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Best Credit Cards for Dining Out in 2025

Byclovecrab

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Restaurant and food delivery spending is one of the biggest household categories — and the right credit card earns you 3x, 4x, or more on every dollar spent at restaurants, bars, and delivery apps.

Best Credit Cards for Dining

1. American Express® Gold Card — Best for Dining (4x)

  • Dining rate: 4x Membership Rewards at restaurants worldwide
  • Credits: $10/month Grubhub/Shake Shack; $10/month Uber Cash
  • Annual fee: $325 (effective ~$85)
  • Sign-up bonus: 60,000 points after $6,000 in 6 months

2. Chase Sapphire Reserve® — Best Premium Dining Card

  • Dining rate: 3x Ultimate Rewards on dining worldwide
  • Annual fee: $550 ($250 net)
  • Points value: 1.5 cents/point via Chase Travel

3. Capital One SavorOne — Best No-Fee Dining Card

  • Dining rate: 3% cash back on dining, entertainment, grocery stores, and streaming
  • Annual fee: $0
  • Sign-up bonus: $200 after $500 spend in 3 months
  • APR: 19.74%–29.74% variable

4. Chase Sapphire Preferred® — Best Mid-Tier Dining Card

  • Dining rate: 3x Ultimate Rewards on dining
  • Annual fee: $95
  • Sign-up bonus: 60,000 points after $4,000 in 3 months

5. Citi Custom Cash® — Best if Dining Is Your #1 Category

  • Dining rate: 5% cashback if dining is your top monthly spend category (up to $500/month)
  • Annual fee: $0

6. Discover it® Chrome — Good Starter Dining Card

  • Dining rate: 2% at restaurants and gas stations (up to $1,000/quarter combined)
  • First-year bonus: Cashback Match
  • Annual fee: $0

Food Delivery Counts Too

Most major cards count Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Grubhub as “dining” since they use restaurant merchant codes. The Amex Gold’s $10/month Grubhub credit makes food delivery nearly free for regular users.

How Much Can You Earn on $500/Month Dining?

  • Amex Gold (4x, ~1.5 cents/point): ~$360/year in travel value
  • Chase Sapphire Preferred (3x, ~1.25 cents/point): ~$225/year
  • SavorOne (3% cash): $180/year in cash
  • Basic 1% card: Only $60/year

Best Strategy

Use the Amex Gold for sit-down dining (4x) and the SavorOne or Freedom Unlimited for fast food and delivery (3%). Two-card stack beats any single card.

Bottom Line

The Amex Gold is the best dining card — 4x globally with no cap. For a no-fee option, the Capital One SavorOne earns 3% on dining with no annual cost. Use these instead of a 1% card and you’ll easily earn an extra $100–$300/year on dining alone.

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