Extending Miles and Points Expiration Dates with Rewardsnetwork Dining

I recently had some miles that were going to expire with American Airlines.  I was looking for a way to extend them quickly and on the cheap.  Any mileage activity in the account would extend the expiration date.  Although there were many options, I wanted to test out Rewardsnetwork.  It’s a program that awards bonus miles or points for purchases at a qualifying restaurant.

Rewardsnetwork is currently available for many airline and hotel programs:

• American Airlines: AAdvantage Dining
• Alaska Airlines: Mileage Plan Dining
• Southwest Airlines: Rapid Rewards Dining
• United Airlines: MileagePlus Dining
• Delta Airlines: Skymiles Dining
• Spirit Airlines: Free Spirit Dining
• Jet Blue: TrueBlue Dining
• IHG Hotels: IHG Rewards Dining
• Hilton Honors: HHonors Dining
• Orbitz Rewards: Orbitz Rewards Dining

How does it work?

Essentially, you join the program in which you want to earn miles.  You can create an account for each of the above mentioned programs.  You then link a credit card to the account.  You can link one credit card to one account only. When you make a purchase at a qualifying restaurant, you will automatically be awarded bonus miles or points.  You can search for a participating restaurant on the appropriate website.

My experiment and how fast the miles posted.

I had about 20 days before my American Airlines miles expired.  I joined American Airlines dining program and linked a credit card.  I found a nearby restaurant, and just made a $2 drink purchase using my linked credit card.  Just 4 days after I made the purchase, I received email confirmation that I had received bonus miles.  When I checked my AAdvantage account, the miles were there in just 4 days and my mileage expiration date was extended.

Overall, I think this is a very cheap and easy way to extend the expiration date of your miles, especially with companies like Spirit Airlines, that has a very short 3 month expiration policy.  Delta miles don’t expire.  United Airlines miles can be extended easily using the Mileage Plus X app.  I wouldn’t go out of my way to go to a restaurant for miles, but it’s always nice to see a surprise email saying you earned miles from eating out when you weren’t expecting it.