iDine Review & Giveaway: Money Back for Eating Out

One of my biggest discretionary spending is eating out. I love trying new places to eat and not cleaning up after a meal, so over the years have funneled thousands of dollars to bistros, cafes, restaurants, and creperies. Imagine my delight when the folks from iDine contacted me and told me about a program where I can earn up to 15% money back on what I spend at restaurants. In exchange for my review, I will receive a $50 American Express gift card and will get a $20 gift card to give away to one lucky (and hopefully hungry!) reader.

What is iDine?

iDine is a rewards network where you can earn money back for eating out at participating restaurants. Once your benefits hit $20, you get an American Express gift card. What sets this network apart from others is that there are no additional cards, coupons, or certificates needed. In fact, the server and dining companions won’t even know you are part of a “discount” program.

How Much Do You Earn?

If you spend $1-$250 in a year, you receive 5% back in the form of an American Express gift card.
For spending between $251-$750, you receive 10% back.
For spending over $750+, you receive 15% back.

For more details, check out the membership chart.

How to get the American Express gift cards:

You have to sign up and opt in to marketing emails from the network.
You also have to put in at least one credit card into the system because that is how iDine track spending. You can add up to 5 credit cards.
iDine has a list of restaurants that participate in the program, of course to receive credit for dining, you need to go to one of the participating establishments.
Finally, you will need to finish a survey within 30 days of your dining out experience.

My experience with iDine

I signed up the Last weekend CB and I went to The Bottle Room in Whittier, CA, after we visited a friend. The restaurant has a cool lounge vibe, and the food (we got a burger and a flatbread pizza) were good as well. This was a restaurant I had wanted to try out.

I was pleasantly surprised at how many restaurants were in nearby neighborhoods, many restaurants we’ve already been to and several more we were thinking of going. We spent around $40 for dinner, which means we would earn $2 in cash back. It doesn’t seem like a big amount, but we probably spend ~$4,000 a year eating out. Even if half of that spending is at iDine restaurants, over the course of a year we would get over $200 back in American Express gift cards.

To enter the $20 American Express iDine giveaway:

Sign up for iDine and leave a comment telling me you’ve done so
Leave a comment telling me what restaurant you’d like to try
Tweet: Win $20 iDine AmEx Gift Card @WellHeeledBlog http://tinyurl.com/3zrw7go

Each entry will be 1 point, so everyone can enter a total of three times. The contest will end at Sunday November 6 at 12pm midnight PST. Good luck!

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