Looking for free meals? From restaurant birthday clubs to loyalty programs, there are legitimate ways to dine without spending money.
Here’s how to find and claim these delicious deals.
Best Places that Offer Free Meals
Apps
Swagbucks
Swagbucks is a popular rewards platform where you can earn points (SB) through surveys, watching videos, and shopping online.
With food gift cards starting from just 300 SB ($3) for Dunkin’ Donuts to 500 SB ($5) for popular restaurants like Applebee’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, IHOP, and Taco Bell, you can easily turn your points into free meals.
KashKick
KashKick rewards you for completing surveys, playing games, and trying new apps. Once you reach the minimum $10 payout threshold, you can cash out via PayPal and use the money at any restaurant of your choice.
The platform offers a user-friendly interface and relatively quick earning potential, making it a solid option for funding your dining adventures.
While testing the Kashkick, we earned over $30 in 5 hours. For that amount, you can get a good free meal
Scrambly
With Scrambly, you can earn points by completing simple tasks and surveys. You can redeem your earnings for various restaurant gift cards or get cash through PayPal.
With a low minimum payout threshold of $1 and regular opportunities to earn, Scrambly provides another reliable way to score free meals at your favorite restaurants.
During our test, we invested $6 in apps and received $60 back for that simple action. That’s not a bad return. You can get some free meals with that amount.
IHOP
International House of Pancakes (IHOP) is a restaurant giant that specializes in breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
For over 50 years, the IHOP restaurant has served its popular pancakes to customers in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, and Delaware.
Examples of free food include;
- Pancakes
- French toast
- Cheesesteak stacker
- Bacon temptation omelet
- Eggs
You can get a free birthday meal coupon consisting of a complete stack of pancakes when you join the IHOP Birthday Club.
Also, as a member, you can enjoy IHOP’s pancake freebies during sign-up and on their anniversary.
Most free birthday meals require beneficiaries to redeem the offer one or two weeks before and after the birthday date.
Chili’s Free Meal
Chili’s Grill & Bar is a restaurant chain found in major cities such as Dallas, Houston, Tampa, New York, Los Angeles, Orlando, Atlanta, Miami, Denver & San Francisco.
Chili’s offers personalized rewards comprising;
- Free children’s meals
- Appetizers at no cost
- Free delivery for its clients
You can join the Chili’s Rewards offer by signing up on the email list on the website and get a free birthday coupon consisting of a free dessert.
Other available offers include;
- Chips & Salsa or,
- non-alcoholic beverages when you spend $5.
Firehouse Subs
Firehouse Subs has been around for over 25 years and serves hot gourmet sub sandwiches, cheese, meats, and toasted sub roll.
You can sign up for the Firehouse Subs Rewards and receive a free Medium Sub for your birthday.
You can also download the app on Google Play or the App Store and sign up before your birthday.
You’ll receive alerts during your birthday, and the offer will appear on your rewards. Your kids can also enjoy a free birthday offer if they are under 15 years old.
Denny’s Free Meal
Denny’s has over 1700 restaurants in California, Texas, Florida, California, and South Carolina, serving a diverse menu that includes Pancakes, milkshakes, bacon, and sausages.
You can also get a free birthday treat consisting of a Grand Slam breakfast valid only during your birthday.
For most restaurants offering free birthday meals, you can check on the official websites to find a nearby location.
Bakers Square
Bakers Square is a family-owned restaurant chain where you can get award-winning pies in locations like Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, and Ohio.
Their meal plan also includes breakfast, lunch, dinner, kids’ meals, and bakery meals, including Skillets and scramblers, Sweets, Omelettes and frittatas, Chocolate Chunks, Sugar, and peanut Butter.
Approximately one week before your birthday, you’ll get an email coupon to redeem your slice of free birthday pie.
Brusters Free Meal
Brusters Real has been around since 1989 and specializes in making Ice creams, frozen yogurt, cakes, waffle cones, milkshakes, pies, customized cakes in its up to 200 stores in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and New York.
You can sign up for the Buster’s Sweet Rewards and get a buy-one-get-one free coupon, which you can redeem for a free waffle cone on your birthday.
California Pizza Chicken
California Pizza Chicken, or CPK, is famous for its BBQ Chicken Pizza, sandwiches, desserts, appetizers, soups, and pasta portions.
You also can join the free rewards program and receive a free birthday dessert valid at any time on your birthday month.
Benefits of the free rewards program;
- They automatically upgrade your offer to a free Birthday Entree when you attain 150 points.
- When you reach 350 points, you’ll receive a free Half-Birthday Entree and enjoy double points during your birthday month.
CPK has an enhanced rewards program that allows you to earn one point for every dollar you spend during the year. After reaching a 75 minimum threshold, you can get a $5 added to your account.
Captainn D’s Birthday Club Free Meal
Captain D’s specializes in seafood meals, such as PC Southern Style, Butterfly Shrimp, and Lobster Roll, in its stores in Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, Missouri, and Arkansas.
You can join Captain D’s Birthday Club at the website and get an email coupon which you can redeem for a free meal during your birthday.
Chevy’s Fresh Mex
Chevy’s Fresh Mex is one of the subsidiaries of Xperience Restaurant group and specializes in Mexican meals such as Tacos, Sweet Tamales, and Elote.
When you join the Chevys Eclub program, you can enjoy offers in its restaurants in California and Maryland. For example, you can get the three tacos for $5 or Kids eat for $1.
Further, they will send you a free birthday meal, and you’ll also get a free Entree worth up to $12.99 sent to your email on the first day of your birthday month.
Charlie Brown’s Fresh Grill
Charlie Brown’s Fresh Grill is a dining restaurant with locations in Washington Township, New Jersey.
The Charlie Brown’s Handshake Club allows you to earn free points for dining vouchers and a free $10 dining coupon on your birthday.
They add the voucher to your handshake account every year on the 1st day of your birthday month.
You can check out the website for other deals and printable coupons, which are regularly updated daily. For example, you can save $1 off when you buy Listerine mouthwash or $1 off when you purchase a MET-Rx value pack.
El Chico Free Meal
El Chico is a restaurant chain operating in the Southern States such as Texas, and serves mainly Tex-Mex delicacies such as meat, tortillas, and peppers.
For example, the restaurant has daily offers, the two cheese enchiladas with rice & beans for only $4.99 and any taco for $2 all-day deals.
You can participate by joining the El Chico Mexican Cafe’s e-club. Here, you can get a buy one get one free coupon for a free Birthday entree which consists of free fried ice cream.
Hana Japanese Steak House
For over 40 years, Hana Japanese Steak House has been serving traditional Japanese cruising such as grilled seafood and steak for residents in California,
You can get the following offers;
- A free birthday dinner with your friends up to $29 when you join the besties club.
- A free entree and fried ice cream on your birthday.
A&W Free Meal
A&W restaurant has been around for a century and is famous for its caffeine-free root beer In Iowa, Chicago, Indiana, Columbus, West Virginia, New York, and Kansas.
When you join the Mug Club, you’ll receive a birthday dessert offer and regular root beer with creamy vanilla soft topping on your birthday at participating centers without spending any money.
Back Yard Burgers
Back Yard Burgers restaurants in Benton, Blue Springs, Brentwood, Cleveland, and Fairview offer classic, double classic, black jack, and southwest BBQ.
It offers birthday freebies for clients who sign up for the eclub. You receive a free burger when you buy a second burger and receive a free Combo meal or BOGO on your birthday.
Black Angus
Black Angus is a casual dining restaurant in Sherman Oaks California that specializes in steak, chicken, shrimp, salmon, and lobster tails.
You can get a birthday voucher for a free Black Angus steak dinner or entree worth up to $29.99. Also, when you sign up for the Prime Club, you’ll get a free dessert with the entree purchase.
Buffalo Wild Wings
Buffalo Wild Wings is available in Atlanta and Ohio, and customers can get the main menu of chicken wings by ordering or dining at the restaurants.
Buffalo Wild Wings sends you a birthday freebie certificate that you can use to get Snack Size Wings during your birthday.
This certificate is available on the website, or you can download the Rewards app and access it on your smartphone.
Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen
Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen is a restaurant chain established in 1979 in Irving, Texas. It serves delicacies such as fried chicken tenders and chicken pot pie.
When you sign up at the Club, you’ll get an online coupon that comprises;
- A free birthday meal
- Cooking tips
- Free chips
- Homemade Questo
Enstein Bro Bagels
Einstein Bro Bagels specializes in coffee and bagels in Arkansas, California, Arizona, Washington, Delaware, and Colorado.
When you join the Club, you’ll receive an instant coupon which you can redeem for free coffee, a free Bagel and Shmear when you buy.
You’ll get a free birthday meal consisting of an egg sandwich with a drink purchase.
McDonald’s
McDonald’s is one of the most prominent fast-food restaurants with branches in California, Illinois, Florida, and Texas.
You need to download the My McDonald’s app on your iOS and Android devices to receive birthday offers.
During your birthday month, you’ll receive birthday offers such as;
- A free happy meal offer
- A free sandwich accompanying any purchase
McDonald’s centers in the US
| State | Number of locations |
|---|---|
| California | 1492 |
| Texas | 1224 |
| Ohio | 823 |
| Georgia | 583 |
| North Carolina | 475 |
| Illinois | 738 |
