New iDine Policy?
 

As many of us have learned, restaurants can leave the program after the current booklets go to press. In the past, iDine has been gracious about giving the miles at such establishments upon request.
Earlier today, I called about one such visit (last week) and was told, "Nope. They left the program at the end of January. Not participating on the day you dined, so no miles possible."
Guess we need to print out the latest listings before travelling now, eh? What good is sending out the books?
Too bad they can't make the drop-out deadlines coincide with the printing ones!

I've never had the experience of dining at an "expired" i-dine restaurant but I definitely don't trust the book anymore. It's all about the website for me! It's also more detailed in terms of their restrictions.

They seem to have tightened up on this recently, though I believe they still will give credit ( they tell you the request will sent for approval) if they restuarant is listed in the current book.
In your case the situation may somewhat slightly different since the restaurant left in January and the current books run Feb to April.

One thing they do see to be more stringent about are the places donated www which have some invalid days (usually weekends) or even those that require you make a valdated on-line reservation since the book says " visit our web site or call member services.." they refused me credit even though the week-day I dined would have been an eligible day when the restaurant was still in the program.

Mike

I thought they had done away with the "reservations required" feature? I hated the idea, and never tried it.
In my experierence, the joints marked "www" end up meaning reduced credit (5 miles/$ spent).
Usually, I'd call back again to see if another agent could put through the miles, but I got the impression that the guy I spoke with had made a note in my file.
Besides, I'm already sending in a visit from last month that never posted though my credit card was charged for the meal.

Not all the www designated places have reduced miles awards ( though most of reduced ones all seem to have the www)
It appears that designation is used when it appears the restaurant will not stay long in the program, had one locally that seemed to participate for one month only.

You may be right about the " pre-reserved award" types have been discontinued since they pissed me off when I tried to use it twice.
1) I selected a dining time and ate at the restaurant, but since I didnt get a confirming e-mail from-idine,I got no credit.
2) Called in to select a dining time to be told " all the slots for the time-frame have been already allocated "

That being said by all appearances the Tampa selection seems to be really very good as compared to other cities I have been and includes a number of my favorite places.
Mike

Well it's certainly very annoying but I kind of look at iDine as a pleasant surprise if miles show up since I don't usually dine somewhere on purpose anyways.

The book is helpful, but I always double check idine.com before going. I've had good luck with excellent restaurants for taking my clients in Buffalo; Dakota Grill and McMahon Steaks. But the current book lists a restaurant in the RDU area that has already closed. The web site is also great seeing new places listed since the book was published. I try to include one idine location every business trip. I'm looking forward to the Pub of Love or the White Trash Cafe in Nashville but I doubt they are in the same league as the Buffalo eateries.

I consider the book to be all but useless. Many restaurants seem to float in and out, change their rules re: days of the week, dine in v. carry-out, etc.

Essentially, it is the website that will provide the info.

In the past, I've been given credit for places that are in the directory but dropped out of the program b4 the directory expiration date. I had to call the IDine customer service #. However, this hasn't come up in at least 6 months and I always check the website first.

I spoke too soon on the reservations-required scheme being dropped. There is one restaurant here in NYC (Zocolo @ Grand Central Station) that has pulled the "disappearing act" a couple of times on me. I see now they have returned on a reservation-only basis.

"Good Evening Mr. Cheapskate ... I mean Mr. Scrounger. An iDine party of one I see. Our personal favorite!"

They do tout the PDA listings feature, which I suppose is nicer than fumbling through a bunch of letter-sized printouts.

Maybe they went reservation only because they were getting tired of giving miles for people like me who would just get a bag of chips and salsa for the ride home when we were training and a couple of beers and charging it for the miles.

It's a good place for a train station restaurant for those who haven't used it.

The PDA list is very convenient: I almost always have my Palm nearby so checking the list is quick and easy. Since I HotSync my Palm at least once a day the list is always up to date.
I would recommend this to anybody who has a Palm (or similar) PDA

[This message has been edited by ql2112 (edited 03-26-2003).]

I now pretty much throw out the booklet that arrives by mal and rely on my PDA. I have lost many miles after programs dropped out.

I recently found a place offering 20 miles per dollar spent via diningformiles.idine.com (the NWA portal into idine). Couple that with the triple miles for partners promo that I was able to sign up for, and my $70 meal should net me 4,200 miles. Of course, I printed a copy of the web page with the date on it before dining.... just in case. :-)

I see that a few restaurants are offering 20 miles per $1. One restaurant that I've patronized, but others that might now be worth trying. Nice improvement.

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Ms.DtG

Is it still possible to sign up for this promo--quick, before my March NW dines post http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif?
The only NW promo I've heard of & registered for is double miles on hotels & car rentals only.



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Play the travel game 3 vacations into the future!

Has anyone had problems w/ not getting credit for Dining? I just had to submit 2 receipts to Mileage plus Dining, sort of a pain......

I use the program at least a dozen times a month. It is very rare that the miles don't post. I do have one to fax in today.

I have had 5 different visits fail to post in the last 60 days. From 3 different programs (AA, UAL, Cont). 2 were at a restuarant that has left the program. I emailed each program, one was very cooperative, the other, very argumentative. And they all work out of the same offices. Go figure.

I've had a couple over the past few years, but it is rare that they don't post.

However ...

In February I went to one place where I was not provided with a customer copy of the bill. I didn't make a fuss at the time, but had the feeling I should have on my way home from there.
Naturally, my credit card was charged but no miles. I sent iDine a copy of my (edited) Visa bill, which the rep said would be OK.

Any suggestions on dining/miles in Salt Lake City, UT?

Boy, don't get me started. I've been using IDine for years: I find that fully 10% of my meals don't post. About 4 times a year, I have to write in. About half of my complaints get credited. The other half are denied by an automated system which doesn't seem to care even if you checked the website before you dined: they just say the restaurant left, so sorry, bait and switch. Every now and then, I luck out and they give me credit as a courtesy.

But their whole system isn't reliable, though I love the miles.

Disclaimer from the current booklet:

" ... You are not entitled to a benefit from us if a restaurant has dropped out of the program, so be sure to check the up-to-date [online] listings."


Their "automated' system started breaking down for me back in September when two restaurant visits that month (at joints with no restrictions) just plain didn't go through; as a matter of fact, one of them went through on one airline, but not the other.

That was the first real problem I'd encountered with iDine in a couple of years.
Since then I've sent in one that the rep agreed did not state the weekend blackout clearly enough in the booklet, one that the rep said I could submit for their leaving the program after that booklet was received, and one that had failed to post as the restaurant didn't put through the charge for several weeks after the visit.

The vast majority of visits go through within 4 - 5 days automatically.
One of the bigger iDine disappointments was on vacation with my folks. We dined at one place on American AAdvantage; they loved it there! So ... the last night of our vacation we returned for some Delta Skymiles. My mother came up with the idea of getting a gift cert there for friends who had taken my parents out earlier in our trip. Visions of additional frequent flyer credit were dashed by the wily manager who put through the cert as a separate charge, although I had specified I wanted it put through with the tab.

By the way, if you are travelling either with the booklet, or a PDA download that doesn't cover the part of a metro area in which you are interested, call iDine.
I did that with three "www" joints and no online access recently. At first the rep was sceptical of my request until I read to her from the booklet encouraging clients to do so.
It turned out the three places in question had dropped out (naturally, so had one place I had not checked out with her - no luck on a retroactive request there). She had been having a bad day and I tried to be extra patient in my request. By the third look-up, she was getting into it as much as I was.

If there is an iDine lurker here, the customer service folks are very friendly and professional.

The easiest way to prevent problems is to print your restaurant's online listing before you dine that day. Then, if your miles are denied, you have proof that the restaurant was participating on the day you dined.

Even if you are due the miles and they do not "capture" from your credit card, you need to fax or mail in your receipt. It just seems to be happening more lately.
3 of my last 7 over the past 30 days have not credited. Make sure you keep a good list?

Why would you take 10 miles per dollar when you can get 15% CASH back?

1.5 cents per mile is cheap, but it's not like you are receiving anything of value in return (as opposed to an airline flight).

It is on a corporate card that I must use on the road. It's better than no miles

The reason for taking the miles is that there is NO annual charge for Idine!

Idine is not as much fun or generous as it was a couple of years ago. Many restaurants have limited days to Sun-Thurs, others have limited miles to 5 per $1.00, and some refer you to the web for info on when miles are available. Some of the good places have opted out of the program.


http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

It's usually 20%, but the annual fee is $49.

The answer to your question is because at 20% you won't start making money until you've spent $250, $333 with 15%.

If you are a high diner and know you eat at iDine restaurants a lot, then it might be good for you. But in my case, the points for free are a much better deal.

I want to earn Idine miles for my daughter's Sky Miles account. Problem is, she's too young to have a credit card and does not have one.

Can I sign her Sky Miles account number up for Idine and register one of my credit cards with that Sky Miles IDine account? I would then use my credit card to pay for meals and, hopefully, it would accrue miles for her account.

Or, does the name on the credit card registered have to match the name of the frequent flyer account?

[This message has been edited by jmartin (edited 04-07-2003).]

I think you should be alright based on my experience with Amex, which issues separate account numbers for each accountholder. I've had no problem using my wife's Amex (complete with different last name) to earn in my FF account, and vice versa.

Ok, thanks for the info..

I'm trying to parlay two $4 kids meals at Burger Street into 4,056 Delta Sky Miles, and this should do it:

Just got two new free Gold Points Visas (one for me, one for the wife). I also just referred both of our daughters (ages 2 and 4) into the Sky Miles program thru refer-a-friend, and we're going to set up Sky Miles Idine accounts for both of the girls, registering the two Gold Points Visas (got to have partner activity to get the refer-a-friend bonuses).

So, hopefully, we get two kids meals at Burger Street to trigger the 5,000 first-use bonus Gold Points X 2 (for both Gold Points accounts), at same time triggering 1,000 Sky Miles X 2 for both girls under the Sky Miles refer-a-friend program, at same time triggering 500 Sky Miles X 2 for my own Sky Miles account for refer-a-friend. Plus the $4 X 2 X 28 in standard 7 miles/per $1 idine awards for Burger Street.

All told, the two $4 kids meals should get the Martin family:

10,008 Gold Points plus 3,056 Sky Miles = 4,056 Sky Miles

Am I missing something here? You guys are the experts - do not assume my 300-plus post count means I know anything about miles as the vast majority of these posts are about basketball and the Iraq War over in OMNI.

[This message has been edited by jmartin (edited 04-07-2003).]

There is also a current I-dine thread in FT Dining Buzz:
http://www.flyertalk.com/dining/ftdi...ML/000113.html

jmartin, I don't know about the rest of your math, but I am familiar with the Gold Points/Radisson Gold Rewards programs.

Your 10,000 Gold Points could be turned into 1,250 Delta SkyMiles, rather than only 1,000. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

How? If you redeem them via Radisson Gold Rewards, the ratio is 8 points = 1 airline mile:

http://www.radisson.com/goldrewards/home.jsp?P1=redeem

"Exclusive Radisson Airline Partner Rewards
Only a Radisson Gold Rewards member is entitled to redeem Gold Points to airline miles at an 8:1 ratio. PARTICIPATING AIRLINE MILES PARTNERS: Air Canada, America West, American, Asiana, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Continental, Delta, EL AL, Gulf Air, Icelandair, Latin Pass, Mexicana, Midwest Express, Northwest, United, US Airways"

(This is always confusing to people, as the ratio mentioned on the Gold Points website itself is 5,000 points = 500 miles, and the only airlines mentioned are Northwest, US Airways, and Delta!)


Kathy

THANK YOu, thank you!

The extra miles are nice, but the really great news for me is the longer list of airlines - opens up a lot more possibilities for me and allows me to top off one of my other accounts.. Thanks for the tip!

Check the website, since the restaurants can change frequently. One side benefit is that you try new places, since you are usually limited to once per month per restaurant for miles.

I had some interns and new engineers that I was taking to lunch, and decided to try a new place that I found on iDine. I'm drooling over what will probably be a $100+ lunch and 1000+ miles. We show up, and the restaurant isn't open for lunch. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/mad.gif We went across the street to a non-iDine establishment.

Welcome to FlyerTalk!!