For those interested, here's how iDine works, generally:
1. iDine signs up restaurants, by giving them cash advances against future dining credits. So a restaurant may get an immediate check for $10,000.
2. The restaurant gives iDine $10,000 in food credit, plus allows iDine to take over their credit card processing services.
3. When people who have registered with iDine (note: they registered their credit card) buy food at the restaurant, iDine bills the person ordering as usual on their credit card, but doesn't repay 100% to the restaurant. The percentage that iDine keeps is credited against the future dining credit iDine owns from that restaurant.
4. iDine makes money from "interest"in the amount of future dining credits they get, associated fees, plus they are now the processor for all of that restaurant's credit card charges. The restaurant gets immediate cash for reinvestment or a vacation, or Las Vegas. Whatever.
5. The marketing pitch to restaurants is that by making the points/discount offer valid only during off peak hours, and limiting it to once per credit card per month, it is all incremental revenue, so sharing it with iDine isn't bad, especially when it got you $10k at the front end.
All in all, pretty nifty marketing.