Complete Guide to Love Dining Program by American Express - Enjoy 50% off Dining

Not too long ago, I wrote about the top 7 reasons to get the American Express Platinum Credit Card - one of the top reasons is the free Far Card Membership that comes with it. American Express has launched a brand new Love Dining program which firstly incorporates the previous Palate program and secondly (and more importantly), introduces a Hotel category into this newly-branded program - think about it this way:

• Love Dining at Hotels (newly introduced!)
• Love Dining at Restaurants (previously known as Palate Dining Privileges)

Love Dining | Photo Credit: American Express

What is Love Dining with American Express? 

As mentioned earlier, Love Dining at Hotels is a brand new introduction and it comes with a maximum of 50% off the total food bill when dining with another person (total of 2 diners). Similar to the way discounts were accorded previously, the Love Dining at Hotels program offers the following privileges at participating restaurants within participating hotels: 

Number of Diners	Maximum Discount
Card Member Only	15%
Card Member + 1 Guest	50%
Card Member + 2 Guests	35%*
Card Member + 3 Guests	25%
Card Member + 4 to 9 Guests	20%

* Three diners in participating restaurants within the Far Card program will receive up to 33% instead of 35% off.

You get the most discount (off your food bill) whenever you dine with another friend (or partner). Essentially the initial motivation behind these dining programs is for the card member to dine free each time he or she brings a guest to the restaurant. Therefore, to really enjoy this benefit to the full extent, go on more dates (with one person!) and hang out less with friends. 

Which Hotels Participate in Love Dining?

Love Dining at Hotels | Photo Credit: American Express

Currently, there are five main hotels that participate in the Love Dining at Hotels program and therefore you can save up to 50% off your dining bill with this credit card at one of the participating restaurants within these hotels: Raffles Hotel Singapore, the Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore, Singapore Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel, The St. Regis Singapore as well as the W Singapore Sentosa Cove. 

WOW! How do I get 50% off my Total Food Bill? 

Similar to most dining programs in Singapore, each diner must enjoy at least one qualifying food item in order to enjoy the communicated savings on the food bill. This means to say that if you go on a date, both you and your date will have to order one qualifying food item in order to save 50% off the food bill.

Love Dining Discounts | Photo Credit: American Express

What Exactly is a Qualifying Food Item?

Every hotel defines a qualifying food item differently and to make things a little more complicated, the accorded discount is slightly different for the Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore. For the sake of illustration, consider the following example when a card member dines with a guest (or a date!) for the maximum 50% off savings on food: 

Hotel	Restaurant	Qualifying Items (Category)	Discount
Raffles Hotel Singapore	Long Bar Steakhouse	The Grill Specialities	Total Food Bill
	Raffles Courtyard	Pizze Pasta
	Tiffin Room	North Indian Curry Buffet (Lunch and Dinner)
	Raffles Grill	Fish and Meat
Singapore Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel	Crossroads Cafe	Salads Pasta & Risotto Signatures 30-Minute Lunch Guarantee Mains Sandwiches Local	Total Food Bill
	Marriott Cafe	Buffet (Lunch, Dinner and High Tea)
	Pool Grill	Pasta/Risotto Mains From The Grill
	Wan Hao Chinese Restaurant	Abalone Seafood Live Fish Live Seafood Meat Rice and Noodles
	Lobby Lounge	Quick Twenty
The St. Regis Singapore	Brasserie Les Saveurs	Les Plat Principaux JJ Epicurean Lunch Experience The St. Regis Connoisseur Dinner Degustation Menu	Total Food Bill
	LaBrezza	Pasta e Riso Pizze Carne e Pesce Business Set Lunch Menu Degustation Menu
	Yan Ting	Barbecue Delights Abalone and Bird’s Nest Dried Seafood Live Seafood Seafood Poultry Beef, Lamb and Pork Claypot Selection Cantonese Classics
	The Drawing Room	Asian Mains
W Singapore Sentosa Cove	The Kitchen Table	Food From The Heart Buffet Seafood From The Heart Buffet Sunday Cool Remix Brunch Buffet Go India Closer To Home Making It Big Italian Job Burgers Sandwich N Chips Stone Oven Pizza	Total Food Bill
	SKIRT	Parilla Land Parilla Ocean (Mains Only)
	WOOBAR	W T Time - Drop The T2
Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore	The Line	Buffet (Lunch and Dinner)	Total Food Bill
	Nadaman	Grilled Dish Deep-fried Dish Simmered or Steamed Dish	Qualifying Items Only

As you can see in the summarised table above, only certain qualifying food categories will trigger the 50% discount (for two diners). In the case of a card member and another diner, you will enjoy 50% off the total food bill (with the exception of Nadaman in Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore) so long you hit the minimum requirement of one qualifying food item per diner.

Are Drinks Included in the Maximum 50% Off Discount?

The Love Dining discount applies only to food and NOT to beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic). 

Far Card Dining Privileges | Photo Credit: The Far Card

What Happens to The Far Card Membership?

Don't worry, you will get to keep your Far Card Membership but some of your benefits with this program are going to change from 01 August 2016. While the general Far Card privileges still apply, the following changes to Mikuni, Equinox and JANN will take effect on the aforementioned date: 

• Fixed 35% Off at Mikuni and Equinox (up to 10 diners)
• Fixed 25% Off at JAAN (up to 10 diners)

Will All American Express Card Members enjoy this Privilege? 

Only Card Members of the following cards will enjoy this exclusive privilege (and payment must be made with one of these cards: 

• The Centurion® Card
• The American Express® Platinum Card
• The American Express® Reserve Credit Card
• The American Express® Platinum Credit Card

Bank-issued American Express cards like the UOB PRVI Miles American Express Card do not enjoy the same privileges.