I’ve written about the restaurant reservation app Seated in the past as it has allowed readers to earn a ton of rewards on dining out. In the past, they’ve offered as much as $50 back in credits for just booking a restaurant reservation though them. It is actually a great service — they book the reservation for you and you earn rewards. In my book, that is a win-win all around, especially for doing something you were going to do anyways.
Since it has been awhile since I’ve written about their rewards program, I figured it was a great time to write about them again, especially since they recently revamped their program. Now, instead of earning a specific dollar amount with every reservation, you’ll earn a percentage back in rewards. You can then go ahead and redeem those rewards for either gift cards or experiences.
While not every single restaurant can be booked through their site, there is definitely a decent number of choices, especially since they have been expanded exponentially. Currently, participating restaurants are located in: Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Chicago, Atlanta, and San Francisco. You can now use seated for most restaurant types, from bars and cafe’s to high-end restaurants. Or, if you are looking to plan client dinners, team outings, or happy hours, this is an awesome way to get something back in return! A large bill = a large return!
How Seated Works
Immediately after downloading the app and setting up your account, you can start searching for your desired restaurant. TIP: Enter the promo code jennifer362 to receive $10 in your account right off the bat. You can search by location, type of food, etc. During the reservation process, Seated will tell you how much you’ll be earning back in rewards after you eat at the restaurant. In my experience, most of them are in the 15-20% range, but you can see as high as a 30% return in rewards. If you are looking to dine out during a more off-peak time for that particular restaurant, you’ll see “Surging Rewards” which means you’ll be getting more back than the norm. For me personally, there is a restaurant I frequent often in the town next door that is often giving back a 26% return!
After your dining experience is complete, make sure to upload your receipt onto the app. That means save your receipt! Your rewards will appear in your account within just a few days.
You can then decide whether to redeem your rewards right away or wait until you’ve earned enough points for a better reward. As I mentioned above, you can opt to redeem your rewards for gift cards, such as Amazon, Lyft, Starbucks, Apple, Best Buy, Nordstrom, etc or for experiences. There are definitely some cool experiences such as a wine pairing at a Michelin Star Restaurant. This is something you might not have actually paid for otherwise as they can be quite expensive, but being able to experience it for free could be quite rewarding!
Overall…
Seated is a great way to learn about new restaurants in a city you are visiting or in your local area while also earning rewards back in your pocket. I personally think of some of those gift card options as cash (such as Amazon), so I essentially look at this as getting up to 30% off my total meal price! And if you can make the reservation for a group of friends or for your company, you will definitely come out ahead with the rewards all going to you! Ultimately, if there is a restaurant you are looking to make a reservation at, there is no reason not to use Seated.
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Seated quietly exited Houston and Austin last year. Super bummed as much better returns than opentable.
I hope they return soon, though not holding my breath.