How do the dining programs work behind the scenes?
 

Just curious - How do the airline / hotel dining programs (Ex. AAdvantage dining, HHonors dining) work behind the scenes? Under any of the programs, you register a specific credit card and then receive air / hotel points when you use that card at a restaurant that participates in the program. How does the purchase information get routed back to the dining program for credit? Do the programs work directly with the Amex, Mastercard, and Visa networks? If you were to register one card to two different programs, would each program give you credit for a single purchase transaction?

I can only answer the last question. The system will not allow you to register one card for more than one program. If you try you will get a message saying this card has already been registered, something along that line. You can delete a card from one program and then re-register it in another if you want.

In my experience, there is no need to delete the card from one program and then re-register it in another for Rewards Network affiliated dining programs - I have simply registered the card with a second program and it automatically removed it from the current program (while keeping it registered in the new program) and sent me emails to that effect.

I had the opposite experience recently. I tried registering a card and received the card has already been registered message. I had to go unregister it from the other program first.

Interesting - I wonder if it matters between which one is switching a card.

When I register a card with a different program, I first get an email related to the old program like the following:

followed by an email related to the new program like the following:

I wonder if it might work differently depending on how long the card had been registered, and/or how many cards you'll have left (after auto-deleting).

The RN system won't easily let you delete (unregister) the last card from a particular RN program. You always need to leave one card there. (It doesn't have to be a current card, it can be an expired card, since they only check the number, not the expiration date, when you register.)

In all the cases where I've moved cards just by registering at the "new" program (without manually unregistering at the old program), it's been at least a couple months since I'd registered that card in the other program. (And I'm leaving a few cards in the old program in most cases.)

I went back and looked. The card I was registering on the new program was the only card on the other program so that may have been the reason for why it did it that way. I forgot I had to add a different card and then remove the one I wanted to change.

The dining program works with the credit card networks. When you register your card on the dining program website, that card information is stored in a special file that is reconciled against all credit cards used at a Dining restaurant participant. A 'script' if you will is ran automatically at the end of each business day that will reconcile any 'registered dining credit card' to what is listed in the Dining database this information is then fed to the Dining Rewards network who will then credit the appropriate FF or Rewards account.