Both the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and the Chase Sapphire Preferred® are considered one of the best travel credit cards in the market! The Sapphire Reserve® lets you earn 3X points on all travel and dining purchases worldwide, while the Sapphire Preferred® earns 2X for the same purchases!
If you’re interested in both of these cards, you already know that Chase’s definition for travel includes parking fees and Airbnb bookings. But do you know how they define dining purchases? Continue reading below to learn more on what’s considered to be a dining purchase and what’s not!
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Chase Sapphire Cards
 The Chase Sapphire Reserve offers 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $900 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards. You'll earn • 10X total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually. • 5X total points on flights • 3X points on other travel and dining • 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases When redeeming your points for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards, you'll get 50% more value. This card does carry a $550 annual fee and there are no foreign transaction fees. However, you're able to earn a $300 Annual Travel Credit as reimbursement for travel purchases charged to your card each account anniversary year & up to $100 application fee credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre?®. |
 The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards. You'll earn: • 5X points on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards • 3X points on dining • 3X points on select streaming services and online grocery purchases • 2X points on all other travel purchases • 1X point per $1 spent on all other purchases Enjoy new benefits such as a $50 annual Ultimate Rewards Hotel Credit and when you redeem your points for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards, you'll get 25% more value! This card carries a $95 annual fee. |
Chase’s Definition of Restaurants
How does Chase define what qualifies as a restaurant purchase for the Sapphire cards?
Merchants in the restaurant category are merchants whose primary business is sit-down or eat-in dining, including fast food restaurants as well as fine dining establishments.
Meaning you can earn bonus points on your purchases from Starbucks or Chipotle to a Michelin-star restaurant.
However this is what Chase doesn’t consider as dining:
Please note that merchants that sell food and drinks within larger merchants such as sports stadiums, hotels and casinos, theme parks, grocery and department stores will not be included in this category unless the merchant has set up purchases to be classified in a restaurant category. In addition, gift card and delivery service merchants will not be included in this category unless the merchant has set up such purchases to be classified in the restaurant category.
So select food delivery services, like Postmates, doesn’t qualify as a restaurant dining, as well as any grocery store purchases made.
* To guarantee a merchant is listed or considered as a “restaurant,” use Visa’s merchant coding search tool.
What counts as dining?
The list below are examples of what Chase counts as dining:
- Bars
- Breweries
- Cafes
- Coffee shops
- Fast food restaurants
- Juiceries
- Restaurant delivery services*
- Restaurants
- University dining halls
- Vending machines
* Also includes delivery services like Caviar, Eat24, Grubhub, Seamless. Does not include Postmates.
What doesn’t count as dining?
The following does not count as dining:
- Amazon Restaurants
- Bakeries
- Catering services
- Food & drink merchants located within larger merchants
- Grocery stores
- Inflight food & drinks
- Meal kit subscriptions
Bottom Line
Just like the travel purchase category, Chase’s definition of what counts as a dining purchase is quite broad for both cards. If you’re a Chase Sapphire cardholder, make sure to double check with the list above to get the opportunity to earn up to 3X Ultimate Rewards Points with your dining purchases.
If you’re interested in Chase, you can check out the Best Chase Credit Cards and the latest Chase Bank promotions here to learn more about what they can offer! However, if you’re not interested with the Sapphire credit card or would like to look elsewhere, check out our Best Credit Cards and credit card reviews to see which card fits your needs the most!
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