Citi Adds $200 In Annual Dining Credits To Its American Airlines Executive Card—$100 Available Now

I receive compensation for content and many links on this blog. Be aware that websites may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened. Citibank is an advertising partner of this site, as is American Express, Chase, Capital One, and others. Any opinions expressed in this post are my own, and have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by my advertising partners. I do not write about all offers that are available -- instead focusing on miles, points, and cash back (and currencies that can be converted into the same). Terms apply to the offers and benefits listed on this page.Citi is adding $200 in annual inKind dining credits to its American Airlines AAdvantage Executive card, starting today. That’s another benefit on top of the card’s summer refresh, which I already thought delivered more value than its $100 annual fee increase. I already use inKind for discounts at restaurants I’d eat at anyway, including several pretty good ones. So as a cardmember myself I’m pretty excited about this one. The “$200 InKind Annual Dining Benefit” showed up in the Citi app’s benefits list, only to disappear. I asked Citi whether this was coming, and they’ve confirmed it. A spokesperson shares, Starting today, eligible Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive cardmembers will receive $200 in annual dining credits through inKind, with $100 to use from January through June and $100 to use from July through December each calendar year. Eligible cardmembers can access the benefit by downloading the inKind app and adding their Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive card to their inKind account. When dining at a participating restaurant in the inKind network, they can select and apply the dining credit to their check when paying through the inKind app. How The New $200 Dining Benefit Works The AAdvantage Executive card’s annual benefit is divided into two periods: January through June: $100 in dining credits. July through December: $100 in dining credits. To access it, download the inKind app and add your Citi AAdvantage Executive card to your account. Then select the credit when paying a participating restaurant’s check through the app. Since we’re already in the second half of the year, $100 is available through December. I Already Use inKind At Restaurants I Like I’ve written about how inKind works and the discounts available even to existing users. In Austin, I use it at places including The Well, Peached Tortilla, Wu Chow, Lao’d Bar and Old Thousand. I used to use it all the time at Waterloo Ice House, where the food is terrible but my kids love the playgrounds. You don’t need to make a restaurant reservation through inKind. Ask for the check, select the restaurant in the app, enter the check number, and pay with your phone. Ordinarily, the tip goes to your linked credit card (and can’t be paid with InKind credits). InKind is both consumer-facing and a restaurant financing business. inKind gives restaurants money upfront in exchange for future food and beverage credit, then sells or awards that credit to diners. That’s how they can offer substantial discounts while supplying restaurants with capital. The Executive Card Had Already Become A Better Value For Me When I covered the card’s refresh in August, the annual fee was increasing from $595 to $695. I thought the added benefits more than covered the increase. Up to $500 annually in American Airlines Vacations statement credits, divided into two $250 periods. Up to $100 annually in statement credits for inflight and eligible Admirals Club purchases. Two additional 10,000 Loyalty Point bonuses, at 165,000 and 240,000 qualifying Loyalty Points, bringing the total available from these bonuses to 40,000. Omni Select Guest Champion status and an annual free night after enrollment and a qualifying stay of at least two nights booked directly with Omni. The extra Loyalty Points alone were worth the fee increase to me. And those milestone bonuses don’t require that you earn the qualifying Loyalty Points by spending on the card. Adding an inKind dining credit makes keeping it easier still. American and Citi are also investing in the lounges the card provides access to, which are now being cobranded with Citi. The newer designs at Washington National’s E concourse, Denver, Newark and Philadelphia are a huge improvement over the old modern hospital look. The food has been getting better, too. And they’re opening, renovating and expanding more lounges. There’s a new Chicago L-concourse club in development, more space planned for Miami, and a 40,000 square foot Admirals Club planned for Charlotte. My home airport is finally getting a new Austin club with more than 12,000 square feet and an outdoor terrace. American’s rendering shows what’s planned: How To Get An Extra $75 From InKind inKind has brought back its $50 referral bonus, double the usual amount, through October 31. New members still get $25 off their first qualifying $50 restaurant bill. Refer a spouse or partner who hasn’t joined yet, and that’s $75 in discounts and dining credit between you. A new member joins through an existing member’s referral link. They pay a qualifying restaurant bill of at least $50 before tax and tip through the inKind app. The new member gets $25 off that bill. The person who referred them receives $50 in inKind Cash Back to spend on a future meal. Once you’ve joined, you can refer other new users yourself. If you’re already a member and your spouse isn’t, referring them keeps both benefits in the household. On a $50 qualifying meal, they pay $25 plus tax and tip, and you receive $50 toward a later visit. Use the “Refer a Friend” option in your account to find your own link. Feel free to leave your referral links in the comments. Ultimately, the card’s dining credit’s value depends on whether you have participating restaurants you’ll actually use. For me, this is money toward meals I was already going to buy, added to a card I was already going to keep. Topics on this page Editorial note: any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer. Comments made in response to this post are not provided or commissioned nor have they been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any bank. 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