Dining cards compared
| Card | Dining rate | Cap | Annual fee | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capital One Savor | 3% | None stated | $0 | Also 3% entertainment, streaming, groceries; no foreign fee |
| Chase Freedom Unlimited | 3% incl. takeout and eligible delivery | None stated | $0 | 1.5% base; 6 months complimentary DashPass |
| Chase Freedom Flex | 3%; 5% in Q4 2026 | 5% on $1,500 combined Q4 category purchases | $0 | Activate by Dec 14, 2026 |
| Discover it Cash Back | 1%; 5% on restaurants in Q4 2026 | 5% on $1,500 in Q4 category purchases | $0 | Activate by Dec 31, 2026; first-year Cashback Match |
| BofA Customized Cash | 3% if dining is your choice (6% in year one) | $2,500/quarter combined | $0 | Can change choice category |
| U.S. Bank Cash+ | 5% if fast food is a chosen category | $2,000/quarter combined | $0 | Must enroll each quarter |
Capital One Savor: the steady 3%
Savor pays 3% on dining, entertainment, popular streaming and grocery stores, with no cap stated. That makes it the simplest choice if restaurants are a large, steady part of your spending. It also has no foreign transaction fee, so it keeps earning on meals abroad.
Rewards don't expire, and you can redeem any amount. Capital One currently shows a $200 bonus after $500 in spending in the first 3 months (offer changes often).
Chase Freedom Unlimited: dining plus a 1.5% base
Freedom Unlimited pays 3% on dining, including takeout and eligible delivery, plus 3% at drugstores. Everything else earns 1.5%, compared with 1% on Savor. If your dining spend is moderate and the rest of your spending is scattered, the higher base can make up the gap.
Points are Ultimate Rewards, which you can later move to a Sapphire card (see cash back vs. points). It includes 6 months of complimentary DashPass. Regular APR is 18.24%–27.74% variable (as of October 2026).
Q4 2026: 5% on dining from two cards
Chase Freedom Flex pays 5% from October 1 to December 31, 2026 on grocery stores (excluding Walmart and Target), dining and American Red Cross donations. The cap is $1,500 in combined purchases, and you must activate by December 14, 2026. After the cap, Flex still pays its regular 3% on dining.
Discover it Cash Back pays 5% on restaurants, entertainment and utilities in Q4, on up to $1,500, per CNBC Select's calendar. Activate by December 31, 2026. New cardmembers get all first-year cash back matched.
If you hold both, you could earn 5% on up to $3,000 of Q4 dining and related spending. More in rotating category cards.
What a dining card is worth
The average U.S. household spent $3,945 on food away from home in 2024, according to the BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey. Here's what that earns at different rates:
- 3%: about $118
- 2% flat: about $79
- 1.5%: about $59
The difference between a 3% dining card and a 2% flat card is about $39 a year for that household. That's real money, but small enough that your other spending should also shape your choice. Our flat-rate vs. category guide runs a full-budget comparison.
What counts as dining, and what doesn't
Card networks sort purchases by the merchant category code the business uses, not by what you bought. According to CNBC Select, these often don't qualify as dining:
- Bars and nightclubs
- Convenience stores
- Supermarket food counters
- Restaurants inside stadiums, hotels, casinos or department stores
If a meal earns 1% when you expected 3%, the merchant's code is the likely reason.
Pairing a dining card with a second card
A dining card rarely covers everything well. Savor pays 1% outside its categories, and Freedom Unlimited pays 1.5%. Two pairings work well:
- Savor plus a 2% flat card: Savor for restaurants, groceries, entertainment and streaming, and the Citi Double Cash or Wells Fargo Active Cash for everything else.
- Freedom Unlimited plus Freedom Flex: both earn Ultimate Rewards points that can be combined. Use Flex for its 5% quarters and Unlimited for its 1.5% base.
If you dine out abroad, note that Savor, Freedom Flex and Discover it have no foreign transaction fee, while Freedom Unlimited charges 3%.
Which dining card to pick
- You eat out a lot and want no tracking: Capital One Savor
- You eat out moderately and want a better base rate: Chase Freedom Unlimited
- You'll activate quarterly categories: add Freedom Flex or Discover it for Q4
- You travel for food: see best travel cards, some of which reward dining with points
For grocery-heavy households, see best grocery cards. For the full list, see best cash back cards. Card terms change often, so check the issuer's site before you apply.
Frequently Asked Questions
For most of the year, the Capital One Savor and Chase Freedom Unlimited both pay 3% on dining with no annual fee. In Q4 2026, the Chase Freedom Flex and Discover it Cash Back pay 5% on dining or restaurants on up to $1,500 once activated.
On the Chase Freedom Unlimited, Chase says the 3% dining rate includes takeout and eligible delivery services. For other cards, it depends on how the merchant is coded.
Bonus categories follow the merchant category code the business uses. CNBC Select notes that bars, nightclubs and restaurants inside hotels, stadiums or casinos often don't code as restaurants.
No. You must activate the quarterly category, and Discover's deadline for Q4 2026 is December 31, 2026. Without activation, those purchases earn 1%.
Capital One describes Savor's 3% on dining, entertainment, popular streaming and grocery stores as unlimited, and no cap is stated. That makes it a good fit for heavy restaurant spenders who would hit the quarterly caps on rotating or choose-your-category cards.
Capital One Savor — Capital One
Capital One Savor review — NerdWallet
Chase Freedom Unlimited — Chase
Chase Freedom Unlimited review — NerdWallet
Chase Freedom Q4 2026 categories — Chase Media Center
Chase Freedom Flex — Chase
Discover it Cash Back — Discover
Discover cash back calendar — CNBC Select
Bank of America cash back credit cards — Bank of America
U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature Card — U.S. Bank
How credit card issuers classify purchases for bonus rewards — CNBC Select
Consumer Expenditures in 2024 — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Card terms, rates and fees change often and APRs are variable. Information was checked in October 2026; confirm current terms on the issuer's website before applying. MoneyVerge may be compensated by some card issuers; this does not affect our assessments.