New to Places UAE or cashback dining generally? This glossary explains the key terms you will see across restaurant listings and the app, in plain language.

Core Terms

Cashback

A percentage of your restaurant bill that is credited back to your wallet after you pay, rather than deducted from the price upfront. See our full definition of cashback dining.

Cashback Wallet

The in-app balance where your earned cashback is stored. Wallet balances can typically be used toward future meals at participating restaurants.

Applicable Days

The specific days of the week on which a restaurant's cashback offer is active. Some restaurants offer cashback every day; others limit it to weekdays or off-peak days to manage demand during busy periods.

Boosted Cashback

A temporary increase in a restaurant's standard cashback rate, often used to promote a new opening, a slow period, or a limited-time event.

Price Tier

A shorthand indicator (such as $, $$, $$$) showing a restaurant's typical price range per person, helping diners quickly gauge cost before ordering.

Minimum Spend

Some restaurants set a minimum bill amount that must be reached before cashback applies. Cashback applies on bills of AED 20 or more, but always check the specific listing.

Restaurant and Menu Terms

Digital Menu

A restaurant's menu displayed inside the app, showing live pricing and often dish-level details such as allergens. See our guide to the digital menu shift in Dubai.

Allergen Information

Dish-level data showing which common allergens (nuts, gluten, dairy, shellfish and more) are present in a specific menu item, letting diners filter with confidence. Read more in our allergen info feature guide.

Cuisine Tags

Labels applied to a restaurant describing its style of food (for example, Italian, Lebanese, Japanese), used to power search and filtering across the app.

AI and Search Terms

Conversational Search

The ability to describe what you want in natural language (for example, "a quiet Italian spot near me with outdoor seating") rather than using rigid filters. Supported in the Places UAE app.

Personalised Recommendations

Restaurant suggestions tailored to a diner's past choices, preferences, and dietary needs. Used in the Places UAE app to surface venues that fit.

Business and Partnership Terms

Partner Restaurant

A restaurant that has joined the Places UAE platform and set a cashback rate for its diners. See how restaurants join and what it costs in our restaurant partner cost guide.

Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)

A business metric measuring how much it costs a restaurant to acquire one new paying customer through a given channel, discussed in depth in our CAC guide for restaurants.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does "applicable days" mean on a restaurant listing?

It tells you exactly which days of the week that restaurant's cashback offer is valid, since some venues limit cashback to specific days rather than offering it every day.

What is the difference between cashback and a cashback wallet?

Cashback is the reward itself — the percentage returned on your bill. The cashback wallet is where that reward is stored inside the app until you use it.

Still have questions? Our complete app guide and cashback explained guide cover the fundamentals in more depth.