RoVino
up to15%Italian · $$$ · Harborview
American Express Gold Card + Upside
Upside9%Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8x+10 more
143 restaurants in San Diego, CA that pay Upside
Upside pays cash back at these restaurants on top of whatever your card earns. Join once, link a card, and pay with it — values below are what each card earns here. Top neighborhoods: San Diego (27), Pacific Beach (11), and Hillcrest (7).
143 restaurants
The Lion's Share
up to15%American · $$$ · Marina
American Express Gold Card + Upside
Upside9%Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8x+10 moreSaint James French Diner
up to14%French · $ · Gaslamp
American Express Gold Card + Upside
Resy creditUpside8%Rakuten Dining5%+1 moreKnB Bistro
up to14%Wine bar · $$$ · Del Cerro
American Express Gold Card + Upside
Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xUpside8%+10 moreParma Cucina Italiana
up to14%Pasta · $$$ · Hillcrest
American Express Gold Card + Upside
Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xUpside8%+10 morebar Ella Pacific Beach
up to13%American · $$ · Pacific Beach
American Express Gold Card + Upside
Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xUpside7%+10 morePueblo
up to13%Mexican · $$$ · Pacific Beach
American Express Gold Card + Upside
Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xUpside7%+10 moreBarrio Burger
up to12%American · $$ · Central San Diego
American Express Gold Card + Upside
Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+10 moreBobby's Pizza
up to12%American · $$ · East Village
American Express Gold Card + Upside
Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+10 moreBowlegged BBQ
up to12%Barbecue · $$$$ · Mt Hope
American Express Gold Card + Upside
Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+10 moreBrites Soft Serve
up to12%Dessert/Bakery · $ · Pacific Beach
American Express Gold Card + Upside
Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+10 moreCaffe Italia
up to12%Café · $$ · Little Italy
American Express Gold Card + Upside
Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+10 moreCommunion Mission Hills
up to12%American · $$$$ · Midtown
American Express Gold Card + Upside
Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+10 moreCorbin's Q
up to12%Bbq Joint · $$ · College East
American Express Gold Card + Upside
Upside6%Bilt Dining1xCrest Taco
up to12%Mexican · $$ · Hillcrest
American Express Gold Card + Upside
Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+10 moreCurry Pizza House (San Diego)
up to12%Pizza · $$ · Mira Mesa
American Express Gold Card + Upside
Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+10 moreCuscatlan Salvadorean Cuisine
up to12%Salvadorian · $$ · Clairemont Mesa East
American Express Gold Card + Upside
Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+10 moreDenny's
up to12%American · $$ · North Park
American Express Gold Card + Upside
Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+10 moreDenny's
up to12%American · $$ · Kearny Mesa
American Express Gold Card + Upside
Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+10 moreDirty Birds
up to12%Wings · $$ · Ocean Beach
American Express Gold Card + Upside
Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+10 more
- Restaurants
- 143
- Neighborhoods
- 42
- Cuisines
- 59
- 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. Upside (143 restaurants) and Rakuten Dining (104) are the most widespread dining programs here, out of 143 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.
- Upside143 restaurantsUp to 37% back
- Rakuten Dining104 restaurants5% back
- Bilt Dining102 restaurants1 point per $1
- AAdvantage Dining101 restaurants1–5 miles per $1
- TrueBlue Dining101 restaurants1–3 points per $1
- Eat Around Town101 restaurants4–6 points per $1
- SkyMiles Dining101 restaurants0.5–5 miles per $1
- MileagePlus Dining101 restaurants0.5–5 miles per $1
- Rapid Rewards Dining101 restaurants0.5–3 points per $1
- Atmos Rewards Dining101 restaurants0.5–5 points per $1
- Hilton Honors Dining101 restaurants2–8 points per $1
- IHG Dine & Earn101 restaurants1–8 points per $1
- Dine Out with Wyndham97 restaurants1–5 points per $1
- inKind14 restaurants20% back
59 cuisines in San Diego
- American25
- Mexican14
- Pizza13
- Burgers9
- Italian9
- Asian9
- Healthy8
- FUSION7
- Coffee/Tea7
- Hawaiian7
- Breakfast6
- Bakery6
- Wine bar5
- Dessert/Bakery5
- Café4
- Japanese4
- Sandwiches4
- Mediterranean4
- Gastropub3
- Barbecue3
- Ice Cream/Frozen Yogurt/Gelato3
- Indian3
- Deli3
- Vegan3
- Seafood3
- Sushi3
- Poke3
- Bar/Pub Fare3
- Peruvian3
- Latin2
- Salads2
- Vegetarian2
- Vietnamese2
- Chinese2
- Acai2
- Juices/Smoothies2
- Brew Pub/Brewery2
- Pasta2
- Bbq Joint1
- Salvadorian1
- Wings1
- Turkish1
- Filipino1
- Ribs1
- Chicken1
- Buffet1
- Global1
- Juice Bar1
- Italian American1
- Noodles1
- Tapas/Small Plates1
- Brunch1
- French1
- Wraps1
- Middle Eastern1
- Gluten Free1
- Thai1
- Bubble/Boba Tea1
- Greek1
80 neighborhoods in San Diego
- San Diego27
- Pacific Beach11
- Hillcrest7
- North Park7
- University City7
- Barrio Logan6
- Gaslamp6
- Midway District6
- Kearny Mesa5
- Little Italy5
- East Village4
- Mira Mesa4
- Ocean Beach4
- Core-Columbia3
- Marina3
- Mission Valley East3
- Rolando3
- Clairemont Mesa East2
- College East2
- Grantville2
- Kensington2
- Logan Heights2
- Midtown2
- Tierrasanta2
- Allied Gardens1
- Carmel Mountain1
- Carmel Valley1
- Central San Diego1
- Del Cerro1
- Del Norte Cottages1
- Del Sur1
- Harborview1
- Little Italy San Diego1
- Miramar1
- Mt Hope1
- Ocean Crest1
- Point Loma Heights1
- Rancho Bernardo1
- San Diego-Gaslamp Quarters District1
- Scripps Ranch1
- The Village at Pacific Highlands Ranch1
- Torrey Hills1
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