How I stacked Amex Resy credits to save $400 at Eleven Madison Park

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If you’ve got The Platinum Card® from American Express, I’d wager that one of your favorite benefits is its up to $400 in Resy restaurant credits per year (enrollment required). Because more than 10,000 restaurants around the U.S. qualify for the credit, it’s been pretty effortless to use unless you live in a rural area.

But as of mid-September, you can book more than 25,000 restaurants through Resy. The company folded Tock, its fine-dining-heavy sister platform, into Resy, and hundreds of Tock restaurants are now eligible for the Amex Resy credit, with more being added over the coming months.

With a bit of tact, you can stack these credits to save several hundred dollars off a single meal. Here’s how I saved $400 on a bucket-list visit to the former No. 1 restaurant in the world, Eleven Madison Park in New York.

Multiple American Express travel rewards cards come with some form of Resy credits, including the Amex Platinum Card, American Express® Gold Card, Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card, and Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card. Enrollment is required.

The Amex Platinum Card specifically comes with up to $100 in credit per quarter (max $400 per year). These credits are use-it-or-lose-it, so you’ve got to use your card at an eligible restaurant by the end of each quarter — or you’re forfeiting $100. Only U.S. restaurants are eligible.

Eleven Madison Park in the Flatiron District has been on my to-do list for nearly a decade. It was ranked the top restaurant in the world by The World’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2017 (rules exclude previous No. 1 establishments from being named on future “50 Best” lists).

I’ve never made the trip because of its crippling prix fixe price tag, which starts at $225 per person. A $450 dinner isn’t something a fella in my tax bracket would ever consider. My Resy credits made the bill reasonable.

My wife and I both hold the Amex Platinum Card — so we each get up to $100 in Resy credit each quarter. In preparation for our visit, I also purchased two $100 Eleven Madison Park gift cards online last quarter ($103 each with the processing fee). This triggered our Resy credits.

After that, I waited until the next quarter and purchased two $225 reservations through Resy, one on each of our cards. This triggered a fresh $100 credit on each, effectively dropping the price to $125 each. I then emailed the restaurant and asked them to apply my gift card to the reservations. They quickly credited $100 back to each of our cards, $200 total.

By stacking Resy credits, we managed to save a total of $400 on a $450 reservation. Out of pocket, dinner for two at Eleven Madison Park cost us $50.

To be clear, these Resy credits don’t truly give you “free” food; after all, the Amex Platinum Card charges an $895 annual fee. But if you’ve got your eye on a fancy restaurant you could only afford in your dreams, check to see if it’s on Resy. Your Amex credits could make it accessible.

If a restaurant sells its gift cards directly — either in-person or via its website — the Amex Resy credit should trigger. But not all restaurants do this. Some sell through a third party, so the transaction won’t code as a Resy-eligible restaurant.

For example, buying a gift card through Giftly or off the rack at your local grocery store won’t activate the Resy benefit. A restaurant that processes gift cards on its own website (without sending you to another site) is your best bet, and reader data points suggest restaurants using Toast or Square often trigger the credit as well.

One more check before you buy: As of August 1st, 2026, the restaurant has to show as Resy Credit eligible on its Resy page at the time of purchase, so confirm the badge is there first.

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