Dining is the category UAE cashback cards compete hardest on. Five cards in our database pay 4–6% on restaurant bills, and one of them charges no fee at all. The differences that decide which one you should carry are the cap (several stop paying at a few thousand dirhams of dining a month), the spend floor (some pay nothing unless total card spend clears a minimum), and the fee after year one.
This guide works the dining cards through three monthly restaurant bills, then sets out the dining discounts and 2-for-1 perks our data records. Every rate, cap, spend floor and fee comes from our card database as verified on the dates shown on each linked review. Annual fees are AED inclusive of 5% VAT.
The short answer
| If you… | Take | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Want one dining card with no fee and no fine print | Mashreq Cashback | 5% on all dining and food delivery, uncapped, no spend floor, free for life |
| Spend up to about AED 4,000 a month on dining | HSBC Live+ | 6% on dining up to AED 200 a month; fee waived from year two above AED 12,000 of annual spend |
| Spend over AED 5,000 a month on the card in total and dine out heavily | ADCB 365 Cashback | 6% on dining including online orders, within an AED 1,000 monthly cap |
| Order on noon Food a lot | Emirates NBD Noon One | 20% back as noon Credits on noon Food, free for life |
| Want restaurant discounts rather than cashback | HSBC Live+ | 12 months of Zomato Gold included, per our data |
Three dining bills, worked
What each card returns on dining alone, for a year, at AED 1,000, 2,000 and 4,000 of restaurant and delivery spend a month. Caps are applied.
| Card | Dining rate | Dining cap | AED 1,000 a month | AED 2,000 a month | AED 4,000 a month | Spend floor | Year-two fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADCB 365 Cashback | 6% | AED 1,000 a month across all categories | AED 720 | AED 1,440 | AED 2,880 | AED 5,000 a month | AED 383.25 |
| HSBC Live+ | 6% | AED 200 a month (about AED 3,333 of dining) | AED 720 | AED 1,440 | AED 2,400 | AED 3,000 a month | Waived above AED 12,000/yr |
| Mashreq Cashback | 5% | None | AED 600 | AED 1,200 | AED 2,400 | None | Free |
| FAB Cashback | 5% | AED 150 a month (AED 3,000 of dining) | AED 600 | AED 1,200 | AED 1,920 | AED 3,000, previous month | AED 315 |
| ADIB Cashback Visa | 4% | AED 200 a month (AED 5,000 of dining) | AED 480 | AED 960 | AED 1,920 | None | AED 103.95 |
The arithmetic is the rate times the monthly dining bill, times twelve, with the cap applied. At AED 4,000 a month:
- ADCB 365: AED 4,000 × 6% = AED 240 a month, inside its AED 1,000 total cap, so AED 2,880 a year.
- HSBC Live+: AED 4,000 × 6% = AED 240, cut to the AED 200 cap, so AED 2,400 a year. We count nothing above the cap; HSBC’s terms in our data do not say over-cap dining earns the 0.5% base rate.
- Mashreq: AED 4,000 × 5% = AED 200 a month, AED 2,400 a year, no cap.
- FAB: the first AED 3,000 earns 5% = AED 150 (the cap); the other AED 1,000 earns the 1% base rate = AED 10, per our review. AED 160 a month, AED 1,920 a year.
- ADIB: AED 4,000 × 4% = AED 160 a month, under its AED 200 cap, AED 1,920 a year.
The spend floors are measured on total card spend. HSBC pays nothing in a month you spend under AED 3,000 on the card, ADCB 365 nothing under AED 5,000, and FAB nothing in the month after one under AED 3,000.
Best for most diners: Mashreq Cashback
Mashreq Cashback pays 5% on local and international dining, including online food delivery, with no monthly cap and no minimum spend. It has no annual fee on the primary or supplementary cards and needs an AED 5,000 salary.
It is not the highest dining rate, but it is the one with nothing to manage. HSBC and ADCB 365 pay 6%, but both need a monthly spend floor met, and ADCB charges a fee: on dining alone ADCB 365 only beats Mashreq above about AED 3,194 of dining a month (where 1% of the bill, times twelve, exceeds its AED 383.25 fee). Mashreq’s weakness is everything else: 1% on general spend and 0.15% on fuel and bills.
Our data also records 2-for-1 offers through The Entertainer under Visa’s MENA offers programme, and DragonFly dining discounts. Cashback can be redeemed from AED 100 and expires 36 months after it is earned.
Best rate up to AED 4,000 a month: HSBC Live+
HSBC Live+ pays 6% on dining, capped at AED 200 of cashback a month. Up to about AED 3,333 of monthly dining that is the highest rate on the list, level with ADCB 365; at AED 4,000 a month it pays the same AED 2,400 a year as Mashreq, and above that Mashreq’s uncapped 5% pulls ahead.
It also pays 5% on fuel and 2% on groceries and entertainment, under their own AED 200 caps. The AED 313.95 fee is waived from year two above AED 12,000 of annual spend, which AED 1,000 of dining a month clears on its own. Our data records a complimentary 12-month Zomato Gold membership (up to 50% off at 4,000+ UAE restaurants) and 12 months of Careem Plus. The minimum salary is AED 5,000 for employees of HSBC-approved companies and AED 12,500 for everyone else.
Best for heavy spenders: ADCB 365 Cashback
ADCB 365 Cashback pays 6% on dining, including online orders, with no separate dining cap: the only limit is the AED 1,000 of cashback a card can earn each month across every category. For a household that dines out heavily and puts AED 5,000 or more a month on the card, it is the highest dining return on our list: AED 2,880 a year at AED 4,000 a month, AED 2,496.75 after the AED 383.25 fee. A single month under AED 5,000 earns nothing.
Delivery and noon Food
Mashreq and ADCB 365 both include food delivery in their dining rate. Beyond that:
- Emirates NBD Noon One — 20% back on noon Food, paid as noon Credits that spend only on noon platforms. This is the “dining” rate in our data, and it applies to noon Food orders, not restaurant bills, which earn 1%. The accelerated rates are capped at a combined AED 2,000 of noon Credits a month. Free for life, AED 5,000 minimum salary.
- FAB Cashback — 40% off Talabat orders, four times a month, up to AED 40 off an order with an AED 100 minimum, on top of the 5% dining cashback.
- Citi Cash Back — 20% off Talabat once a month, up to AED 14.
- Liv Cashback and Liv Cashback+ — 20% off one Talabat order a month.
Dining discounts and 2-for-1
Our typed perk data records three cards with Buy 1 Get 1 offers through The Entertainer, the first three rows below. All three are recorded with a limited scope: the bank does not publish which outlets or how many offers. The other rows come from each card’s recorded perk text.
| Card | Dining perk in our data | Annual fee | Minimum salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emirates NBD Go4it Platinum | Buy 1 Get 1 with The Entertainer | No fee under the current promotion; standard renewal AED 208.95 | AED 12,000 |
| Emirates NBD Skywards Signature | Buy 1 Get 1 with The Entertainer | AED 735 (AED 1,573.95 joining fee) | AED 12,000 |
| Emirates NBD U by Emaar Infinite | Buy 1 Get 1 with The Entertainer; 20% off food and drink at Emaar Hospitality Group hotels; 7.5% back as UPoints at Emaar restaurants | AED 1,575 (AED 2,625 joining fee) | AED 30,000 |
| HSBC Live+ | 12-month Zomato Gold membership, up to 50% off at 4,000+ UAE restaurants | Waived above AED 12,000/yr | AED 5,000 |
| Mashreq Cashback | The Entertainer 2-for-1 via Visa MENA Offers; DragonFly dining discounts | Free | AED 5,000 |
| FAB Elite | Up to 40% off top hotel restaurants via the ADV+ app | AED 1,260 | AED 40,000, salary transfer |
A discount is worth what you would otherwise have paid, and only where you would have eaten anyway, so we do not put an annual dirham figure on these. For brunch specifically, our Dubai brunch guide works through the hotel-group offers.
Miles and points cards on dining
Travel cards advertise dining as a bonus category, but the return is small next to a cashback card:
- Emirates NBD Skywards Infinite: 2 Skywards Miles per USD on dining, about 1.09% at our 2-fils-per-Mile baseline (2 ÷ 3.6725 × 2 fils).
- Emirates NBD Skywards Signature: 1.5 Miles per USD, about 0.82%.
- Emirates NBD Marriott Bonvoy World Elite: 3 Bonvoy points per USD on dining, about 2.04% at our 2.5-fils Bonvoy baseline; the free Bonvoy World earns 1.5 points per USD, about 1.02%.
- Emirates NBD Diners Club: 2.5% as Plus Points on dining, subject to a per-statement cap our data does not quantify. AED 420 fee, salary transfer required.
Our Skywards guide explains the valuations. On dining alone, none of these comes near Mashreq’s free 5%.
Strong numbers, held out of the ranking
- RAKBANK World — 10% on dining in months you spend AED 10,000 or more on the card, capped at AED 300 a month (AED 3,000 of dining). At AED 2,000 of dining that is AED 200 a month, AED 2,400 a year. AED 997.50 fee, waived above AED 100,000 of annual spend; AED 20,000 minimum salary. Held because our review has flagged the earn grid for re-verification.
- Emirates Islamic Switch Cashback — 4% on dining in either of its monthly modes, capped at AED 200 a month, behind an AED 2,500 monthly spend floor. Held because its eligibility data is under re-verification.
Before you apply
- Check the floor against your quiet months. If your card spend dips in summer, a floor-free card like Mashreq or ADIB pays every month.
- Find where the cap lands. HSBC’s 6% stops at about AED 3,333 of dining a month, FAB’s 5% at AED 3,000, ADIB’s 4% at AED 5,000.
- Watch the foreign-currency fee if you eat abroad. Mashreq pays 5% on international dining but charges a 2.89% FX fee; HSBC’s is 2%.
- Discounts are not cashback. A 2-for-1 is worth something only if the outlet is one you would have chosen anyway.
Bottom line
For most UAE diners the answer is the free Mashreq Cashback: 5% on every restaurant and delivery bill, with no cap and no floor. HSBC Live+ pays more up to about AED 4,000 of dining a month if you clear its AED 3,000 monthly spend floor, and adds Zomato Gold. ADCB 365 Cashback is the highest return for heavy diners who spend AED 5,000 a month on the card. Miles cards and 2-for-1 perks are extras, not reasons to choose a dining card.
Sources
All rates, caps, spend floors, fees, salary minimums and perks are from our card database as it stood on 20 October 2026, including the typed perk records, and the linked card reviews. Each review lists the issuer pages, Key Facts Statements and schedules of charges behind its figures, with the date each was last verified. Skywards Miles and Marriott Bonvoy points are valued at the baselines on our programme pages, USD rates converted at the AED 3.6725 peg. No figure in this guide comes from outside those records.
