The 8 best credit cards for restaurants and dining in June 2026

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Citi is no longer accepting applications for the Citi Custom Cash® Card product as of May 28, 2026. 

It's easy to see the appeal of dining out: good food, nice ambiance and someone else has to do the dishes. But all that delicious convenience can be expensive.

In fact, the average American spends about $3,675 a year, or roughly $306 a month, on dining, according to a sample budget based on spending data from the location intelligence firm Esri.

There are some easy ways to offset these costs if you use the right credit card. CNBC Select analyzed over 30 popular rewards cards using an average American's annual budget and dug into each card's perks and drawbacks to find the best options based on your consumer habits. Choose a card from our list and you could earn over $100 a year on restaurant spending. Some also offer excellent rewards on grocery shopping, too, for eating in time to time. (See our methodology for more information on how we choose the best credit cards for dining out.)

Who's this for? The American Express® Gold Card is an ideal card for food lovers, offering a high 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at restaurants worldwide (on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X) and U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1X). Based on CNBC Select's calculations, we found the average American using this card could earn an estimated $147 per year in rewards for dining purchases alone. Terms apply.

Membership Rewards® points value varies depending on how cardholders redeem them. You can use them in a variety of ways, from transferring them to airlines or hotels to redeeming them for gift cards or a statement credit. (See more on how the value of points is calculated.)

Beyond rewards points, this card offers a great additional perk that helps reduce the $325 annual fee (see rates and fees). Cardholders can benefit from an annual up to $120 dining credit (up to $10 a month in the form of statement credits) at Grubhub (including Seamless), Buffalo Wild Wings, Five Guys, The Cheesecake Factory, and Wonder. Enrollment required. Cardholders can also receive up to $120 in annual Uber Cash ($10 per month) that can be used for U.S. Uber Eats orders ( you must have downloaded the latest version of the Uber App and your eligible American Express Gold Card must be a method of payment in your Uber account. The Amex Benefit may only be used in the United States). Enrollment required. An Amex Card must be selected as the payment method for your Uber or Uber Eats transaction to redeem the Amex Uber Cash benefit.

Who's this for? The Citi Custom Cash Card earns 5% cash back on purchases in the category you spend the most in each billing cycle, up to the first $500 spent (then 1%). There are 10 categories, including both restaurants and grocery stores. If you maximize the spending cap, you can earn up to $25 bonus cash back each month.

The beauty of this card is that you don't need to go through the hassle of activating any bonus categories — the bonus cash automatically applies to the category you spend the most in each month.

This card has no annual fee, and although billed as a cash-back card, if you have the Citi Strata Premier^® Card, you can transfer your Citi ThankYou® Points to any of Citi's airline and hotel partners. (See rates and fees).

Who's this for? The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a top pick for dining out, both in the U.S. and abroad. The card earns a competitive 3X points on dining and select streaming services and charges no foreign transaction fees, all for a modest $95 annual fee. Plus, the card earns 3X points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs), 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases, and offers some useful partner benefits that can save you even more on your dining purchases.

Get complimentary access to DashPass, which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year if you activate by December 31, 2027.

Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

Who's this for? The Chase Sapphire Reserve® is geared toward foodies and frequent travelers seeking luxurious perks. Cardholders earn 8X points on dining worldwide and 4x points on flights & hotels booked direct.

Separately, Chase has a partnership with DoorDash, which offers cardholders complimentary access to DashPass, which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027, plus $300 annually in monthly DoorDash promos (through December 31, 2027).

You can also get greater value from your rewards by transferring them to Chase's airline or hotel partners.

While this card has a $795 annual fee, it comes with many added credits and benefits that can help offset the cost, such as a $300 annual travel credit, a Priority Pass™ Select membership (valued at roughly $469 a year) and a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit of up to $120 every four years.

Who's this for? Food lovers who want to earn more rewards on dining purchases but don't want to pay an annual fee should consider the U.S. Bank Altitude® Go Visa Signature® Card, which provides one of the highest rewards rates on takeout, food delivery and dining at 4X points. Based on CNBC Select's calculations, we found the average American using this card could earn an estimated $147 per year in rewards for dining purchases alone.

If you prefer to order takeout or food delivery and watch a movie at home, you can use this card's $15 annual statement credit toward eligible streaming subscriptions, such as Netflix and Hulu. That's in addition to the 2X points you earn on streaming services, as well as on gas station and grocery purchases. You can then redeem these points for a statement credit, gift card, travel or merchandise.

Beyond rewards, the Altitude Go card comes with a special financing offer, as well as noteworthy travel perks, such as no foreign transaction fees, auto rental collision damage waiver and travel and emergency assistance services.

Who's this for? The American Express® Business Gold Card is ideal for small business owners who frequently take clients out for meals, order catering for the office or make other dining purchases. Cardholders earn 4X Membership Rewards® points on the top two eligible categories where your business spends the most each month from 6 eligible categories. While your top 2 categories may change, you will earn 4X points on the first $150,000 in combined purchases from these categories each calendar year (then 1X thereafter). Only the top 2 categories each billing cycle will count towards the $150,000 cap. Terms apply.

The American Express Business Gold's bonus categories include U.S. purchases at restaurants, including takeout and delivery, as well as other useful categories such as U.S. purchases at gas stations, for advertising and more.

American Express Membership Rewards® points can be transferred to 21 different airline and hotel partners. Cardholders can also redeem their points toward eligible airfare booked through the Amex Travel Portal.

Who's this for? The Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card is one of the few cash-back cards that offers unlimited 3% cash back on dining purchases. This card allows you to maximize rewards on fast food, restaurants, ice cream trips and more. Plus, you can enjoy foodie-centric perks, such as exclusive access to premium reservations with OpenTable.

This card is also a good choice for people who regularly attend entertainment events, such as concerts and movies, since those transactions earn unlimited 3% cash back. Additionally, you get exclusive access to premier culinary experiences, sports and music events, such as the NYC Wine and Food Festival and iHeartRadio Music Festival.

Who's this for? The U.S. Bank Cash+® Visa Signature® Card offers the highest rewards rate on fast food purchases: 5% cash back. Cardholders can earn 5% cash back on two bonus categories each quarter on their first $2,000 in combined eligible net purchases, then 1%.

Based on our calculations, we found cardholders could earn an average of $84 per year in rewards on dining purchases alone.*

Currently, over a dozen fast food restaurants, including Chipotle, Subway and McDonald's, earn 5% cash back. You can choose fast food as a 5% category every quarter to maximize cash back. Other categories include department stores and select TV, internet and streaming services.

You also get 2% cash back on one everyday category, such as grocery stores or gas stations, and 1% cash back on all other eligible purchases. Cardholders can update their preferences every quarter, so you can adjust categories as needed.

Best of all, this card comes with no annual fee and a promotional financing offer.

*We assumed half of all dining purchases were at eligible fast food restaurants and that card users choose fast food and department stores as 5% categories every quarter. We also assumed users made these selections for the bonus 2% cash back category: groceries for two quarters, gas for one quarter and dining for one quarter.

At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every credit card review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of credit card products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics. See our methodology for more information on how we choose the best dining credit cards.

To determine which cards offer the best value for dining out, CNBC Select analyzed over 35 of the most popular credit cards offered by the biggest banks, financial companies and credit unions that allow anyone to join and offer bonus rewards on dining out. Bonus rewards means a cardholder earns more than 1% or 1 point per dollar in a given category. In this case, restaurants.

We compared each card on a range of features, including cash-back rewards, welcome bonus, introductory and standard APR, balance transfer fee and foreign transaction fees, as well as factors such as required credit score and customer reviews when available. We also considered additional perks, the application process and how easy it is for the consumer to redeem points.

CNBC Select teamed up with location intelligence firm Esri. The company's data development team provided the most up-to-date and comprehensive consumer spending data based on the 2019 Consumer Expenditure Surveys from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. You can read more about their methodology here.

Esri's data team created a sample annual budget of approximately $22,126 in retail spending. The budget includes six main categories: groceries ($5,174), gas ($2,218), dining out ($3,675), travel ($2,244), utilities ($4,862) and general purchases ($3,953). General purchases include items such as housekeeping supplies, clothing, personal care products, prescription drugs and vitamins, and other vehicle expenses.

CNBC Select used this budget to estimate how much the average consumer would save over the course of a year, two years and five years, assuming they would attempt to maximize their rewards potential by earning all welcome bonuses offered and using the card for all applicable purchases. All rewards total estimations are net the annual fee.

It's important to note the value of a point or mile varies from card to card and based on how you redeem them. When we calculated the estimated returns, we assumed that cardholders are redeeming points/miles for a typical maximum value of 1 cent per point or mile. (Extreme optimizers might be able to achieve more value.)

Our final picks are weighted heavily toward the highest five-year returns, since it's generally wise to hold onto a credit card for years. This method also avoids giving an unfair advantage to cards with large welcome bonuses.

While the five-year estimates we've included are derived from a budget similar to the average American's spending, you may earn a higher or lower return depending on your shopping habits.

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For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, please click here.

For rates and fees of The American Express® Business Gold Card, click here.

Information about the U.S. Bank Cash+® Visa Signature® Card and the U.S. Bank Altitude® Go Visa Signature® Card has been collected independently by Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of the card prior to publication.