I agree that iDine is great if you have restaurants on the list that you actually like and would visit anyway even if they weren't iDine. I have 2 or 3 in Kansas City that are like that: I was going there long before they were iDine, willing to pay the regular menu prices, so to me it really is like a 20% price reduction on everything I order. (They are 20% on iDine prime, unlimited visits, no stupid blackout dates.)

I've used iDine to try new places that I wouldn't have otherwise tried. In those cases, if they later leave iDine or are no longer unlimited visit 20% restaurants, I simply have to decide if that price increase is worth it. If they leave the program, that's a 25% increase in my bill. Sometimes I return and pay the higher prices, sometimes I don't.

My only frustration with the program is the blackout dates. They should either set it up so a restaurant is IN or OUT. Keep the program simple.

All of the actions iDine has taken lately are bad for the end user (particularly on the miles-earning side of things), which makes me think that overall this company might be struggling to stay afloat.