Anybody familiar with the Dining Rewards Program?

Hi- I was just on escript, renewing my Dominick's Fresh Values card. Escript is a company where a nonprofit group can sign up as a fundraiser. This group that I sing with, is signed up with them, and for anybody in the group that signs up their Fresh Values card with the program, our group gets back 2% of whatever we purchase at Dominick's when we use our Fresh Values card. If I buy $100 worth of groceries at Dominick's, and use my Fresh Value card, then our group gets $2. We maybe make $500 off of the program a year.

While I was on the escript site, I looked at what other programs they have that I could sign up for, and there is a program called dining rewards, which gives back up to 5%. You can access the program at http://rewardsnetwork.com. When I looked at the list of restaurants participating in the program I noticed that there were 6 Evanston restaurants in the program, including Edzo's. I also noticed that the Money Shot was in the program. People can rate each restaurant, and the Money Shot got a rating of 4.4 out of 5, and Edzo's only got 4.3 out of five, which is still really good. Two of the people leaving reviews for the Money Shot gave it a 5 stars out of 5 rating!

Is anybody involved in the dining rewards program? I get the impression that you register your credit or debit card, and when you use it at one of the participating residents, the group you support gets 2.5% back, and an additional 2.5% back if you fill out a restaurant survey. Hope this helps, Nancy

Hi- I was hoping I would get some response from people that are familiar in the dining rewards program. Is it a good moneymaker for a nonprofit group to get involved in? Are there any negatives in the program? I noticed that Edzo's is involved in the program. Thanks for any info. Nancy

I've been a participant with Rewards Network under the iDine label - http://www.idine.com/ for many years along with its predecessor, Transmedia. They have different reward programs. In either case, you register your credit cards and you are rewarded according to the terms of the program.

iDine gives me a percentage back based on the amount purchased. It used to be in the form of a credit back to my credit card. They recently switched to American Express Reward cards.

If you're concerned as to the validity of Rewards Network, they're legit. I'm not familiar with the nonprofit aspect of it. Are you referring to - http://escrip.rewardsnetwork.com/ ?

Hi- Yes I am referring to the escrip link. That is how I first found out about it when I went to the escrip site to reactivate my Dominick's Fresh Value card information. I did not even know that you could get the money yourself. Thanks, Nancy

I participate in the Dining Rewards program through American Airlines and earn miles instead of money.

The GP wrote:I participate in the Dining Rewards program through American Airlines and earn miles instead of money.

I do too, but most of the restaurants in that program are not places I normally eat.

stevez wrote: I do too, but most of the restaurants in that program are not places I normally eat.

Yeah, I find that I don't really benefit much from the program. I'm always a little surprised when I get notification that I earned miles. I then have to look up where I ate that participates in the program.

The GP wrote:I participate in the Dining Rewards program through American Airlines and earn miles instead of money.

Me too. There's a whole AA Dining Rewards/iDine history I remember hearing about, but didn't pay enough attention to to remember. Nor do I go seeing out AA Dining Rewards restaurants; if I happen to eat at one and get an email saying miles were posted to my account as a result, it's a pleasant surprise. Last place I remember that happening for me was at Zaffiro's in Milwaukee.

I used to work for Rewards Network. I wasn't directly involved with the eScrip relationship, but the way I understand it, organizations have relationships directly with eScrip, and eScrip has a relationship with Rewards Network. Nonprofits don't have relationships directly with Rewards Network.

If you are registered with eScrip and eScrip Dining, and use your registered payment card (credit/debit) at a restaurant (or bar/pub, whatever) that is also registered on the eScrip Dining program, then a portion of your total check will be donated to your nonprofit(s) by Rewards Network via eScrip, subject to the terms of membership.

I hope that helps.

Hi- Thanks for all the responses. I did not realize that dining rewards had a program where you could get airline miles too. Dominick's used to have an airline miles reward program too, but they dropped it recently, because they decided that their customers would rather have reduced prices on their groceries, than have airline miles.

I think that I will forget about the escripts dining rewards program. I don't think that people would be interested in signing up for it, if they could get airline miles for themselves instead. Thanks, Nancy

Keep an eye on those Dining Rewards Programs, however. In tough economic times, they can turn up with some surprises. A lot of great restaurants show up there when things are slow. For example, Jackie's in Evanston was on there for a couple of months before it finally closed. Same with Le Français a few years ago. Restaurant Michael was on for a while, but has since gained enough momentum that it has been able to withdraw its entry.

But even though Le Peep and pizza places are the standard for the program, check now and again to see if anyone you want to visit appears -- at least as long as times are tough.

Cynthia wrote:For example, Jackie's in Evanston was on there for a couple of months before it finally closed.

I just called Jacky's. They weren't aware they had closed.

Katie wrote:

The GP wrote:I participate in the Dining Rewards program through American Airlines and earn miles instead of money.

Me too. There's a whole AA Dining Rewards/iDine history I remember hearing about, but didn't pay enough attention to to remember. Nor do I go seeing out AA Dining Rewards restaurants; if I happen to eat at one and get an email saying miles were posted to my account as a result, it's a pleasant surprise. Last place I remember that happening for me was at Zaffiro's in Milwaukee.

Sometimes I think nearly every restaurant in Milwaukee is affiliated with iDine. I've been a member for years and years, ever since The Chicago Tribune offered it as a subscriber perk under the old TransMedia name. Over the years, how much benefit I've gotten out of it has gone through its peaks and valleys. But every time we dine in Milwaukee (which averages about 1 or 2 times a month) I get one of those "pleasant surprise" emails.

There seem to be quite a few affiliated restaurants in my NW-suburban home area; maybe not quite so many in Chicago proper. Anyway, it works out for me pretty well.

nr706 wrote:

Cynthia wrote:For example, Jacky's in Evanston was on there for a couple of months before it finally closed.

I just called Jacky's. They weren't aware they had closed.

Did they re-open? There was a sorrowful farewell to them here some time ago. Or is it the same Jacky's.

And here's the listing from Yelp: Jacky's Bistro - CLOSED

If they were reborn, that's nice. But they did close -- and they were listed in the Dining Rewards Program before they did.

I just checked the menu. It may be the same place and the same name (though it's not really the same name -- Jacky's Bistro vs. Jacky's on Prairie), but it's not the same restaurant. The old Jacky's was a French restaurant. This new version is another "fresh ingredient" place with a menu of currently popular items: pot stickers, pulled pork, and bahn mi sandwiches.

Even if it's still the same owners, the point is still valid -- when even top-flight restaurants are in trouble, they frequently end up listed in Dining Rewards -- and a fair number of currently popular ethnic eateries started out in Dining Rewards, too. So it's not all Papa John's and Le Peep.

I just noticed that one LTH favorite -- Uru-Swati on Devon -- now offers airline miles. I was also surprised to see Gabriel's in HIghwood show up as a restaurant offering miles. Usually, when a well-established, high-end place shows up offering miles, it means they're struggling. Fortunately, it doesn't spell doom, as the offer frequently gets enough of a boost to see them over a rough spot (Michael in Winnetka offered miles for a short time).

But as long as the economy is rocky, check the dining club of the airline of your choice regularly. You may be surprised who you see listed. (Both United and American use Rewards Network, so generally the same restaurants, though sometimes the number of miles differs.)

I think there is also a special on right now - eat at 5 dining rewards places and post comments on them by March 31st, and you get double miles (for the rest of 2011?). You have to register in advance for the special, on the website.

So far I've been to the one remaining place in Champaign that belongs to the dining rewards program - the Luna Cafe in the Champaign train station - and still have to post my comments and hit four other places in the Chicago area.