Move Over, Dining Programs: inKind Offers 20% (or More) In Savings At Local Restaurants

$15 cocktails? A sandwich for $20? A $68 steak? The price of eating out keeps rising, and it isn’t getting any cheaper — and whether you’re eating at the budget spot or dressing up for fine dining, any savings are welcome in this economy.

In the past, we highlighted dining affiliate programs that allow you to stack even more points on top of traditional credit card cashback. However, a decade-old platform called inKind has caught our attention, offering to pay “up to 20% back” at restaurants in their network. Is it worth a look?

A new way to save on dinner? Whether inKind is worth your time might ultimately come down to geography. TL;DR: inKind gives restaurants upfront cash in exchange for discounted dining credits, then passes those savings on to you through its app. But it might be worth looking up your zip code on its map to see if you live near some of the thousands of restaurants across the 167 cities and 44 states it serves. If you do, you can sign up, earn a ‘first meal’ bonus, connect a payment card, and begin browsing restaurants in your area.

• InKind has one big difference from other dining affiliate programs — you check out through the app by selecting the restaurant, providing your check number, and paying.
• You can use a cash back credit card to compound earnings, but inKind rewards live in the app, earned as a credit redeemable towards future purchases in the program.

There Might Be An Even Better Way To Save

The only real downside of inKind is that earned credits expire after two months, so it’s spend it or lose it. But putting those savings aside, I like the idea of buying inKind gift cards (which are known to go on sale regularly) to earn even bigger savings. You won’t earn the 20% rewards when paying with a gift card, but you probably won’t care with savings like this.

• Costco has recently been offering $100 inKind gift cards for $64.99, while InKind is selling their own gift cards at a discount (like get $210 for $150).
• Recent controversial changes have restricted just how stackable these rewards can be — it was too powerful before — since you can’t stack gift cards, cash back, and offers.

Leaving room for dessert: I can understand how inKind might feel less approachable for folks trying to maximize dining rewards, but if there are some local restaurants on the program, I’m partial to the gift card angle. Sure, when you sign up, you’ll get an offer (and there will probably be more where that came from). But at face value, the opportunity to save 35% — then even more when you eat out? Savings like that might just pay the bills.