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A growing number of people are finding that their spending on eating out, takeouts, and food delivery services (like GrubHub and DoorDash) is increasing year on year, so it’s more important than ever to make sure that you’re using the right credit card when it comes time to pay.
A wide variety of cards offer bonuses or cashback for spending on dining, takeouts, and food delivery services, so I’ve pulled together a selection of five cards that I believe offer some of the best returns available on dining expenditure. With no-annual-fee cards sharing this list with ultra-Premium cards, there should be a card that fits most people’s wallets in this selection.
The cards
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- Chase Freedom Flex℠ credit card
- American Express® Gold Card
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® credit card
- US Bank Altitude® Go Visa Signature® Card
- Chase Sapphire Reserve® credit card
The Chase Freedom Flex℠ credit card
Annual Fee: $0 (zero)
The Welcome Offer:
- New cardholders will earn $200 (or 20,000 Ultimate Rewards Points) after they spend $500 on the Freedom Flex credit card in the first 3 months of opening their new account.
Earnings:
- 5% cash back (or 5 points/dollar) on up to $1,500 of spending in quarterly revolving categories in each quater you activate.
- 5% cash back (or 5 points/dollar) on travel purchased through Chase’s travel portal.
- 3% cash back (or 3 points/dollar) on dining (includes takeout and delivery)
- 3% cash back (or 3 points/dollar) on spending at drugstores
The Chase Freedom Flex℠ credit card earns 1% cash back (or 1 point/dollar) on spending in all other categories.
Why it’s great for dining, takeout & food delivery services
The 3% cashback that the Chase Freedom Flex℠ credit card earns on dining is a great return to be given by a no-annual-fee credit card, but for holders of one of the Chase Sapphire cards or the Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (review), it gets better.
If you hold one of the cards mentioned above, the cashback that the Chase Freedom Flex℠ credit card offers can be taken in the form of Ultimate Rewards Points which, in turn, can be transferred to a variety of airline and hotel loyalty programs where they can be used to extract considerably more value than the basic cashback that the card offers.
I value Ultimate Rewards Points at 1.5 cents each (based on the value I know I can easily get out of each point) and that means that as a holder of the Chase Freedom Flex℠ credit card, I could earn an effective rebate of 4.5% on dining and takeout spending…and that’s from a card that costs nothing to hold.
Good to know
The Chase Freedom Flex℠ credit card may be a no-annual-fee card but it comes with a surprising number of fantastic benefits.
Because the card is a ‘World Elite Mastercard’ it offers, among other things, Cell phone protection of up to $800 per claim and $1,000 per year (max 2 claims per year), monthly $10 Lyft credits after 5 rides are taken, $5 off movie tickets with Fandango for every 2 movie tickets purchased, trip cancellation/interruption insurance, 120-day purchase protection and extended warranty protection.
The American Express® Gold Card
Annual Fee: $250 (rates & fees)
Welcome Offer: Earn 60,000 Amex Membership Rewards Points after you spend $4,000 in the six months immediately following account opening (more info)
Based on the rate at which I can easily redeem Amex Membership Rewards points, I value them at 1.5 cents each which, to me, makes the welcome offer worth $900.
Note: The terms and conditions of this offer state that the welcome bonus is not available to applicants who hold or have previously held this card or the Premier Rewards Gold Card.
Earnings (terms apply):
- 4 points/dollar on dining
- 4 points/dollar at U.S Supermarkets (upon to $25,000 of spending/year*)
- 3 points/dollar on spending made directly with airlines or through Amex travel
- 1 point/dollar on all other eligible spending
*Any spending made above the $25,000 cap will only earn 1 point/dollar
Why it’s great for dining, takeout & food delivery services
With earnings as high as 4 points/dollar, the American Express® Gold Card offers one of the best returns on dining/takeout/food delivery services that you’ll find and, based on my valuation of 1.5 cents/point, this sees cardholders earn an effective rebate of 6% each time they use the card to eat out or order takeout.
The Gold Card offers a $10/month statement credit for spending at participating Shake Shack locations, the Cheesecake Factory, Grubhub, Seamless, participating Shake Shack locations, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Milk Bar (enrollment required).
The card also offers holders a $10/month Uber Cash Credit when they add their Gold Card to the Uber app which can be used towards Uber Eats and Uber rides spending made in the US (enrollment required).
Good to know
The American Express® Gold Card offers cardholders a $75 hotel credit on qualifying charges as well as a room upgrade upon check-in (when available) when they book a stay of at least two consecutive nights at a hotel in Amex’s Hotel Collection (enrollment required).
Find out more about the American Express® Gold Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® credit card
Annual Fee: $95
The Welcome Offer: Earn 80,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points after you spend $4,000 in the three months immediately following account opening (more info)
Ultimate Rewards Points can be redeemed for travel through the Chase travel portal at a value of 1.25 cents/point which makes the welcome offer worth at least $1,000.
Earnings:
- 5 points/dollar on Lyft rides through March 2025
- 5 points/dollar on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards*
- 3 points/dollar on dining worldwide
- 2 points/dollar on all travel that isn’t booked through Chase Ultimate rewards^
- 1 point/dollar for spending in all other categories
*Hotel purchases that qualify for the card’s $50 Anniversary Hotel Credit will not earn 5 points/dollar
^Chase’s “travel” category is very broad so you’ll earn 2 points per dollar on everything from airfare, rental cars, and hotel bookings through to car parking, tolls, and ride-sharing services.
Why it’s great for dining, takeout & food delivery services
As Chase Ultimate Rewards points earned by the Chase Sapphire Preferred® credit card are easily redeemable for 1.25 cents each, the 3 points/dollar that the card earns on dining worldwide will see a cardholder effectively earn a 3.75% rebate on all dining, takeout, and food delivery spending.
The card offers a minimum of 12 months of DoorDash DashPlus membership (worth $9.99/month) as one of its benefits as long as the membership is activated by 31 March 2024.
When spending a minimum of $12, DashPass members do not pay a delivery fee at thousands of restaurants around the country and they get reduced service fees too. Savings are estimated to be in the region of $4 – $5 per order.
Good to know
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Credit Card card offers an annual $50 rebate on any hotel booking made through the Ultimate Rewards portal which, when used, effectively reduces the annual fee to just $45.
In addition, the Ultimate Rewards points that the Sapphire Preferred card earns can be transferred to numerous airline and hotel loyalty programs, cardholders receive primary auto rental cover when they pay for a rental using their card, and the trip protections/insurances that come with the card are the best insurances offered by any card costing just $95/year.
Find out more about the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Credit Card
US Bank Altitude® Go Visa Signature® Card
Annual Fee: $0 (zero)
Welcome Offer: Earn 20,000 bonus points after you spend $1,000 in eligible purchases in the 90 days immediately following account opening (more info)
Points earned by the US Bank Altitude® Go Visa Signature® Card are worth $0.01 each when used with Real-Time Mobile Rewards to offset qualifying purchases and that makes the welcome offer worth $200.
Earnings:
- 4 points/dollar on dining, takeout, and food delivery
- 2 points/dollar on spending at grocery stores
- 2 points/dollar on spending at gas stations
- 2 points/dollar on streaming services
- 1 point/dollar on spending in all other categories
Why it’s great for dining, takeout & food delivery services
As the point earned by the US Bank Altitude® Go Visa Signature® Card are worth $0.01 each when used with Real-Time Mobile Rewards to offset qualifying purchases, the 4 points/dollar that the card earns for spending on eating out, takeout, and food delivery equates to a 4% rebate. That’s an excellent rate of return from a card that doesn’t charge an annual fee – all earnings are pure savings.
Good to know
There’s no limit to the number of points that can be earned and the US Bank Altitude® Go Visa Signature® Card offers cardholders an annual $15 credit to be used on streaming service purchases.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® credit card
Annual Fee: $550
The Welcome Offer: Earn 60,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points after you spend $4,000 in the three months immediately following account opening (more info)
Ultimate Rewards Points can be redeemed for travel through the Chase travel portal at a value of 1.5 cents/point which makes the welcome offer worth at least $900.
Earnings:
- 10 points/dollar on hotels and car rentals booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards*
- 10 points/dollar on Chase Dining purchases with Ultimate Rewards
- 5 points/dollar on flights booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards*
- 3 points/dollar for spending on travel that isn’t made through Chase*^
- 3 points/dollar for spending on dining worldwide
- 1 point/dollar for spending in all other categories
*After the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually
^Chase’s “travel” category is very broad so you’ll earn 3 points per dollar on everything from airfare, rental cars, and hotel bookings through to car parking, tolls, and ride-sharing services.
Why it’s great for dining, takeout & food delivery services
As the Chase Ultimate Rewards points earned by the Chase Sapphire Reserve® credit card are easily redeemable for 1.5 cents each, the 3 points/dollar that the card earns on dining will see a cardholder effectively earn a 4.5% rebate on all dining, takeout, and food delivery spending. In addition, the card also earns cardholders 10 points for each dollar spent on Chase Dining purchases booked using your card through the Ultimate Rewards program – that’s an effective rebate of 15%.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card also offers DoorDash DashPlus membership (worth $9.99/month) as one of its benefits. When spending a minimum of $12, DashPass members do not pay a delivery fee at thousands of restaurants around the country and they get reduced service fees too. Savings are estimated to be in the region of $4 – $5 per order.
Good to know
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card offers a $300 rebate on all travel spending every year which effectively reduces the annual fee to just $150, the Ultimate Rewards points that it earns can be transferred to numerous airline and hotel loyalty programs, cardholders receive complimentary Priority Pass membership and are given some of the best trip delay/cancellation/interruption protections offered by any card.
Find out more about the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card
Bottom line
When putting together a list of “best cards” it’s important to include a variety of options for people to choose from and I think that this list manages that. Some of the cards come with high annual fees but also offer very good earning rates, valuable loyalty currencies, and a whole host of additional benefits and rebates to help offset those fees. The other cards come with no annual fees, good returns, and straight-up cashback which makes them very simple and economical to use. Hopefully, this list holds something for everyone.
Which is your favorite?
For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, please visit this page
