We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs.
You know the guilty feeling you get when you decide to go out to a restaurant instead of staying in, saving money, and cooking with what you have at home? Well, there’s no longer a need to feel so bad about your dining-out habit. In fact, OpenTable wants to reward you for not cooking at home.
This month, the restaurant reservation website announced that users will be able to start redeeming their dining points for discounts on hotel bookings with Kayak. You heard that correctly: You can save on your next vacation simply by making and showing up to your reservation.
“OpenTable diners are avid travelers, so we are excited to offer a dining reward that will help them save on their next trip,” said Steve Hafner, CEO of Kayak. “Kayak and OpenTable are both Booking Holdings’ brands and creating shared value for our respective users — diners who love to travel and travelers who need to eat — is a priority.”
OpenTable isn’t the only service that’s upping its reward game. Lyft recently started offering users with Business Profiles the opportunity to earn frequent flier miles for every $1 spent on a ride.
Here’s how to take advantage of the exchange.
Earn Points
In order to take advantage of the offer, you’ll have to be a registered OpenTable member and need to rack up at least 2,000 points by making and showing up to a reservation you’ve booked through the site. Don’t let that number scare you: Members typically earn 100 dining points per reservation, but it’s possible to earn up to 1,000 points from a single reservation at select restaurants.
Find a Hotel
Depending on how many points you earn, it’s possible to save anywhere from $20 to $200 toward one of the 400,000 hotels on Kayak. Users can redeem dining points by visiting opentable.kayak.com.
Get a Discount
While the maximum you can save on a stay is $200, depending on where you want to stay, the discount may be the equivalent of one free night. Next time you question whether or not to dine in or go out, remember that your next dinner reservation could be the secret to your dream vacation.
See more travel hacks:
Pack Your Bags: These Are the Best Places to Travel in February
7 Travel-Planning Hacks That Will Save Time (and Your Sanity)