( BudgetTravel.com ) -- To whet your appetite for earning miles ( without flying ! ) , several major airlines are offering sign-up bonuses this fall for their mileage dining programs . Your favorite restaurant might offer from 1 to 10 miles for every dollar you spend . But are those miles enough to justify the logistical hassle of signing up and dining at designated restaurants ? The value of these programs depends on 1 ) taking advantage of some of the current sign-up bonuses ; 2 ) having at least one participating restaurant near where you live and that you might dine at every other month ; and 3 ) using the mile activity as a way to keep your frequent flier accounts active . Budget Travel : Southwest waters down its rapid rewards program . One of the biggest things to change in the past year for these programs has been the development of smartphone apps . Now , instead of having to bring along a clunky , quickly outdated paper directory of participating restaurants , you can get a real-time list of what spots will earn you miles . Another change in recent years has been consolidation in the industry , with only one company Rewards Network , running all of the major programs . This change has allowed programs to become simplified and standardized . If a restaurant participates in the program for United , it probably also does for Delta , too , and you can use the same downloadable app for your smart phone to figure it out . If you have more than one dining card , you can double up on your rewards . Here 's the lowdown on how these programs work : It 's free to sign up for a dining card that gives airline credit every time you use it . Rewards Network , for instance , will ( typically ) give you three United miles for every mile you spend at a restaurant . At a value of about a penny a mile , that credit amounts to a 5 percent rebate on a family of four 's typical restaurant check . Compared with some charge-cards , that 's a decent mileage payoff . No wonder more than 3 million travelers are enrolled in these programs . All the dining programs work in a similar way . You sign up online for free at the sites ( see the list , below ) , punching in your frequent flier number and registering a debit or credit card ( American Express , Discover , MasterCard , Visa . ) Use the card to pay your bill ( including food , beverage , tax and tip ) at a participating restaurant , and then miles will be automatically credited to your frequent flier account . No need to tell the waiter . As I mentioned , sign-up bonuses can juice up your earnings . To use United as an example again because it 's so large , its dining program currently offers 1,000 mile bonus for signing up and spending at least $ 50 at a participating restaurant by the end of the year . Budget Travel : Ads on boarding passes -- Are airlines sharing your info ? These are the sweetest bonuses being offered now : . Alaska Airlines . Bonus : Earn an additional 500 miles if you spend $ 25 at a participating restaurant within a month of signing up . Delta . Bonus : Earn 1,000 miles if you spend $ 25 at a participating restaurants within a month of signing up . Southwest Rapid Rewards Dining . Bonus : Spend $ 25 at participating restaurants within two months of signing up and you 'll receive 300 points . United . Bonus : Earn 1,000 miles extra for signing up and spending at least $ 50 at a participating restaurant by the end of the year . US Airways . Bonus : Earn 1,000 points if you spend $ 25 or more on two different occasions between now and the end of the year at participating restaurants . Another perk of dining cards : It 's a no-sweat way to keep your frequent flier mileage accounts active and prevent the qualifying miles you earn by actually flying from expiring after the typical 18-month span . ( Miles will usually be deleted if an account is stagnant for 18 months . ) The first step in deciding if the programs are worth it to you is to see if local restaurants that you love participate . It 's understandable to be suspicious that restaurants must be bad to have to throw 5 miles per dollar at you to eat at them . But because of the recession many eateries are becoming more competitive . You can always ask a waiter , of course , to see if the restaurant participates . Or you can download a free app to find participating restaurants . The largest dining club program , Rewards Network is a good example to use , as the major airlines United/Continental , American , Delta , Southwest , and US Airways all belong . Find a participating restaurant by downloading one of these free apps : Blackberry , iPhone/iPad , Android . There are some annoying downsides to the programs , though : One is that you can often only earn credit once per month ( or a similar limit ) at any one restaurant . The other is that , if you 're not careful in the e-mail preferences you fill out , you could be blitzed with messages from participating restaurants . If you block the e-mails , however , you could get only one mile per $ 1 spent -- or worse , maybe even nothing . The things a budget-conscious traveler has to put up with these days ! Budget Travel : How do you use a cell phone boarding pass at the metal detector ? Get the best travel deals and tips emailed to you FREE - CLICK HERE ! Copyright © 2011 Newsweek Budget Travel , Inc. , all rights reserved .
Major airlines are offering sign-up bonuses this fall for their mileage dining programs . Dining cards are an easy way to keep your frequent flier accounts active . Delta , Alaska , US Airways , Delta and United are all participating .