This is interesting, but you are apparently assuming that participating restaurants have to pay for at least part of bonuses such as the AA 500mi/month one, etc. Do you know that for a fact? I've been assuming the airline and/or Rewards Network eat the cost of any bonuses, but that's just a big fat assumption on my part.
Originally Posted by Stefan Daystrom
It could also be that there are different cost structures related to different airlines, and the restaurants choose based on that rather than the name of the airline.
For example, AA has for years had the elite bonus of giving out 500 bonus miles per month (previously based on 3 dines, now on $150 worth of dining). Some other airlines don't have this kind of constant bonus, and thus with them restaurants don't have to award as many miles per $ ON AVERAGE as with AA (IF a significant number of their AA diners are AA elites).
There are also many short-term bonus differences. Right now:
- AA requires $15 minimum for a 250 bonus miles per dine, but the number of dines in the bonus period is unlimited.
- UA has no minimum for up to 3000 bonus miles for 8 dines, but no bonus for more than 8 dines.
- BA has something similiar to UA, except it also adds a $25 minimum!
A very cheap restaurant may have a lot of UA bonuses portioned out but exteremely few BA bonuses. IF they have to pay some way for such bonuses, BA miles might be cheaper for them. But an expensive restaurant might have the opposite cost structure during these months if bonus mile costs are (at least in part) somehow passed on to them.