OpenTable Dining Points Find New Use With Kayak

If you’re an OpenTable Dining Points member, you can now use those points you earn from dinners toward your next vacation. Starting Jan. 17, 2019, OpenTable Dining Points can be used for flat discounts on hotels booked through Kayak.

Your points can be used for up to one $200 discount on a hotel booking on nonrefundable and non-changeable rewards. Those who are regulars on OpenTable to find new places to eat can combine their experience with a dining card to dine their way to rewards for their next big trip.

What are OpenTable Dining Points?

Frequent OpenTable users collect Dining Points for making and keeping reservations made through the app. The number of points earned varies based on the restaurant and time slot for which the reservation is made. Members know how many points they will receive for their reservation when they book their restaurant.

Once earned, Dining Points can be used toward meals at participating restaurants, exchanged for gift cards to Amazon and other retailers or donated to charity. Through its partnership with Kayak, points can also be used toward discounts on hotels booked through Kayak.

How can they be used at Kayak?

To get the hotel savings option, Dining Points members must first accumulate 2,000 points or more in their account and book their trip through a special website: opentable.kayak.com. On the site, members can search for any available hotels and apply points for discounts.

The discount levels are as follows:

• 1,000 Dining Points = $20 hotel discount

• 2,000 Dining Points = $40 hotel discount

• 5,000 Dining Points = $100 hotel discount

• 10,000 Dining Points = $200 hotel discount

If you currently don’t have 2,000 Dining Points in your account or aren’t logged in to your Dining Points account through OpenTable, you may not be able to see this option yet. All uses of Dining Points are immediately removed from your account, and can’t be reapplied. If you apply points to your hotel stay, your reservation will be nonrefundable and non-cancellable.

Bottom line: Is it a good deal?

OpenTable members who have a lot of Dining Points but don’t want to use them for dining rewards or gift cards can now turn them into travel rewards, which is something anyone can appreciate. With as few as 2,000 points, you can get a $40 savings you otherwise wouldn’t find unless you have points with a hotel rewards card.

However, the savings only work if you regularly book restaurants through OpenTable and you are set on your travel plans. If your travel is in question at all, don’t use your Dining Points to book a hotel because you won’t be able to cancel your trip, or get a refund on your points.