generous dining promotion comes a nice one from United. If you are a cardholder or an elite member, you can get a little bit more but everyone can still pick up at least a couple of thousand United miles by having a meal out.
Earn Up To 7,000 United Miles By Dining
United loaded a new promotion last week and it is a pretty good one. If you are not into the dining for points yet, this is a good time to jump in. It is very basic and works like this:
- you sign up for the program (no cost)
- you register your credit cards (any credit cards)
- you eat out and earn miles (at restaurants that are in the program and can be found at the website)
To get the full 7,000 United miles, you will need to be an elite member or have a United credit card. Here is how the miles are earned:
- Get 2,000 United miles for signing up, spending at least $30 at a participating restaurant, and filling out a review within the first 30 days of signing up (1,000 miles for non-elite members or non-United credit cardholders)
- Get an additional 1,000 miles for spending $100 at restaurants
- Get an additional 1,500 miles for spending $250 at restaurants
- Get an additional 2,500 miles for spending $500 at restaurants
Those are cumulative spending numbers so spending $500 at restaurants within 60 days will earn elites/cardholders 7,000 United miles and non-elite/non-cardholders 6,000 United miles. Sure, the eating spend is a little high for the occasional diner, but if you have business meals or family get togethers, just be the one offering to put it on your card and split up the tab later!
You must register a dining profile and that can be done here (for elite members/cardholders) or here (for non-elites/non-cardholders). Make sure you read the details at those links as well to be sure you know which restaurants are participating and if there is any fine print for those locations.
Charlie —
I enjoy reading your posts but I have to ask you this, especially since you are one of the more straightforward bloggers in the ‘net.
Why is it that you (and others) never put the proviso that the promotion is for new members to the dining program in the headline?
Is it because you want more ‘hits to your blog and putting same would discourage that?
After all, many if not most who read your and other blogs already know of the Rewards Network dining programs and have long ago signed up for them and therefore, are exempt from this so called bonus promotion — I know I am!
So, what really is the breaking news to all of this?
Thanks for the honest, straightforward question. To be honest, writing titles is the hardest thing for me. I try to make them as informative as possible without being heavy on details that are in the post. With these dining programs, I have newer readers that are not in the programs and it may be even more confusing to say “for new members” in the title if some readers aren’t sure as to members of what.
I am sorry that I did not make the title better. I will take your comment in mind for future posts so I can be more descriptive. Thanks for reading and caring enough to ask.
Thanks for the honest, straightforward response and now I now do know your dilemma!
Your reply demonstrates that unlike some of your other fellow bloggers that I have taken to task for patently deceptive headlines — Chase cards get …. when it was only the Chase SW card that received such and such bonus and could easily be further defined in the title, I do understand your issue and that is why I will continue to click on your blogs while generally avoiding those … unnamed … blogs.
I appreciate you taking the time to try to help this blog be better! I appreciate the comments and appreciate your readership!
Same frustration for the new member issue, but understand your dilemma with the title. But a question… once you’ve been a member, is there any way to discontinue so you could get the bonus again?
Good question! Ditto Kate’s question 🙂
I do not know if that is possible but will try to find out!
Actually this post is great since I never bothered to sign up for the dining programs before..and now is my chance.. DO you know how soon the points post from your experience? also, can the same credit card be used with united and lets say AA dining programs?
I can help you with that one. They generally post anywhere from 3 – 7 days on the Rewards Network sub site — that is the program that runs ALL the dining rewards programs, as well as others not affiliated with FF miles, e.g. the new Plenti program.
In answer to your other question, the ansswer is NO, unfortunately. It is truly one (1) card per program and you are essentially unable to register the same card to a new Rewards Network affiliated dining program once it has been entered into one of their subject programs.
In years past, when they actually had good rotating and ongoing bonuses for regular members — not just new members — one could delete a credit card from one program (so long as you had a back-up card in that dining program’s system as it would not let you delete yourself to no cards once registered) and then re-assign that credit card to the new dining program, but those days and bonuses are long, long gone.
Finally, in answer to the question as to whether you can actually delete your account and begin again, that might be possible but the time and effort, not to mention that it may not be permissible, is generally not worthwhile.
Remember also, working within the rules and gaming the system is OK in my book, but if you become too much of a nuisance or drain on a program, there may be repercussions.
Witness the moves to eliminate churners who don’t even pay an annual fee for the points they earn — IMHO, they are nothing more than pigs not worthy of any respect — and Rewards Network may take a similar view of trying to do this too often.
I have to qualify the above.
While only one credit card can be enrolled at any time in any one program, you can have multiple credit cards for each program, so long as you do not attempt to enroll the same card into another program. Hence, a AAdvantage dining program account could have both an AMEX and Visa card both enrolled into the same AAddvantage dining program account.
As to when the points actually post to your AAdvantage account, I think that 2 – 3 weeks is the maximum it has taken the points from my dine to making it into my United account, and sometime much quicker.
Great stuff, Horace. Thanks for helping out with this and being so detailed in your responses!
Horace, many thanks for your detailed response…