The Rewards Master

I recently discovered the Seated App. The app provides dining rewards through gift card redemptions for popular vendors like Nike, Target, Amazon, and other popular companies. At first glance, the program is a straightforward rewards app, but after using the app, the powerful rewards potential becomes apparent.

At first, I thought Seated would produce mediocre rewards like other second-party apps like Fetch, but I was pleasantly surprised. I used the seated app three times on a recent trip to Dallas and was blown away by its rewards potential. After using the app for several days, it is one of the most rewarding programs for restaurant rewards available today.

Unlike the United MileagePlus X app, which I also rate as one of the best third-party rewards programs, the Seated app excludes national chain restaurants. Seated alternatively focuses on local restaurants and offers returns from 7% to 25%. The app’s main shortcoming is its limited availability. As of early 2023, Seated only operates in 6 US cities: New York, Dallas, Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, and Philadelphia. This fact severely limits the usefulness of the app for the majority of US citizens, but for residents of these six cities, it can be tremendously rewarding.

The process is simple. Make a reservation for a participating restaurant on the app, enjoy your meal, then take a picture of the receipt through the app. Rewards are instantly credited to your account and can be applied toward gift card purchases once you reach a minimum balance (usually $20). There are dozens, if not hundreds, of participating restaurants in each of the six locations, with almost every type of cuisine represented.

Referrals provide additional rewards for both the person referring the program and the referral recipient. The current referral amount is $15, but the offer sometimes changes. With my sign-up bonus and the three credits I received from dining, I cashed out a $50 Amazon gift card after only three days of using the app. I was pleasantly surprised that I could triple-dip rewards with Seated, my credit card rewards, and American Airlines AAdvantage Dining. This trick will probably work with any of the airline dining programs. All that is necessary is to find restaurants listed on Seated and AAdvantage Dining and pay with a registered credit card.

If a restaurant offers a 20% reward, you use a credit card with a 4-point per dollar reward for dining and receive 5 American miles per dollar through AAdvantage dining; it results in remarkable returns. In this circumstance, if you use an Amex Gold card with points valued at 2 cents apiece, and assuming American miles are worth 1.77 cents (both valuations per the Points Guy), a $50 purchase will yield an $18.43 return. Few other combinations will provide a 37% reward!

Therefore, I conclude that Seated is one of the best programs for dining rewards and a tremendous tool for points and milers living in one of the cities where it operates.