To learn more about my favorite dining credit cards, click here.
The best credit card for restaurants is the American Express Gold Card, and it’s not particularly close on raw earn rate. But here’s what most points blogs leave out: the card itself is only one layer. Stack it with Bilt Dining and Rakuten the right way, and the same dinner that earns 4x on the card alone can earn you 9x or more in total rewards.
I’ve been running this stack for a while, and the math gets genuinely silly once you understand how the three pieces fit together. None of it requires the Bilt card. None of it requires fancy status. It just requires knowing the order of operations.
Here’s how to do it.
Why the Amex Gold Is the Best Credit Card for Restaurants
The Amex Gold earns 4x Membership Rewards points per dollar at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery in the U.S. That’s the highest uncapped earn rate on dining of any major card, and it applies whether you’re at a neighborhood spot in your zip code or a restaurant in Tokyo.
A few things worth knowing:
The 4x is uncapped on the first $50,000 in dining purchases per calendar year, which is a ceiling almost no one will hit. After that it drops to 1x, but if you’re spending $50k a year on restaurants, you have bigger optimization problems than this article can solve.
Membership Rewards points are worth roughly 1.8 to 2.2 cents each when transferred to airline partners like Delta, Air France/KLM Flying Blue, ANA, or Virgin Atlantic. So 4x effectively translates to a 7-9% return on every restaurant dollar before any dining program layers on top.
The card also comes with monthly dining credits at participating restaurants and delivery services, which offsets a meaningful chunk of the annual fee for anyone who eats out regularly.
Bonus: the $100 annual Resy credit. The Amex Gold also includes a $100 yearly Resy credit, split into $50 every 6 months. If you pay with the Gold at checkout at any Resy restaurant, Amex will credit you $50 automatically. You don’t need to make a reservation on Resy — the restaurant simply needs to be listed on their website at the time of dining. That’s effectively a free $100 in dining per year on top of your earn rate, and the Resy network is large enough that finding a qualifying restaurant in most major cities is easy.
The Two Dining Networks: Rakuten and Bilt (You Pick One Per Restaurant)
Here’s the part most people get wrong: Rakuten and Bilt do not stack on the same meal. They’re two separate dining networks with different restaurant lists. You don’t double-dip — you pick whichever network covers the restaurant you’re actually eating at.
The good news: between the two, you’ll cover a huge chunk of the restaurants near you. The workflow is to check both apps before you book, see which one has your spot, and earn through whichever applies.
Neither requires a credit card from the program. Both are free to set up and work with your existing Amex Gold.
How to Earn 5x with Rakuten (For 9x Total at Rakuten Restaurants)
Rakuten has an in-store dining program that earns 5% cash back, or 5x Membership Rewards points if you’ve switched to points in uour payout settings, at participating restaurants.
Most people associate Rakuten with online shopping portals and miss the in-store dining piece entirely. It’s a one-time setup:
- Sign up for Rakuten using my link and you will earn a $50 or 5,000 bonus after your first $50 purchase.
- Click Rakuten Dining on the top right of the screen on desktop, or by tapping “In-Store” at the bottom menu in the app, and link any card(s).
- Activate in-store dining offers in the Rakuten app before you eat
- Pay with the linked card — cash back or points post automatically.
If you toggle Rakuten to pay you in Membership Rewards points instead of cash, every dollar at a Rakuten dining partner earns 5x MR. Combined with the Gold’s 4x base, you’re at 9x MR on the same swipe at Rakuten partner restaurants.
Caveat to flag honestly: Rakuten’s in-store dining partners vary by city. Always check the app before you book to confirm the spot is participating and the rate is live.
How to Earn 3x with Bilt Dining (For 7x Total at Bilt Restaurants)
For restaurants Rakuten doesn’t cover, check Bilt next.
You do not need the Bilt credit card to earn Bilt Dining rewards. All you need is the free Bilt app. Download it, link any credit card you already use, and you’ll earn 3x Bilt Points per dollar at participating restaurants when you pay with that linked card.
How it works:
- Download the free Bilt app using my link.
- Link your Amex Gold (and any other cards you want to earn on)
- Browse the in-app dining map to see which restaurants near you are Bilt Dining partners
- Make a reservation through the app or just show up and pay with your linked card at participating spots
Combined with the Gold’s 4x, you’re at 7x total at Bilt partner restaurants — 4x MR plus 3x Bilt Points.
Bilt Points transfer 1:1 to airlines and hotels including Hyatt, Air France/KLM, United, and others, which makes them genuinely valuable, not just cash back in disguise.
The 3x is the standard rate, but Bilt runs elevated promos regularly (5x days, double points weeks, status bonuses), so it’s always worth checking the app before you sit down. Sometimes the rate is higher than 3x without you doing anything different.
The Stack in Practice: One $200 Dinner
Let’s run the math both ways on a $200 dinner:
$200 Dinner: Two Networks, Two Outcomes
Pick whichever network covers your restaurant
| Scenario | Amex Gold | + Network | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rakuten partner | 800 MR (4x) | 1,000 MR (5x) | 9x = 1,800 MR |
| Bilt partner | 800 MR (4x) | 600 Bilt (3x) | 7x = 1,400 pts |
| Neither | 800 MR (4x) | — | 4x = 800 MR |
The key insight: check Rakuten first, then check Bilt. If Rakuten has your restaurant, you’re at 9x. If only Bilt has it, you’re at 7x. If neither has it, you’re still at 4x on the Gold, which beats almost any other card on the market for dining.
One transaction, one app to check, no extra effort once you’ve done the initial setup.
Tip: Your Amex Gold Resy credit can get you $50 back here, but you’ll still earn points on top!
Common Mistakes That Kill Your Multiplier
A few things to avoid:
Trying to stack Rakuten and Bilt at the same restaurant. They don’t combine. Pick whichever network covers the spot.
Forgetting to activate Rakuten offers before the meal. Rakuten in-store dining requires activation in the app before you pay. Activate after, and you get nothing. I activate everything within a 5-mile radius once a week so it’s always live.
Assuming all delivery counts. Amex Gold’s 4x covers U.S. delivery and takeout, but Bilt and Rakuten dining offers are typically dine-in or restaurant-direct only. Third-party delivery apps (DoorDash, Uber Eats) usually don’t trigger Bilt or Rakuten, even if the restaurant is a partner.
Not linking the Amex Gold specifically. If you link a different card to Bilt or Rakuten, you’ll earn the program rewards but lose the 4x base from the Gold. The full earn rate only works when the Gold is the card actually charged.
Skipping the Bilt app because you don’t have the card. Worth repeating: the app is free, the dining rewards are free, no Bilt card required. Sign up for Bilt for free here.
To learn more about my favorite dining credit cards, click here.
FAQ
Which credit card is best for restaurants?
The Amex Gold Card at 4x Membership Rewards points per dollar, uncapped on the first $50k annually. No other widely available card matches the combination of earn rate and transfer partner value on dining specifically.
Can I stack Rakuten and Bilt at the same restaurant?
No. They are two separate dining networks with different restaurant lists. Pick whichever network covers the spot you’re eating at — Rakuten for 9x total with the Gold, Bilt for 7x total.
Do I need the Bilt credit card to earn Bilt Dining rewards?
No. The Bilt Dining program runs through the free Bilt app and works with any linked credit card. The Bilt card itself is a separate product with its own benefits, but it’s not required for dining earn.
Do restaurants charge credit card fees?
Some do, but most do not. Smaller independent spots typically add a 2-4% as a surcharge. Even with a 3% surcharge, the 9x stack at the Gold’s effective valuation still nets you a positive return — but it’s worth knowing before you swipe.
How much are 9x Membership Rewards points actually worth?
At a conservative 1.8 cents per point in transfer partner value, 9x equals roughly a 16% return on every dining dollar. At higher redemption values (premium cabin awards), the effective return can easily exceed 20%.
Leave a Reply to Richard BiegenCancel reply