Eating out has definitely become more expensive, but another factor keeps many diners from enjoying their favorite restaurants: exclusivity.
Competition for a great reservation can be fierce. You’re often competing with other hungry diners, social media influencers and their audiences who want to try the latest viral restaurants, and resellers who snatch up tables and pass them on to the highest bidder. But with the right credit card in your wallet—and some determination—you can still book a table at the hottest restaurants in town on the weekend.
Why it is becoming increasingly difficult to reserve a table in a restaurant
For one thing, reservations are hard to come by because people eat out a lot. American Express recently reported that cardholders spent over $100 billion at restaurants in 2023. And since acquiring reservation service Resy in 2019, the number of “engaged diners” – people who either book a reservation or set up a restaurant alert through the website – has increased threefold.
But there’s another growing problem: reservation bots. Just as concertgoers try to get tickets to their favorite artists, restaurant goers now compete with bots to reserve a table at their favorite restaurant. Bots snatch up competitors’ tables and resell them for a profit. This isn’t just bad for customers, it’s bad for restaurants too.
As a result, “(bots) are leading to a lot of no-shows and last-minute cancellations,” Resy CEO Pablo Rivero said in a recent interview with Yahoo Finance.
While restaurants and reservation platforms are still working on measures to curb the problem of fraudulent reservations, you may already have access to benefits that can help you find a great place for your next night out.
Related: The best credit cards for restaurants
How to get a restaurant reservation with your credit card
Several credit cards—particularly premium travel cards and rewards credit cards with annual fees—offer restaurant perks for cardholders. Here are a few cards that can help you make a hard-to-get reservation.
American Express credit cards
American Express – which also recently acquired Tock, another reservation platform – has integrated Resy into its credit card rewards and benefits in a number of ways. The best way to snag a coveted reservation at a Resy restaurant is to use an Amex card with Global Dining Access.
The current Global Dining Access program allows you to secure exclusive reservations, receive priority notification when reservations become available, and access special dining experiences. Global Dining Access is available with these Amex cards:
Read our Full Amex Platinum Card Review
Read our Complete Delta Reserve Card Review
Read our Complete Delta Reserve Business Card Review
Related: The best corporate credit cards
Other Amex cards to consider:
For more information about which restaurants offer Global Dining Access benefits, visit the Resy website.
Note: If you have an American Express® Gold Card, you can earn up to $100 as an annual statement credit ($50 semi-annually; upon enrollment) when you make an eligible purchase at U.S. restaurants on Resy.com or the Resy app.
Visa Infinite Credit Cards
Visa recently partnered with OpenTable to offer eligible Visa Infinite cardholders access to reservations at top restaurants during peak dining times through the Visa Dining Collection. Program-eligible restaurants are currently only available in a few cities, but by the end of this year they will be expanding throughout the U.S., Mexico and Canada.
Visa Infinite cards are offered by a few different issuers, including:
Read our Full Venture X Card Review
Read our Full review of the United Club Infinite card
Read our Full Sapphire Reserve Card Review
Chase Sapphire Reserve® cardholders have access to exclusive reservation times through the issuer’s Reserved by Sapphire program. If you have a Sapphire Reserve card, you can search for eligible restaurants and available times through your card account. A Chase Sapphire Reserve card also allows you to participate in events such as food festivals, select chef-led dining experiences and more.
The full list of Visa Dining Collection restaurants can be found on the OpenTable website.
Other Visa Infinite cards to consider:
Capital One Credit Cards
Capital One has its own program that helps its cardholders get reservations at some popular restaurants. Through Capital One Dining, you can find hard-to-get reservations reserved for program users and get access to dining experiences like dinners with world-class chefs and worldwide culinary events.
Capital One Dining is available on the issuer’s rewards credit cards. Here are a few we like:
Read our Full Venture Rewards Card Review
Read our Full SavorOne Cash Rewards Card Review
Read our Quicksilver Cash Rewards Card Full Review
This article was edited by Rebecca McCracken
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