Few questions surface more often among restaurant operators researching Rewards Network than this one:
“Does Rewards Network provide a loan, or is it a merchant cash advance?”
The core program is a marketing platform
At its core, Rewards Network offers merchant cash advance solutions that include the power of the Rewards Network marketing program. Rewards Network does not provide loans.
Participating restaurants connect with diners enrolled in major airline loyalty dining programs, hotel rewards programs, and credit card dining programs. When those diners visit and pay with a linked card, they earn rewards through their loyalty dining program, and the restaurant contributes a portion of each qualified transaction toward funding the program.
Restaurants can engage with the program purely as a marketing channel to drive incremental visits from a higher-value diner audience. Participation is performance-based: restaurants only contribute when a linked-card transaction actually occurs.
Optional funding solutions
Rewards Network also offers optional funding solutions for qualifying restaurants, including Dining Credits and Premier Restaurant Funding (PRF). These funding solutions are merchant cash advances that include the power of the Rewards Network marketing program.
How the product lineup fits together
The clearest way to understand Rewards Network is to think of the company as offering a marketing program that operates on its own, or that comes bundled with optional funding solutions.
- The marketing program
- A customer acquisition channel tied to airline, hotel, and credit card loyalty dining programs
- Performance-based participation attributed to actual diner activity at the restaurant
- Available as a standalone offering
- Optional funding solutions (Dining Credits and PRF)
- Merchant cash advances designed for qualifying restaurants
- Includes the Rewards Network marketing program
- Funding and marketing work together as a single solution
What Rewards Network actually provides
Founded decades ago, and headquartered in Chicago, Rewards Network is one of the longest-running dining rewards networks in the United States. The company partners with major loyalty dining programs, including those operated by airlines, hotel chains, and credit card issuers, to deliver incremental customers to independent and regional restaurant operators.
For restaurants, the value proposition centers on three things: access to a pre-qualified diner base that already spends on travel and premium experiences, performance-based participation (restaurants contribute when a linked-card transaction occurs), and verified diner reviews collected directly from members who have actually visited and paid.
