Seated App Review: Earn Rewards for Dining Out (up to $50 Per Reservation!)

Here’s my review of the app and everything you need to know to start earning rewards for something you already do, eating out!

What is Seated App?

Seated is a new (Summer 2017) restaurant discovery app you can use to book restaurant reservations and get $10-50 worth of Starbucks, Lyft, and Amazon gift cards!

Just complete a reservation and reap your rewards 24 hours later.

According to CrunchBase, the app is a reimagining of Vocolife, a dining app that launched last fall.

Seated App Cities

With a few changes, Seated now includes 2,000+ restaurants in a dozen cities across the United States, and growing:

• New York, NY
• Chicago, IL
• Boston, MA
• San Francisco, CA
• Los Angeles, CA
• Washington, D.C.
• Atlanta, GA
• Miami, FL
• Houston, TX
• Austin, TX
• Denver, CO
• Seattle, WA

(Coverage in New Orleans, LA has been temporarily suspended but will be back soon – with updates.)

The app is nothing short of amazing.

How to Get Started with Seated

The app is actually very easy to use.

Here’s how you can get started in a few easy steps:

Step 1: Download the app and create your account

Here’s how you can install the app and set up your account:

1. Download the app (iOS _ Android.)
2. Enter your phone number or connect with Facebook. (If you verify your account with a phone number, you will receive a text with a verification code. Enter that into the app.)
3. Enter your info (first & last name, email address, etc.)
4. Click “Start eating.”
5. “Allow” Seated to access your location while using the app.
6. Turn notifications on to get important reminders about reservations, rewards, and promotions.

You’re all set to make your first reservation.

So let’s go.

Step 2: Explore your city’s culinary favorites

When you sign up for Seated, you’re automatically paired with the nearest “Seated” city.

Click “sort and filter” to browse restaurant options by:

• Time and date
• Price
• Cuisine & vibes
• Neighborhoods

Swipe left to sort by:

• Availability
• Highest rewards
• Alphabetical
• Distance
• Most popular

Make sure your party size is set correctly! If it’s not, adjust.

Then click “See restaurants.”

The great thing is that all Seated restaurants are thoroughly vetted. So you can be sure you’re only seeing the best of the best.

There are no wrong choices here!

Once you find a restaurant, click it to see:

• Estimated reward amount (varies by party size)
• A maximum party spend (pre-tip and tax) to earn rewards
• The restaurant’s rating, descriptions, photos, and menu
• User reviews
• Restaurant address and map
• Payment information
• Contact information for Seated support

Step 3: Make your reservation

Once you choose a restaurant, it’s time to set your reservation with Seated.

Are we getting hungry yet?

1. At the top of the restaurant page, select whether you would like Amazon, Lyft, or Starbucks rewards.
2. Double check your party size.
3. Check the date.
4. Click a time and hit “next.”
5. Select “Verify with Receipt” or “Link Card.”
6. Get ready to eat!

If you need to change a reservation, just cancel the one you made and create a new one.

If you need to cancel, the app will let you do so within 15 minutes of your reservation.

Do not skip your reservation! You may incur a $5 fee, and your account can be suspended if you are a repeat offender.

Step 4: Earn rewards

To complete the transaction and reap your rewards:

1. Pay for the meal with a linked card OR upload a photo of your receipt.
2. Wait up to 48 hours.
3. Your reward will be delivered to you digitally.

An Example

Say you want to create a reservation for Daniel, an upscale French restaurant in 65th Street New York City, New York.

Here’s how you would go about doing it with Seated so you can earn rewards:

• Find the restaurant in the list and click on it. I can see right away that 8 people have recently booked reservations here. I can also see that a reservation there typically earns diners approximately $20 in rewards.
• Adjust your party size. As you do, notice your rewards total change. The more people in your party, the more your rewards total. This ranges from a $10 reward for a single diner to $40 in rewards for a party of 8 (current max). For my party of 3, I was offered a $15 reward (either from Amazon, Lyft, or Starbucks).
• Choose a date and time. The time you choose can also adjust your rewards. After 3:30 p.m., the maximum reward raised by $5. When I changed my time to 4 p.m. or later, my reward changed from $15-20 for a party of three. As my rewards total changed, so did my minimum party spend. That’s the amount you have to spend, pre-tax and tip, to collect your reward. A 3-person reservation at 12:15 p.m. could net me a $15 reward if my party spends $42. If our reservation time changes to 5:15, our reward changes to $20, with a minimum spend of $60.
• Make the reservation. Click “Next” and complete the reservation.
• Dine.
• Get your rewards!

Maximize Your Rewards with Seated

Promotional codes can help you maximize your rewards.

To enter a promo code, click “Me” and then “Settings.” Click “add code” in the upper right-hand corner of your screen.

Current promotions

Other reviews, especially on Reddit, mention Uber rewards, but as of March 2018, Seated’s exclusive rideshare partner is Lyft.

To celebrate the partnership, you can now earn a $10 Lyft credit for every friend you refer to the Seated app.

How to collect my Lyft credit

Click “me” in the menu bar at the bottom of your screen and click the promotion link.

You can also click the gift icon in the upper left corner of the screen.

You will be given a personalized code to copy and paste wherever you like.

There are also buttons to “Share to Facebook” and “Text invites” to help you share your code.

When someone signs up for Seated with your code, they’ll get an extra $5 reward.

You’ll get your $10 Lyft credit approximately 24-72 hours afterward.

Seated App Promo Codes (for $10 sign up bonus)

Some users have put their codes out on the internet to give users who don’t have friends already using Seated an opportunity to get sign-on bonus rewards.

Here are some that other users have reported as being current:

• LYFTXSEATED
• LAURA551
• CHAD36
• DEEPAK8
• NICOLLE1
• SAPREEN0
• BETTY15
• BENJI15
• STEPHEN178
• KAYLA155
• RICHA11
• HEENA2
• JJ14
• JONATHAN333
• FARHAD2
• SALLY42
• ARTHUR9
• JOSH399
• JULIE104
• STANLEY12
• WAI-YIN
• PAUL128
• DANIEL320
• LYDIA64
• SAMANTHA358

Seated App Tips & Tricks

Here are a few other tips that will help you make the most of it:

• When you make your reservation, give the hostess the name associated with your Seated account so you don’t get marked as a no-show.
• If for some reason the restaurant doesn’t recognize your reservation (this should not happen, but if it does…) go to your meal as a walk-in and pay with your linked card or upload your receipt to collect benefits.
• Missing rewards? Check the ‘Earned Rewards’ section under “Me” in the app. If you are sure you followed all the rules, snap a pic of your receipt and email it to support@seatedapp.io.
• If you’re running later than 15 minutes to your reservation, call ahead and let the restaurant know when to expect you. Otherwise, you could lose the reservation.
• Don’t split the bill until after you dine and collect your reward! If you split the bill before charging your card, you will only receive credit for your portion.
• The point of the app is restaurant discovery, so some restaurants limit the number of times you can access rewards through the app. So try new places to keep the rewards rolling in!

Share the wealth with Seated

For every Seated reservation you make, you can help a child in need!

Seated donates one meal per reservation, through ShareTheMeal, the app from the United Nations World Food Programme.

Their goal is to send 1,000,000 meals.

How Does Seated App Make Money?

Seated is not only a great deal for users but also for restaurant owners.

Their business model relies on the businesses paying them rather than users.

There are no upfront costs or new technology to set up. The app only profits when the restaurant does.

According to Seated, participating restaurants stand to bring in thousands of dollars more in revenue every month and reach more than 2 million customers.

Seated attracts the highest quality patrons because of its vetting process and rigorous scoring metrics for participating restaurants.

Restaurateurs can access rich analytics including:

• Optimal scheduling times to attract new diners
• Seated revenue
• User reviews
• and more!

So the company makes its money from restaurants that use the app to get more customers.

Seated Reviews: What Users Say

iPhone users are giving this app a 4.8 out of 5 stars in the iOS App Store.

Android users are giving it a 4.3 rating out of 5 in Google Play (353 total ratings).

One user on Reddit said, “In my city it’s pretty hard to discover new restaurants. I was used to going to the ‘same old’ and it got very monotonous going out for dinner/lunch with friends. Thanks to Seated, I’ve been able to discover SO many restaurants that I was not even aware of before. I’ve discovered many places that I’ve had to go back multiple times because they were that good.”

One complaint regarded the purchase minimum as too high for the amount of reward offered.

Another noted problem with the reservation times being accurate.

Users did praise the Seated app support experience, however, saying they were quick to reply and rectify the situation.

Apps Like Seated

There are actually a few other restaurant coupon apps and reservation apps out there.

Seated is part of the ongoing “rise of the pocket concierge” trend, and can be compared to other dining and reservation apps like OpenTable and Nowait.

1. OpenTable

OpenTable was the pioneer of the bunch. Launched in 1998, it now claims to offer users the “perfect dining experience” at more than 43,000 restaurants.

Users can book tables, invite guests to join reservations, find new restaurants in and outside of the U.S., earn points to redeem for dining rewards, and more.

2. Nowait

Nowai’s claim to fame, other than its fairly recent partnership with Yelp, is to save diners time by holding their place in line.

You can see estimated wait times, and receive a notification when your table is ready.

3. Reserve

Reserve offers access to the best restaurants in your city.

It focuses on mobile reservations for diners.

4. Resy

Resy offers easy mobile reservations and high-quality photos, covering the best restaurants in 80 cities.

5. Allset

Allset offers restaurant discovery, mobile reservations, and even the ability to pre-order your food and handle payment.

Apple is currently running a promotion with Allset in which you can get $10 free with code “Apple” and then $10 more on your next order when you pay for your food with Apple Pay.

Final Thoughts

If you do eat out a lot, you’d be crazy not to make your reservation through the Seated app. Who wouldn’t want to get paid for doing something they were going to do anyway?

It’s like getting free money.

To end this review, I’d say Seated app is definitely worth it.