In this post I'd like to share the love and show a list of birthday freebies that I've gotten this year (or intend to get in the near future - let me know if you're in the area and want to use one with me). If you don't mind putting up with promotional emails, then you'll also receive these freebies:
Starbucks
Freebie: Free food or drink item (any size drink!)
Time period: Valid up to 1 month after your birthday
Fine print: You must have a registered gift card. Make an account on their website and register any gift card. You do not have to have gold status to receive your birthday freebie.
To redeem: Starbucks used to mail a card to your house for you to bring in and redeem, but this is no longer the case. Instead, you can see your birthday reward when you log in to your account. To redeem, just tell the barista you'd like to redeem your birthday reward. They will swipe your registered card and you'll be all set.
Panera
Freebie: 1 free pastry
Time period: Valid up to 60 days after the reward is deposited into your account (In my case, 4 days before my birthday).
Fine print: You must sign up for a MyPanera card. You can obtain these cards in the restaurant and then register the card online. If you have too many cards in your wallet, you can opt to use the key chain card instead.
To redeem: Hand your MyPanera card to the cashier and say that you would like to redeem your free birthday pastry - once the card is swiped, the reward will show up.
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| My favorite pastry at Panera: the Bear Claw. Filled with a delicious almond paste and not overly sweet. |
Freebie: 1 free movie ticket
Time period: Within 10 days of your birthday (before or after; I received mine 5 days before my birthday)
Fine print: You must sign up for their email newsletter.
To redeem: Print out the coupon that they will email you and bring it in to the theater with your ID.
Notes: I recommend signing up for the Emagine Rewards program (not the same thing as the email newsletter). Every Tuesday you will receive a FREE medium bag of popcorn (you can upgrade to a medium bucket for $1, and for $1 more, upgrade to "Poppin' Olive", which is a healthier alternative to the regular trans-fatty stuff). This way, if you are free on a Tuesday within 10 days of your birthday, you get a free movie and free (or really cheap) popcorn! To sign up, go to the concierge counter inside the theater. You also rack up points every time you make a ticket or concession purchase and eventually get free tickets/snacks.
BD's Mongolian Grill
Freebie: Free all-you-can-eat meal, lunch or dinner
Time period: 2 weeks (I received mine on the last day of February and it's valid until 3/14)
Fine print: Free meal with the purchase of one bowl (the purchased bowl does not have to be the unlimited meal). You must sign up for Club Mongo on their website.
To redeem: Print out the coupon that they email you and bring it in.
Notes: It's been a long time since I've been to BD's for dinner. I'm not sure if they have better ingredients for dinner, but lunch is a lot cheaper. Plus, for the unlimited meal, you're allowed to get your last bowl to-go for no additional charge! That way, you can have free dinner too (or lunch the next day, if you don't feel like eating stir fry for two meals in a day). I would definitely recommend using this for lunch.
Red Robin
Freebie: Free burger
Time period: Your whole birthday month
Fine print: Can't use it on their "Finest burgers". You must sign up for the Red Robin Royalty program on their website.
To redeem: Either present your card or (if you chose to go cardless), give them your phone number.
Buddy's Pizza
Freebie: Free four-square cheese pizza or 10% off your order
Time period: About 1 month (they sent mine about 2 weeks before my birthday and it's good for about 2 weeks after).
Fine print: You must sign up for their email club. Dine-in only. Add $1 per topping. You can also apply the value of the 4-square pizza to an 8-square pizza. Also, make sure you sign up for the location nearest you, because the coupons are location-specific.
To redeem: Print out the coupon that they mail to you and bring it in.
Benihana
Freebie: Free $30 credit to use on anything in the restaurant
Time period: Your whole birthday month
Fine print: You must sign up for The Chef's Table. Unfortunately, this is only valid Monday-Thursday for dinner (newly imposed restrictions). So if your birthday falls on Friday-Sunday, you should probably pick a different restaurant to go to that day. Someone in your party must also purchase an adult teppan entree for you to get your credit. Additionally, the credit can't be used on anyone else's meal (i.e. you can't share with someone). And finally, the $30 is not valid for alcohol, tax, or gratuity.
To redeem: Print off the certificate they email you and bring it in.
Fuji Buffet (Madison Heights)
Freebie: Free dinner
Time period: Only on your birthday
Fine print: Dinner only - you must have at least 3 other people with you purchasing dinner (i.e. buy 3 get 1 free). Make sure you have your ID with you.
To redeem: No email clubs to sign up for or coupons to print out - just tell the waitress that it's your birthday and show your ID.
Note: To get the most value, fill up on the seafood! Don't be one of those people who fills up on the white rice and sweet & sour chicken. One of my favorite things here is soft shell crab sushi - load up on it!
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| Look at all this sushi you can get there! |
Swagbucks
Freebie: 50 free Swagbucks
Time period: On your birthday
Fine print: You must have a Swagbucks account.
To redeem: Click the link in the email they send you and you will receive your 50 Swagbucks!
Note: Swagbucks is a site that allows you to earn "Swagbucks" to redeem for gift cards (or other prizes) for completing various tasks (watching short videos, answering surveys, reading articles, etc.). It is completely legit and I've earned about $400 in Amazon gift cards in the time I've been a member (less than 2 years)! A $5 Amazon gift card is 450 Swagbucks and you can redeem 5 of any given gift card per month (the next increment is $10 Amazon gift card for 1,000 Swagbucks, or many other kinds of giftcards beginning at $5 for 500 Swagbucks). It's perfect for whenever you're bored in a class or meeting, or if you're watching a TV show that you don't really need to pay 100% attention to.
That wraps up my list for this year. There are other places that offer freebies, but these are the ones that interested me (for example, I didn't feel like getting a free ice cream scoop in this arctic weather).
I hope that this was helpful to you and that you will be able to take advantage of these freebies too!
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