At the beginning of 2021, Chase announced the launch of a new website, called “Chase Dining,” that would allow customers to book dining reservations and earn rewards points. The company was promoting a 10x multiplier for bookings made through the website, which was an attractive incentive for many customers. However, upon checking the website, it became apparent that the program was only available in select cities, leaving many customers in other areas disappointed. The website only offered a limited selection of restaurants outside the major cities, with only a few options available.
My impression was that the Chase Dining program wasn’t ready for a nationwide rollout. I feel that was because Chase partnered with the dining reservation platform Tock to run the website. And while Tock seemed to be another version of OpenTable, making reservations isn’t their goal. Tock wants information about your dining preferences.
The final thing that turned me off of Chase Dining was the deceptive marketing about the 10x promotion. You either had to get take-out food or pre-pay for your meal to earn the bonus points. In 2021, getting takeaway from a nice place was a thing, like when we had a winemaker dinner via ZOOM.
In August of 2021, the 10x bonus for Chase Dining became a permanent benefit of the Sapphire Reserve. But now it’s 2023 and restaurants are full of people and aren’t as interested in takeaway meals The only use for the benefit is if you prepay on the Chase Dining website.
On a recent trip to St. Paul, MN, we were looking at going to the Apostle Supper Club.
When I went to make a reservation, I found that the establishment used Tock. It seemed a good time to look back into Chase Dining to see if they still offered 10x on reservations.
There were plenty of choices when I searched for places to eat in St. Paul. However, none of them offered the option of a prepaid reservation, and I wasn’t even sure what it would look like.
I went to Reddit to see if anyone else had the same problem and found that many cardholders are confused about the Chase Sapphire Reserve’s offer of 10x points. The most common misconception is that you’ll receive the bonus by making the reservation through Chase Dining.
To get the 10x, you need to prepay on Chase Dining. Generally, these reservations will only be for expensive restaurants with prix fixe menus or special dinners, like a winemaker’s meal.
If you only make a reservation with Chase Dining, you’ll receive zero bonus points, like I did.
I also see that Chase Dining offers reservations at popular restaurants. This is similar to how we used the American Express Platinum Concierge to get a table at The French Laundry.
But for the most part, Chase Dining will only be beneficial when dining at the fanciest restaurants. Otherwise, it’ll be the same as using any of the other dining reservation services.
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1 comment
Thanks for the warning.