17 Ways to get Restaurant Deals, Free Food, and Savings at Restaurants and Fast Food Chains

I've provided a list of 17 Ways of how and where to get Restaurant Deals, Coupons for Restaurants, Fast Food Coupons, Free Food and Free Birthday Meals when dining out at Restaurants! When you realize how much money you can save each month by simply using a coupon or other savings method when you dine out, you'll jump for joy! You eat at these places anyway, so you may as well take advantage of all of the savings that they offer. I'll be adding to this list as I find additional methods.

1.  JOIN THEIR EMAIL OR E-CLUB
When you join the Restaurant or Fast Food Restaurant’s Email or eClub, not only may they send you discount coupons through-out the year, but depending on the restaurant, they may also send you a coupon for a free or discounted food, drink or dessert item for (1) signing up; (2) your Birthday; (3) your Anniversary; and (4) the Anniversary of the date you signed up.  These offers vary by restaurant/establishment.  They will also inform you of any Contests or Sweepstakes they are running and Holiday or Gift Card Specials.

 
2.  PURCHASE GIFT CARDS AT A CERTAIN TIME OF YEAR
There are special times of the year when Restaurants offer great deals on Gift Cards!  I love and use these deals so much that I have devoted an entire page to this topic Restaurant Gift Cards.  Check this page for the details.  I also wrote an article regarding this topic for Yahoo!

3.  PURCHASE DISCOUNTED GIFT CARDS
There are sites that offer discounted Gift Cards at 10% less than retail, and you can also purchase discounted Gift Cards on eBay.  Just be certain that the cost of shipping doesn't negate the savings.

4.  PRINTABLE AND E-COUPONS
If you’re not using printable grocery coupons and/or e-coupons, you should be. This is yet another way to save tons of money every month! Many Restaurants even have frozen versions of their most favored dishes available at the grocery store, such as Marie Callenders, TGI Fridays, California Pizza Kitchen and many others.  You can get all of your free printable grocery coupons right here at Discount Fanatics in our Coupon Savings Center, from places like Coupons.com, Checkout 51, RedPlum and other Coupon Sites.

5.  COUPONS IN THE MAIL
These will automatically arrive weekly. They’re like bills, you don’t have to do or say anything, they just keep coming. The good thing about these restaurant coupons, fast food coupons and pizza coupons are that they provide a benefit and you don’t have to pay them!

They sell $25 Restaurant Gift Certificates for $10 and $10 Gift Certificates for $4. They occasionally offer specials for even better prices than these. The majority of Restaurants listed are not major Chain Restaurants, although some are listed. It's a great way to try out some of your local Restaurants for less!

7.  DAILY DEAL SITES

The two most popular Daily Deal Websites often offer discounts for dining out. The majority of the restaurants are local, not National Chains, but you can save a lot of money if you either love your local restaurants, or wish to try out some new restaurants without paying full price!



8.  PENNYSAVERS/BOOKLETS
These are the booklets that you’ll find when you’re out and about town. They’re all over the place: at the Dentist’s office, the Vet’s, your Doctor’s office, the Chinese Restaurant countertop, at the Grocery Store entrance, at the Video Store entrance, at Rest Stops, Tourists Centers and Visitor’s Centers. You get the point, they’re like spiders… if you’re out in public, you’re probably no more than 6 feet away from one! They’re free, so grab them, clip the local restaurant coupons and fast food coupons and use them.

The annual Entertainment Book is filled with coupons for local Restaurants and Fast Food Chains.  They also offer a digital edition so that you can print coupons online. 

10.  NEWSPAPER READER REWARDS PROGRAMS
If you subscribe to a newspaper, your Newspaper may offer you a Reader Rewards Program! It's worth a phone call for you to call and ask them if they do - trust me! Reader Rewards Programs are a program that you access online that offers printable coupons and Buy-One-Get-One-Free Coupons to local Restaurants, Fast Food Chains, Frozen Yogurt, Ice Cream Shops, Donut Shops, Amusement and Entertainment Spots (like bowling, Putt Putt Golf, etc.), Hotels and Motels, etc.  You can save a boatload of money! The one in my area is called "The Ultimate Coupon Book." It's a great thing. For instance, now, everytime that I go to Krispy Kreme, I print a BOGO coupon, and when I purchase 1 dozen donuts, I get 1 dozen Free!


11.  MANAGERS SPECIALS
Managers Specials can be a real bargain. For example, at my local Chicken Chain, I recently called and asked for the Manager. I asked him if he was offering any Manager’s Specials on chicken. He said, yes, that he was offering 7 pieces of chicken for $7.00. This deal included any selection of chicken, wing, breast, leg, or thigh. I couldn’t believe it! I could get 7 breasts (of course I would choose the costliest piece of chicken) at $1.00 each. These breasts normally cost $2.49 each individually, and would have cost me $17.43 if I had to pay their regular price. Now, you don’t have to call in advance. Simply ask the Manager while standing in the Fast Food Restaurant/Restaurant, or ask the employee if he/she is knowledgeable. Why do they offer Manager’s Specials? Maybe they cooked too much chicken and needed to sell it before closing. Maybe the Manager was feeling generous that day. Maybe something God-awful had happened to those 7 particular pieces of chicken ☺. Frankly I don’t know. But man they tasted delicious and juicy. The long and the short is, if you didn't see it happen, it was a deal to you. I'm kidding, I'm kidding! My sense of humor came out to play. I hope you had a good laugh, because I certainly did. Seriously, though, ask about those Manager’s Specials!

12.  MAGAZINES
Restaurants place discount coupons in Magazines to get your business as well. I recently used a “$10 off the purchase of two entrees” coupon that I clipped from the pages of a “Travel & Leisure” Magazine that I received. Keep your eyes open for these, tear out the page and clip the coupon later.

13.  FRONT OR BACK OF RECEIPTS
When dining out at Fast Food Restaurants, be sure to check the front or back of your receipt, because some Restaurants will offer a discount toward a future purchase, or free food if you complete an online or phone survey. Subways, Arby’s, Panda Express and Chick-fil-A frequently offer this type of promotion for free sandwiches, cookies or other free items. In most cases, you will need to complete the survey within 2 to 7 days of your visit.

14.  POINTS AND REWARDS PROGRAMS
Points and Rewards Programs like MyCokeRewards, RecycleBank and others offer dollar off and discount coupons to major chain Restaurants like Red Lobster, Olive Garden and others in exchange for some of your accumulated points. To sign up for these programs, visit our Points/Rewards Programs tab.

15.  COUPONS IN NEWSPAPERS
Yet another reason to subscribe to your Sunday newspaper is that it contains grocery coupons from SmartSource, RedPlum and P&G BrandSaver, and these inserts often contain Fast Food Coupons and/or Restaurant Coupons. The weekday paper also contains many Fast Food coupons. You will recover the cost of the newspaper simply with the use of one or two of these coupons.

16.  DOWNLOAD THEIR APP
Some Restaurants or Convenience Stores will give you free food or products if you download their app.  For instance, 7-Eleven gives away a free item each week if you download their app for IOS or Android on your phone and register.

17.  CHECK THEIR FACEBOOK/TWITTER PAGES
On special occasions or during special promotions, many restaurants will announce free offers, or will provide coupons for a free product on their Facebook/Twitter pages. This is one of my least favorite methods, since no-one really has the time to keep up with multiple Restaurant’s Facebook pages. 

Here’s the most important part to remember…
You can gather hundreds of coupons, but if you leave them at home, you won’t save a dime! Either keep your coupons in your vehicle, or put a sticky note on your door to remind yourself to
“Grab Your Coupons.”

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