Eating out can be expensive, but luckily it's a popular bonus category for rewards credit cards.
- According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average American family spends about $3,424 on dining out each year.
- No matter how much you spend on food away from home, you can maximize those purchases with a card that earns bonus points or cash back on dining, like the Chase Sapphire Reserve, American Express® Gold Card, or the Capital One® Savor® Cash Rewards Credit Card.
- Here's how much you could earn from a year of dining out using the $3,424 figure. If you spend more, you could earn even bigger rewards.
There's plenty to like about dining out: trying new foods, hanging out with friends and family in a fun atmosphere, and most of all, not having to worry about doing the dishes.
Still, all that fun isn't cheap. The average American family spent $3,424 per year from 2017-2018 on "food away from home," according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
One way you can minimize the hit to your wallet is by using credit cards that offer higher rewards rates on dining out. There's no shortage of credit cards out there with higher bonuses on restaurant purchases, but some are better than others. Here's what you can expect to earn from a year of eating out with some of the best cards for dining purchases.
Keep in mind that we're focusing on the rewards and perks that make these credit cards great options, not things like interest rates and late fees, which can far outweigh the value of any rewards.
When you're working to earn credit card rewards, it's important to practice financial discipline, like paying your balances off in full each month, making payments on time, and not spending more than you can afford to pay back. Basically, treat your credit card like a debit card.
Read more: The best credit cards for earning rewards on dining out, no matter how much you spend
Chase Sapphire Reserve: 10,272 Ultimate Rewards points
Points on dining: 3x Ultimate Rewards points
Annual fee: $450
At first glance, the Chase Sapphire Reserve doesn't look like it'd be worth its high price tag. But if you enjoy traveling as well as dining out, this is one card that should be on your radar, because it can lower the cost of both activities.
You'll get a $300
Read more: Chase Sapphire Reserve review
One of the neat things about the Chase Sapphire Reserve card (as opposed to any of the other Chase cards that earn Ultimate Rewards points) is that your points are worth 1.5 cents apiece when redeemed for travel purchases through the Ultimate Rewards portal.
This means that 10,272 points are worth $154.08 toward travel, which just edges out the cost of the card if you also take advantage of the $300 travel credit. Thus, you're essentially using your dining purchases to fund the annual fee of this card, and anything else you spend on dining and travel will only earn you more valuable Ultimate Rewards points.
Click here to learn more about the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
American Express Gold Card: 13,696 Membership Rewards points
Points on dining: 4x Membership Rewards points at restaurants worldwide
Annual fee: $250
If the high price tag of the Chase Sapphire Reserve scares you and you're more of a homebody than a jetsetter anyway, the American Express Gold card might be a better option.
This card features 4 points per dollar spent on dining out and at US supermarkets, although 4x on US supermarket purchases is limited to the first $25,000 you spend per year, then it's 1 point per dollar (still a tough bar for most of us to reach).
Read more: American Express Gold card review
Amex's Membership Rewards points are valued at roughly 2 cents each when redeemed toward travel, meaning that the average American family would earn up to $273.92 (or 13,696 points) just from dining out alone. This card also comes with a valuable $120 dining credit per year at certain outlets such as Ruth's Chris Steak House, Boxed, Grubhub, and The Cheesecake Factory. Note, though, that this credit is rationed out to just $10 per month.
That's more than enough to offset the cost of the annual fee for this card, and besides, you'd still earn even more from your grocery purchases.
Click here to learn more about the Amex Gold card.
Capital One Savor Card: $136.96 in cash back
Cash back on dining: 4% back
Annual fee: $0 for the first year, then $95
If straight-up cash back is more your style and you don't mind opening several cards with bonuses in different categories, you should strongly consider the Capital One Savor card.
This card offers 4% cash back on dining purchases, which would translate into $136.96 in cash back for the average American family. That's more than enough to cover the $95 annual fee that Capital One starts charging in the second year.
This card is also especially valuable if you tend to spend more money on entertainment as well, because the 4% cash back also applies to this category, and you'll get 2% back at grocery stores. Alas, everything else only earns a measly 1% cash back, so we'd recommend supplementing this card with another card that offers a higher all-around cash back rate as a sort of catch-all for other purchases.
Read more: The best cash-back credit cards
Click here to learn more about the Capital One Savor card.
Uber Visa Credit Card: $136.96 with no annual fee
Cash back on dining: 4% back
Annual fee: $0
Don't let the name of this card fool you. The Uber Visa card offers tremendous value for foodies, especially frugal foodies who don't want to pay an annual fee.
Not having to pay an annual fee is particularly salient. If you pay off your card in full and on time each month (as you should with any credit card), you won't have to pay any fees or interest at all for this card, meaning any rewards you earn are totally free. At a spend level of $3,424, you'd earn $136.96, and since you don't have to pay an annual fee, that's all cash you can keep in your pocket.
The Uber Visa card offers higher cash-back rates for other purchases, too: 3% cash back on specific travel purchases including hotels, airfare, and vacation rental homes, and 2% cash back on online purchases, including Uber. This means that strangely enough, the Uber Visa card offers a higher cash-back rate on dining than it does on Uber itself - but hey, we'll take it.
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Please note: While the offers mentioned above are accurate at the time of publication, they're subject to change at any time and may have changed, or may no longer be available.