Thanks- I was hoping it was simpler than it seemed.

It's not so bad. We just cashed out 100 and had no trouble finding a restaurant to spend it at that we were going to anyways.

wiki added.

I don't have enough "data" to add this to the Wiki, but if you want the points (in addition to the convenience of making the reservation), be sure to make the reservation directly with OpenTable (web site or app), NOT through the OpenTable reservation link on a restaurant's web site.

That is, I have had several experiences where I have made a reservation through the OpenTable link on a restaurant's web site, and found a note in the confirmation that I would NOT be receiving any points for the reservation. I then cancelled that no-points reservation, closed my browser, re-opened the browser, and went directly to OpenTable to make the reservation ... and the confirmation stated I would get points.

I say "close the browser" because the first time I tried re-booking directly through the OpenTable web site, it seemed to know/remember (cookies?) that I had previously made (or tried to make) a reservation through the restaurant's web site, and again the confirmation said "no points". YMMV.

P.S. to crabbing: Thanks, for starting the Wiki.

When did the UK and US systems merge? I just logged in and now my UK reservations are in my history and the points from them. Hurray!

This is a first for me. On the 18th I went to make a reservation for Esca in New York on Opentable for a dine on the 21st. I had to input a credit card number and I was told if I didn't cancel by 6 PM on the 19th, the credit card would be charged. Is this common?

This is typical for holidays, especially New Years Eve. Not sure in your case if its the restaurant or something else that triggered it.

Not common, IMHO, but I have run into it with a couple of Michelin-starred or very high demand/low capacity restaurants.

When offered that "condition of reservation", I have always elected to find another restaurant. :D

ive seen this for more popular restraunts on the west coast. eg sf, portland, la

Exactly. We had this happen last New Years at a restaurant we have gone to a number of other times and not had it happen previously.

I think it's perfectly reasonable. Why should the restaurant bear the loss of revenue from customers who make multiple reservations?

I think it being reasonable would depend on how much they charge the noshows.

Cashed in my last $20 certificate tonight. Not looking forward to dealing with the new system.

The new points redemption is awful. Very few restaurants are eligible for the gift cards and you only get half the value if you take an amazon gift card ($10 GC for 2,000 points).

I also used a gift card for the first time last week and it took 2 managers and 20 minutes for them to figure out how to apply it vs the usual 1 manager and 5 minutes it used to take them to figure out how to take the gift checks.

It's barely worth using OT anymore.

Disagree. The points were always just the cherry on top. The ability to scan through hundreds of restaurants and then hit "book" for no charge is gold. Remember calling around in hopes someone would answer and have a table? I do.

Could someone please explain how to claim the Amazon credit using Open Table points?

I can't find clear instructions for this on the Open Table web site, and their user discussion area is even more disjointed and difficult to parse than FlyerTalk, which is why I'm posting my query here.

Once you have enough points go to my profile and you can redeem. But Amazon is not the "best" use of OT points.

Thanks for replying? How many points do I need to redeem for Amazon? I have 3,500 points and the only thing that comes up in "My profile" is a Dining Cheque reward. Where is the Amazon order option?

2,000 pts is the minimum reward and is a 20 dollar dining credit or 10 dollar amazon card.

Here is more info: https://community.opentable.com/t5/D...oints/ta-p/109

I don't know why it is not showing up for you. Maybe try e-mailing them.

I've sent a query in to OpenTable and will report back. Perhaps it's a problem because I'm based in Canada? They've got Dining certificates of different value in Canada, but Amazon may not be available outside the US? I'll report back on their response.

I think that this is it!

I've now received a reply from Opentable that the Amazon reward option is only available to users based in the U.S. Foreign users only get the option of the watered down dining rewards. Boo! :td:

Honestly the Amazon rewards and even more watered down. Although have you considered getting a open table us account to use in Canada?

I experienced the same. My server, who had been gracious to my party throughout the night, instantly became irate and condescending when I showed him a QR-coded OpenTable gift card on my phone.

I had not noticed the instructions to present the gift to the server before dining. My fault, but that was not his gripe. He insisted the gift card had to be printed; he insisted every restaurant in the world would need it to be printed.

The restaurant did ultimately take the gift card. I still tipped 20%, forgiving the rudeness, because I was in Washington DC where I was unsure whether this server would be considered rude by the local standard.

Uh... I don't apply a "local standard" for rudeness. If a service professional treats me in a manner that I find to be rude/unprofessional and it's uncalled for, I apply my standard.

Regards

I don't use Open Table all that much and only redeemed once for $20 when you could redeem anywhere.

Apparently the program changed and there are very limited places to use the gift certificate.

I am assuming that I'm better off getting the general gift card that I can use anywhere rather than selecting a specific restaurant. Is there a downside to that?

Also, given that I live in NJ and OT only has the NY Tri-State area (apparently it doesn't think NJ is a state) is there a way to search by zip code?

I received an email from Open Table that includes the following:

Any ideas what changes are in store? I kind of assume that the changes won't be to give me more flexibility or more value for my open table points.

I skimmed the FAQ and it looks like there will be some kind of "variable pricing" for award redemption. Some awards will require more points, such at a very popular restaurant during a busy time slot, and others will require fewer points.

So I would agree, it appears they are further diluting the value of points.

Is it just me, or are more and more places ditching OpenTable? I have several restaurants I had used OpenTable to book previously which now use alternate services (granted, most of them are high-demand or starred restaurants). Don't get me wrong; there are tons of places in the WAS area which still use OpenTable. But a quick scan of the Washingtonian Top 25 for 2018, and discounting those which don't do any reservations at all, only about a quarter of them use OpenTable. I know several of those used to as they show up in my dining history, too, FWIW.

I actually only use it for its convenience, not the points. I have enough points now for the first level certificate, and I'm totally turned off by the requirement to use it in specific places. None of them are nearby.

But I will continue to use because of the convenience.

Here is an article from Sept 2017 that implies the OT business model is failing ... in part because it is so expensive for the restaurant.

Yes Open Table is losing lots of restaurants who can't afford to participate in their service any longer. Many are switching over to Resy, Reserve, Yelp and other platforms which are less costly to the restaurant and still offer good service to the customer.

hmmmm, thanks for posting, might be time to burn points

I didn’t receive my 100 point awards for the last three reservations I completed last week. Recently I’ve noticed, on the reservation, I had to click YES if I wanted to receive points which I did. I’m three away from 10,000 points. Has anyone had any issues with points being awarded recently? Think I might move to another reservation platform after this.

‘’Bobette

Agreed ... very aggravating.

Why on earth would a user NOT opt IN? I can postulate that OT nefariously would like users to not opt in (or forget to opt in) to save OT $$$,

Also, at least historically, if you made a res through the OT link on a restaurant's web page, then you would NOT get points. You had to make the res on the OT web site. Other than saving OT $$$, I've never understood the logic of OT giving zero points for reserving through the restaurant's web page.

If I am a legacy user of OT, need I opt in? How?

In Southern Ca, more and more high-end restaurants have switched to RESY. No points awarded, but excellent reservation system. Permits user to see exactly what times are available. I definitely prefer the RESY system to Open table.

I've never redeemed points, and now I'm sitting on 5000+ points. Looking for the latest info since last year's devaluation.

As I understand it, I can redeem 5K for an OpenTable $25/50/60 dining reward, or for a $25 Amazon GC. But it looks like there's no way to see what restaurants qualify as "great deal" $50 value or "best deal" $60 value, until after I have committed and redeemed the points.

If there's a decent selection of $50 restaurants here in NOLA, then that seems like the best deal, but if most spots only offer $25 value, I'd rather just get the $25 Amazon gift card, which is simpler and easier to use.