For those asking - yes, you pay a few dollars & get certs (I call them coupons) for $10, $25, $50, $100, whatever you buy. You enter your credit card info & then print the coupon. Give the coupon to your server & that amount will be deducted from your bill. Many, many people on this site & others have used this website & these coupons without any problems.
SmallWorld 71, you must be doing what I did when I first found out about this. Put the dot in the coupon price that you are interested in. The rules change according to the "dot". A $50 coupon has a minimum above $50, not below, as do the $100 & so on.
Here are some basic rules:
1. Can only use 1 coupon per month at the same restaurant (I don't know if that is 30 days or calendar months).
2. Under the coupon amounts (to the right of the restaurant info), are the rules - some rules are - must buy 2 entrees, or must spend x dollars, or dinner only, or x% tip added to total bill amount before the coupon, etc. These rules change according to which "little circle" you put the dot in (next to the coupon $ amount). So read these carefully.
3. The tip & taxes are not included. Some restaurants will not allow you to include drinks - food only. You can call them before you buy if you want, but then once there, it may depend on the server.
4. The coupons do not expire, according to the website terms & according to the print outs.
5. So far, I have not known anyone who has experienced menu blackouts - meaning, so far, all menu items can be purchased with the coupon, that I am aware of.
6. There is usually a % off code available. It is great when an 80% comes out & great for us to share the info with each other. The codes can be found at retailmenot.com & then enter restaurant.com in the search field. Once you have a code, go to restaurant.com to buy your coupon. Find your restaurants by entering the desired zip code. You can also sign up on retailmenot.com to be notified when new codes come out - that is how I found out about the 80% code that I used to start this thread.
7. Figuring the savings differs by people - some deduct the cost of the coupon, the taxes, the tip, & the amount above the coupon price to determine their savings. I only deduct the cost of the coupon - I would always tip (unless service is bad, of course; in that case, the tip is a loss); must pay taxes with or without coupon; the $ amount above the coupon was for food I put in my stomach so why deduct it from my coupon savings?!
Enjoy your savings, Julie