Tender Greens UTC
up to12%Healthy · $$ · University City
American Express Gold Card + Rakuten Dining
Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+9 more
228 restaurants in San Diego, CA that pay Rakuten Dining
Rakuten Dining pays Rakuten Cash Back at these restaurants on top of whatever your card earns. Join once, link a card, and pay with it — values below are what each card earns here. Top neighborhoods: Pacific Beach (23), San Diego (20), and North Park (17).
228 restaurants
The American Acai Cafe
up to12%Brazilian · $$ · Pacific Beach
American Express Gold Card + Rakuten Dining
Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+9 moreThe Asian Bistro
up to12%Asian · $$ · Hillcrest
American Express Gold Card + Rakuten Dining
Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+9 moreThe Craft Taco
up to12%Mexican · $$$ · Torrey Preserve
American Express Gold Card + Rakuten Dining
Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+9 moreThe Mesa Bar & Grill
up to12%American · $$ · College East
American Express Gold Card + Rakuten Dining
Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+9 moreThe Pad Thai Stand
up to12%Thai · $$ · Pacific Beach
American Express Gold Card + Rakuten Dining
Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+9 morePizza · $$ · North Clairemont
American Express Gold Card + Rakuten Dining
Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+9 moreTorque Coffee
up to12%Coffee/Tea · $$ · San Diego
American Express Gold Card + Rakuten Dining
Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+8 moreTrident Coffee - Pacific Beach
up to12%Coffee/Tea · $$ · Pacific Beach
American Express Gold Card + Rakuten Dining
Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+9 moreTrue Food Kitchen
up to12%Healthy · $$ · San Diego
American Express Gold Card + Rakuten Dining
Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+8 moreTwo Hands Corn Dogs - Mira Mesa
up to12%Korean/Korean BBQ · $$ · Mira Mesa
American Express Gold Card + Rakuten Dining
Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+9 moreUrban India
up to12%Indian · $$$ · Gaslamp
American Express Gold Card + Rakuten Dining
Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+8 moreVillage Cafe SD
up to12%Coffee/Tea · $$ · East Village
American Express Gold Card + Rakuten Dining
Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+9 moreWe Be Ob
up to12%American · $$$ · Ocean Beach
American Express Gold Card + Rakuten Dining
Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+9 moreWing Legends
up to12%American · $$$ · Egger Highlands
American Express Gold Card + Rakuten Dining
Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+9 moreZodiac Boba
up to12%Bubble/Boba Tea · $$ · Pacific Beach
American Express Gold Card + Rakuten Dining
Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+9 moreAmerican · $$ · Old Town
American Express Gold Card + Bilt Dining
Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+9 moreBonjour Patisserie
up to8%French · $$ · Little Italy
American Express Gold Card + Bilt Dining
Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+9 moreCasa Octavio
up to8%Mexican · $$ · East Village
American Express Gold Card + Bilt Dining
Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+9 morechance’s coffee
up to8%Coffee/Tea · $ · University Heights
American Express Gold Card + Bilt Dining
Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+9 moreClara's Kitchen
up to8%Southern · $$$$ · Emerald Hills
American Express Gold Card + Bilt Dining
Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+9 moreAmerican · $$$ · Scripps Ranch
American Express Gold Card + Bilt Dining
Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+9 moreFiesta Mexican Grille
up to8%Mexican · $$ · Sorrento Valley
American Express Gold Card + Bilt Dining
Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+9 more
- Restaurants
- 228
- Neighborhoods
- 58
- Cuisines
- 71
- Dining programs
- 14
- With a card perk
- 3
The 3 best cards to bring to dinner in San Diego
Ranked by what each card earns across this city's restaurants at our point valuations, counting the dining program that pays most at each one. Card credits aren't counted. Rakuten Dining (228 restaurants) and AAdvantage Dining (217) are the most widespread dining programs here, out of 228 restaurants. American Express Gold Card tops the list here on its own dining rate — ≈$6.00 on a $100 dinner before any program.
American Express Gold Card
$325 annual fee
≈$6.00 on a $100 dinner
Perks at 3 restaurants hereCard details
Chase Sapphire Reserve
$795 annual fee
≈$5.40 on a $100 dinner
Card details
Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
$95 annual fee
≈$5.40 on a $100 dinner
Card details
14 dining programs that pay in San Diego
Dining programs pay on top of your card. Join one, link a card, and every meal at a participating restaurant earns twice.
- Rakuten Dining228 restaurants5% back
- AAdvantage Dining217 restaurants1–5 miles per $1
- Eat Around Town217 restaurants4–6 points per $1
- SkyMiles Dining217 restaurants0.5–5 miles per $1
- MileagePlus Dining217 restaurants0.5–5 miles per $1
- Rapid Rewards Dining217 restaurants0.5–3 points per $1
- Hilton Honors Dining217 restaurants2–8 points per $1
- IHG Dine & Earn217 restaurants1–8 points per $1
- TrueBlue Dining215 restaurants1–3 points per $1
- Atmos Rewards Dining215 restaurants0.5–5 points per $1
- Dine Out with Wyndham212 restaurants1–5 points per $1
- Bilt Dining196 restaurants1 point per $1
- Upside104 restaurantsUp to 14% back
- inKind23 restaurants20% back
71 cuisines in San Diego
- American67
- Coffee/Tea27
- Dessert/Bakery24
- Mexican23
- Italian21
- Pizza21
- Asian18
- Café14
- Healthy13
- Burgers11
- Sandwiches11
- Japanese9
- Hawaiian9
- Breakfast8
- Seafood8
- Mediterranean7
- FUSION7
- Latin7
- Juices/Smoothies7
- Barbecue6
- Wine bar6
- Indian6
- Salads6
- Deli6
- Brew Pub/Brewery5
- Bar/Pub Fare5
- Chinese5
- Sushi5
- Ice Cream/Frozen Yogurt/Gelato4
- Thai4
- Vegan4
- Vegetarian4
- Middle Eastern3
- French3
- Vietnamese3
- Brunch3
- Pasta3
- Bubble/Boba Tea3
- Poke3
- Peruvian3
- Brazilian2
- Southern2
- Donut2
- Chicken2
- Noodles2
- Acai2
- Korean/Korean BBQ2
- Gastropub2
- Halal1
- Ethiopian/Eritrean1
- African1
- European1
- Salvadorian1
- Wings1
- Turkish1
- Filipino1
- Ribs1
- Korean1
- Buffet1
- Taco1
- Caribbean1
- Italian American1
- Pakistani1
- Tapas/Small Plates1
- Spanish1
- Wraps1
- Gluten Free1
- Greek1
- Organic1
- Farm to Table1
- Cocktail1
80 neighborhoods in San Diego
- Pacific Beach23
- San Diego20
- North Park17
- University City13
- Gaslamp10
- Hillcrest10
- Kearny Mesa9
- Ocean Beach9
- East Village8
- Little Italy8
- Midway District7
- Mira Mesa7
- Core-Columbia6
- Barrio Logan5
- Mission Valley East5
- Midtown4
- Scripps Ranch4
- Bay Park3
- Clairemont Mesa East3
- College East3
- Grantville3
- Marina3
- Old Town3
- Rolando3
- Carmel Valley2
- Del Cerro2
- Logan Heights2
- Point Loma Heights2
- Rancho Bernardo2
- Serra Mesa2
- Tierrasanta2
- University Heights2
- 4S Ranch1
- Allied Gardens1
- Carmel Mountain1
- Central San Diego1
- Clairemont Mesa West1
- Del Sur1
- Egger Highlands1
- Emerald Hills1
- Harborview1
- Kensington1
- Little Italy San Diego1
- Miramar1
- Mission Beach1
- Mission Valley West1
- Mt Hope1
- North Clairemont1
- Ocean Crest1
- Petco Park1
- Roseville - Fleet Ridge1
- San Diego-Gaslamp Quarters District1
- Sorrento Valley1
- South Park1
- Teralta East1
- The Village at Pacific Highlands Ranch1
- Torrey Hills1
- Torrey Preserve1
447 more cities and towns in California
- Los Angeles2,036 restaurants
- San Francisco755 restaurants
- San Jose140 restaurants
- Sacramento118 restaurants
- Long Beach103 restaurants
- Fresno84 restaurants
- Irvine62 restaurants
- Napa62 restaurants
- Anaheim55 restaurants
- Huntington Beach54 restaurants
- Costa Mesa48 restaurants
- Palo Alto48 restaurants
- All 448 in California
Some restaurant addresses, phone numbers, websites and cuisines come from Overture Maps Foundation open data (Meta and Microsoft, CDLA Permissive 2.0; Foursquare, Apache 2.0; AllThePlaces, CC0 1.0). Overture attribution Some neighbourhoods come from Who's On First boundaries (CC-BY 4.0). Who's On First licenses Some opening hours, phone numbers, websites and cuisines are © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0). OpenStreetMap copyright