<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by LemonThrower:
I don't use iDine, so I'm no expert. I'm thinking about signing up. From their website, it looks like they have 2 programs--1 for miles and 1 for cash. The cash program is iDine prime. It requires a $49 fee, but you can defer the fee from your earnings. Most restaurants in the program offer a 20% discount, some only 10%. I think the way it works is say you run up a $100 tab at a restaurant including the tax and tip. You put down your credit card and sign for $100. Your credit card gets hit for $100 then gets a $20 refund from iDine. That's how it works if I understand it correctly.
Some may feel differently, but I think I'll take the $20 cash instead of 1,000 miles.</font>
You're right...that's a good program, too. If you do a lot of volume at the iDine restaurants, and you enjoy immediate cash more than miles, the Prime is the way to go. After you've recouped the initial investment, it's like a permanent happy hour at your favorite restaurants!
The 20% discount program looks slightly different in that there is no 'first visit per month' rule, but rather a $600 spend limit per month rule (per restaurant). Also, the iDine site says Prime members get additional discounts on hotels, cruises, etc. 99% of the time I see that claim, the discounts are worthless. Any Prime members have experiences to share?
[This message has been edited by rmccamy (edited 03-26-2002).]