Diner’s Passport

So, you’re out for a bite to eat. You’ve consulted the social coupon sites, as well as the discount options on Yelp and UrbanSpoon, but you still want more. You want to be rewarded for having such good taste in food. Yes, you’re already doing the work necessary to accumulate a wealth of knowledge on your local dish-slingers, so why not share this info and get something in return? Your opinion is valuable… I know mine is!

If you’re anything like me, you’re a super discount hunter. Most of us already check in via FourSquare or Yelp to access discounts and other perks on our phones while we are on location at a certain spot. Plus, we love to give our compliments and complaints to the foodie space via online reviews. Well, Diner’s Passport is essentially a phone app that gives you points for doing just that. You stamp your passport after dining, give a quick review, and taste the benefits. These come in the form of points, which then translate into credits at restaurants, gift certificates, theatre tickets, or whatever the Diner’s Passport affiliates are offering at the time. The flip side of these perks is that your history of dining through Diner’s Passport is converted into an easy way to learn about new places you might like. That said, they do keep all your data private for those of us that are adamant about maintaining control over our contact info.

This whole setup is free. You just need an iPhone or Droid and you can get the app for zilch at app.dinerspassport.com or scan the QR code on Facebook. Then, use it to stamp in at ANY restaurant. The establishment doesn’t have to be part of the system, so you can earn points every time! Just make sure you stamp your passport while at the restaurant, since it relies on your location via GPS. The rest of the process just involves a simple review, but you can complete that later as long as you stamp while onsite. Even better, they’ve just enabled a function within the app where you can check-in on FourSquare and Diner’s Passport simultaneously!

The only downsides are that the app is not yet available for Blackberries, and your rewards are limited to the network of affiliates and these rewards change over time. However, I’m sure this availability will grow with the success of the app! One of the bugs on my Droid X is that sometimes it won’t access the web app. I hope as they work all the kinks out, I won’t have any issues stamping my passport all over town.

Sounds too good to be true, right? Well, it is pretty darn good. How smart of someone to setup the network of restaurants and write an app so the foodmongers of the world can get something for nothing! I’m in.

Disclosure: I was provided with sponsorship to BlogHer in exchange for this review. Any consequent love for stamping my foodie passport or how much I adore the the gang from Diners Passport had no bearing on this review. All opinions are my own as is the gratitude I have for the sponsorship on my blog so I may attend some amazing conferences.

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