Credit Card Users Are the Biggest Spenders at Restaurants

PYMNTS data reveals debit card restaurant payments are most common, but high rollers choose credit.

The Context

Given credit card users’ tendency to spring for more expensive meals, restaurants and other businesses reliant on restaurant sales are working hard to attract the loyalty of this demographic. Grubhub, for instance, announced last year that it was offering free year-long delivery subscriptions to Bank of America credit card holders.

“This is truly a win-win, with Bank of America now rewarding cardholders with deals and perks from restaurants they will love, and Grubhub tapping into Bank of America’s loyal and vast customer base to drive even more orders to restaurant owners and drivers,” Grubhub Vice President of Loyalty Launika Raykar said in a statement at the time.

More than 200 restaurants, meanwhile, participated in the fall in American Express’s Member Week, looking to attract cardholders by promising $25 statement credits for purchases of $75 or more.

“The Member Week campaign is serving a curated list of Resy restaurants to American Express card members — who we know dine out more and spend more than non-card members — across so many marketing touchpoints,” Alex Lee, CEO of Resy and vice president of American Express Dining, told PYMNTS in an interview. “It’s great visibility for the participating restaurants and likely to drive new customers into their dining rooms.”

By the Numbers

Research from PYMNTS’ study Digital Economy Payments: Going Digital To Pay For Travel And Restaurant Dining, which drew from a survey of a census-balanced panel of more than 3,200 U.S. consumers, found that 37% of restaurant customers paid for their most recent restaurant purchase with debit cards, while only 33% did so with credit cards.

However, the study found that while debit card payments accounted for $25.3 billion in restaurant sales in the month of the survey, credit card transactions amounted to $29.8 billion. As such, it is clear that if restaurants can meet the needs and preferences of credit card users, they have the opportunity to bring in the big bucks.