Chase dining bonus points - Which merchants qualify?
#47
Join Date: Dec 2003
Programs: AA Plat Pro, United Silver, Marriott LTT, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Diamond, IHG Platinum
Posts: 1,120
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Eataly I'm guessing is grocery. If you've ever gone to one of the newer grocery stores with a hot bar, etc. It's basically dining at a food court these days. But it's all going to count as grocery. Eataly is probably setup the same way because they do have groceries. The fact that I would guess more people are dining at Eataly than shopping vs more shopping than dining at most grocery stores is not necessarily relevant.
Eataly I'm guessing is grocery. If you've ever gone to one of the newer grocery stores with a hot bar, etc. It's basically dining at a food court these days. But it's all going to count as grocery. Eataly is probably setup the same way because they do have groceries. The fact that I would guess more people are dining at Eataly than shopping vs more shopping than dining at most grocery stores is not necessarily relevant.
#48
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: SAN
Programs: AA Gold, Bonvoy Gold, DL Gold
Posts: 1,197
Eataly in LA is dependent upon which register you use, the "market registers" upfront code as grocery, the eating venues code as "restaurants" but there are some odd ones like the register at the bread line and the gelato bar that are one or the other and I don't recall which. My solution has been to use the Amex Gold card which is the same bonus on restaurant/grocery. The other thing to do is buy a gift card at a restaurant and use it for the grocery area.
#49
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Chicago, IL, US
Posts: 2,210
Wanted to point out that the bolded is not always true. Our nearby Whole Foods Market properly classifies transactions as grocery if they go through the regular grocery line (even if you are buying from the salad bar or hot deli to consume in-store). But past the cash registers they have a very large seating area where you can eat the food purchased in the store which ALSO has a bar at the other end. If you order food or drinks from that bar, it's properly coded as dining.
#50
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Dreamland
Posts: 927
Just had a Grubhub charge not earn dining bonus points on CSR... charge on 12/31, posted 1/2 (yesterday) and this morning just showed 1x. Category on chase.com is Food and Drink. Was planning on waiting a few days to see if they credit later (not holding out hope they do, but was a big order for a party, so worth checking into), if not, will send a secure message.
#52
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: SFO
Programs: AS 75K (OW), SK Silver (*A), UR, MR
Posts: 3,339
Café vs grocery store
I occasionally go to this bakery for morning coffee and a pastry. My Chase cards, all of Sapphire Freedom Explorer, unfortunately categorizes the store as “Groceries”, so no 2x or 3x points for me there (apparently not even a café, which the bakery primarily does business as). My Amex EveryDay categorizes the store as "GROCERIES/SUNDRIES”, but I still don’t 2x points (not a supermarket). Oddly enough the card that does get 2x is my Citi MileUp card, which categorizes the store as "Merchandise - MISC FOOD STORE,SPECIALTY,CONVENIENCE”. Should I call Chase?
#53
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
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Chase does not control the merchant's classification. This is done by their acquirer, the company which processes their card transactions. Chase might award you a few bonus points as compensation, but they will not make any permanent change.
#54
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: San Diego, CA
Programs: GE, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 15,507
Here's something interesting I discovered with the dining bonus. I recently made an online payment with a restaurant for catering services with my CSR. I immediately got a Yelp Cash email, so I initially thought that it used the same merchant account as for in-person transactions and thus would end up with the 3x points. However, when it posted, I noticed I only got 1x despite being in the "food and drinks" category. Could it have still used a different MCC despite Yelp Cash triggering? If not, would I have any success in contacting CS to get the extra points?
BTW, they were using a page hosted on Authorize.net to collect card info if that matters.
BTW, they were using a page hosted on Authorize.net to collect card info if that matters.
#55
I don't know anything about Yelp, but there are some "food and drinks" MCCs that do not get 3x. If I recall correctly, "Bakery" is an example of an MCC in "food and drinks" but only pays 1x. Chase was adamant that 1x was the appropriate credit.
Last edited by serpens; May 2, 2020 at 3:46 pm Reason: added a "not" that I had omitted
#56
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Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: San Diego, CA
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Posts: 15,507
Hmm, might be worth a CS call but not much in the way of attempting to escalate, then. Thanks!
#57
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#58
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2014
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