CardRewards.aiCardRewards
Sign Up

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

  • Sai Japanese Bistro

    up to12%

    Sushi · $$ · Scripps Ranch

    American Express Gold Card + Upside

    Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+10 more

  • Sammy's Del Mar

    up to12%

    San Diego

    American Express Gold Card + Upside

    Upside6%

  • Sangucheria Peruvian Street Food

    up to12%

    Latin · $$ · Tierrasanta

    American Express Gold Card + Upside

    Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+10 more

  • Shiraz Fine Persian Cuisine

    up to12%

    Mediterranean · $$$ · Rancho Bernardo

    American Express Gold Card + Upside

    Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+10 more

  • Sushi Ren

    up to12%

    Sushi · $$ · Del Sur

    American Express Gold Card + Upside

    Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+10 more

  • Swagyu Burger

    up to12%

    University City

    American Express Gold Card + Upside

    Upside6%

  • Tacos El Prieto

    up to12%

    Mexican · $$ · East Village

    American Express Gold Card + Upside

    Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+10 more

  • Tacos Tortas & More

    up to12%

    American · $$ · Ocean Beach

    American Express Gold Card + Upside

    Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+10 more

  • Thai Time North Park

    up to12%

    Asian · $$ · North Park

    American Express Gold Card + Upside

    Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+10 more

  • The Alley - Mira Mesa

    up to12%

    Dessert/Bakery · $ · Mira Mesa

    American Express Gold Card + Upside

    Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+10 more

  • The Duke Cocktails & Grub

    up to12%

    American · $$ · Grantville

    American Express Gold Card + Upside

    Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+10 more

  • The Handmade Chef Meal Prep

    up to12%

    Healthy · $$ · Core-Columbia

    American Express Gold Card + Upside

    Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+10 more

  • The Haven Pizzeria

    up to12%

    Pizza · $$$ · Kensington

    American Express Gold Card + Upside

    Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+9 more

  • The Peruvian Spot

    up to12%

    Peruvian · $$ · Clairemont Mesa East

    American Express Gold Card + Upside

    Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+10 more

  • The Pizza Joint

    up to12%

    Pizza · $$$ · Miramar

    American Express Gold Card + Upside

    Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+10 more

  • Todo Pa' La Cruda

    up to12%

    Mexican · $$ · Barrio Logan

    American Express Gold Card + Upside

    Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+10 more

  • Todo Pa' La Cruda

    up to12%

    Mexican · $$$ · Logan Heights

    American Express Gold Card + Upside

    Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+10 more

  • Troy's Greek Restaurant

    up to12%

    Greek · $$$ · Grantville

    American Express Gold Card + Upside

    Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+10 more

  • Vanman’s - San Diego

    up to12%

    American · $ · Pacific Beach

    American Express Gold Card + Upside

    Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+10 more

  • Vitality Bowls - UTC

    up to12%

    Acai · $$ · University City

    American Express Gold Card + Upside

    Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+10 more

  • Vitality Tap

    up to12%

    Healthy · $$ · San Diego

    American Express Gold Card + Upside

    Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+8 more

  • Which Wich

    up to12%

    Deli · $$ · University City

    American Express Gold Card + Upside

    Hilton Honors Dining8xIHG Dine & Earn8xEat Around Town6x+10 more

  • Yogurt on the Rocks

    up to12%

    Ice Cream/Frozen Yogurt/Gelato · $$ · Pacific 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.

All the best cards for dining

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.

59 cuisines in San Diego

80 neighborhoods in San Diego

447 more cities and towns 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

Editorial disclosure: CardRewards.ai is an independent comparison service. Card data comes from issuers' published terms; catalog last published October 12, 2026, and each card page shows when its terms were last checked. Card issuers do not influence our rankings or content.