Routing a $120 Sweetgreen lunch run
Which card should I swipe for a $120 lunch at a fast-casual restaurant when I hold a 4× dining card and a 2% flat card?
Scenario
Wallet: Amex Gold (4× Membership Rewards on dining), Citi Double Cash (2% cash back catch-all).
No active offers, no open sign-up-bonus spend requirement, no merchant whitelist.
- Merchant
- Sweetgreen
- Category code
- 5812 (eating places / restaurants)
- Amount
- $120.00
Card options
| Card | Earns | Cash-equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Amex GoldRouted | 4× · Membership Rewards | $7.20 |
| Citi Double Cash | 2% · Cash back | $2.40 |
Routing path
1. Merchant whitelist
No pin — skip.
2. Live offers
None active — skip.
3. MSR gating
No open spend requirement — skip.
4. Category multipliers
MCC 5812 is dining. Amex Gold 4× → 480 MR × 1.0¢ = $7.20. Double Cash 2% = $2.40. Amex Gold wins.
Result
Swipe Amex Gold — 4× on dining ≈ $7.20, versus $2.40 on the flat card. A $4.80 difference on a single lunch.
Illustrative scenario with sample wallets and values. Pikt is a personal-project preview; reward rates and point valuations are estimates that change over time. See the methodology.