$160 of Idining put on my Amex, but only Visa/MC accepted. I swear I checked, but apparently the mercury levels from too much Idine fish are affecting my brain.

(At first I thought that this was the first mis-posted Idine in over two years, but like so many failed ex-relationships, "it's me, not them.")

A $550 retirement lunch just posted, so all is not grim.

Ask the restaurant if you can substitute credit cards.

That's one of the downsides of using Starwood Amex instead of AA MC or Diners MC as your primary when collecting AA. Since I use Diners MC as my primary, I usually have no problems (with having to use different cards at different restaurants), since only once in 5 years have I seen a restaurant (no longer in the system) that didn't accept MC as qualified for iDine/RN.

However, I'm currently, temporarily using my AA Amex from Citi (which I got for the 25k bonus only) for dines (as it's an easy way to get most of the $750 min spend over 4 months), but I'm finding it so annoying how some fraction of the restaurants I regularly go to don't accept Amex (either outright, or not as qualifying for RN). So I have to keep track of each one. Yecch! I'm dumping this Amex for dines as soon as I get close to $750 spend.

Do some math on how few credit card miles you earn per year from iDine/RN purchases (compared to the many iDine/RN miles). Would it perhaps be worth sacrificing a few of those to simplify your life to standardize on using an MC or Visa for all your AA dines, even if you earn slightly fewer miles for the dine because it won't a mile/1$ card? (You could, for example, get and use an AA Bronze MC card, where you'd get a mile/2$. You'd have to do an awful lot of dines purchases in a year for that to be a poorer value than paying an annual fee for an AA Gold MC to get just an extra mile/2$.)

For example, the $160 you lost 1600 miles on you presumably got 200 miles on (160 + 25% eventually) on the SPG Amex. If you had used an AA Bronze MC you would have gotten 1600 + 80 miles. How many more dines would you have to have "wasted" on AA Bronze instead of SPG Amex for it to be worth the hassle of thinking at each restaurant "will this Amex count" (and risking such a mistake again)?

So true, my problem is that I think that I can beat the system, and it ends up beating me. Interestingly (or maybe not) when I travel and don't know the lay of the land I don't use my AMEX when Idining. Maybe I should take your advice and K.I.S.S. (and that final "S" is me, not you.)

KISS is good, but I do the checking now - 5 HHonors points AND 10 miles are too good to pass up when I can earn them, and only a few restaurants have those restrictions.

Jailer, I feel your pain! It's happened to me a couple of times, at least, over the years.

I just got stung myself being advised "You used the AMEX linked to your Priority Club account which doesnt earn credit." BOMBAY GRILL in Seattle ($7.95 lunch buffet) was a longtime AMEX-kewl member, dropped out briefly and returned (with this new restricion). I'm posting this message as the rep went on to authorize a one time credit upon receipt of my (AMEX) receipt; I made a specific point of confirming that she would note same in my file. I then checked another joint I plan on visiting soon -- lo and behold -- same deal (no RN credit for AMEX transactions although they accept the card itself for payment).

Dear shmoosical,

Thank you for writing SkyMiles Dining and Hotels!

We appreciate your taking the time to share your concerns. Feedback from our
members is highly valued because we realize how important it is to the
success of a growing organization.

We have heard similar feedback from other members and all are taken into
consideration. Rest assured that your comments have in fact been forwarded
to the Executive Offices of Rewards Network.

We appreciate your continued patience. Please feel free to contact me with
any further questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Yanill Orozco
SkyMiles Dining and Hotels Internet Services
[email protected]


________________________________

From: shmoosical
Sent: Tuesday, January 22, 2008 9:09 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: website enhancement request


I have a website request. Please show the credit cards that are valid to
use with Rewards Network on the Dining Search Results page rather than just
on the Dining Details page. I just used an American Express card at a
participating restaurant, but discovered later that American Express is not
included on the Dining Details page, and as I understand, I won't get credit
for it.
Having to do a quick check on the website before I go to a participating
restaurant (to see if they're still participating, because sometimes they
drop out with little notice) is enough of an inconvenience already. Please
make it easier.