Article: Dining at a discount Card services offering a break to the customer are on the rise

Looking for bargains may be fine at Filene's Basement, but waving dollars-off coupons at a waiter has always seemed, well, a teensy bit declasse (unless you're with your kid's fourth-grade class at the local pizza pub).

The discount dining market, though, is heating up, offering customers ways to get 20 to 25 percent off the meal tab without coupons. Transmedia Services and Dining a la Card are the two most aggressive programs in the country, each offering discounts to customers and cash and marketing for restaurants. Both companies report growing numbers of card holders and member restaurants.

The two programs work basically the same way, although there are a baffling number of ...

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