I spent the first half of 2025 traveling through Europe and South America. Then, the month after I got back, I sold my house in Austin and moved to Spain, where I've been based for the past year. In that time, I've only made it back to the U.S. twice.
That has created a problem: between my American Express Platinum Card® and Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees), I have up to $700 a year in restaurant credits that only trigger when I pay at a participating restaurant in the U.S.* I wasn't willing to let that value go to waste just because I wasn't going to be dining in the U.S. as often, so I researched a way to keep maximizing those credits from a distance.
That's when I found UseYourCredits.com, a site that maps out participating restaurants for benefits on cards like these. It's also how I learned that a good chunk of those Resy and OpenTable restaurants sell their own gift cards online. Buy one directly from the restaurant's site, and it often triggers the statement credit just like paying your check would, even if you're thousands of miles away and don't have a reservation.
A great solo travel tip spotted this week on The Points Guy Articles.
