resturant.com HOW DOES IT WORK

[zoie101]

Do you print something, is it a gift card they send u? how does it work. when you make a resv, do you tell them. Looking at the house of blues, bb kings place on internationa drive, kimonos at swan and dolphin
TIA

 

[mjkacmom]

You print it from your computer.

 

[ambgoph]

Make sure to read if there are any restrictions or minimum amounts for each restaurant. Print out each certificate. Let your server know before you order that you have the certificate.

 

[zoie101]

thanks

 

[GoofyGang]

If you are not already signed up to receive their emails, do so. They run specials all the time. I usually wait until they have the 80% off deal (example: $25 gift cert usually costs around $10 you would then get it for $2). Great way to try different restaurants.
As suggested though read all the restrictions. Some have minimum purchases, some have certain days of the week.

 

[shoney]

I think the big problem with restaurant.com is that they are called gift certificates...they are really coupons in my opinion. You purchase a printable coupon for xx amount of dollars off of a specific purchase of x amount of dollars. Each restaurant is different so you must read the details.

A gift certificate doesn't have strings attached. A coupon does.

We bought a 100.00 "coupon" for BB Kings for 8.00. We had to purchase 200.00 worth of food (and drinks at BB Kings). A 40.00 tip was added to the bill and then 100.00 for the "coupon" was deducted. The food was great and we had a good time. It was well worth the 8.00 to save 92.00!

 

[zoie101]

I think the big problem with restaurant.com is that they are called gift certificates...they are really coupons in my opinion. You purchase a printable coupon for xx amount of dollars off of a specific purchase of x amount of dollars. Each restaurant is different so you must read the details.

A gift certificate doesn't have strings attached. A coupon does.

We bought a 100.00 "coupon" for BB Kings for 8.00. We had to purchase 200.00 worth of food (and drinks at BB Kings). A 40.00 tip was added to the bill and then 100.00 for the "coupon" was deducted. The food was great and we had a good time. It was well worth the 8.00 to save 92.00!

I feel the same way... I coupon with groceries, and no one likes to be behind me in line... Lol
thanks for all the help I like at house of blues and kiminos that it is only 35 dollar purchase, and we can all have app, and drinks and still get an 1 or 2 entree and save some money. I liked the bb king prices as well.

 

[HannaBelle]

I agree that it is really a coupon, not a gift certificate. We have had great luck with them and they can save you a ton of money! Sometimes they will have 90% off and then you can really get a great deal.

We have even had the situation where the restaurant went out of business and they gave us a credit to "buy" another certificate online.

 

[Dizneydaz]

Love them! I've used twice in the last few months at HoB here in DTD by DLR. They work great! Got them for $2 for $25 so saved $23 on our meal.

 

[amamax2]

So if I am looking at a local restaurant on the restaurant.com website, and it says minimum purchase $50, and I buy a $50 certificate for $10, then that $10 plus the tip on $50 is my only cost, right?

Just trying to understand...my MIL gave my DH a credit to restaurant.com for his birthday.

Thanks in advance!

 

[pixiewings71]

Each coupon (because that's how I see them as well) is for a certain dollar amount, let's say $25 is the amt of your coupon so you would read the fine print and it will say "minimum purchase of $35" or $40 or $50 etc. So one place we love to go says minimum purchase of $35, so we use a $25 coupon and they add the 18% gratuity and we pay the gratuity, tax, the remaining $10 and the $2 it cost me for the coupon (because I only buy them at 80% off). So just be sure to check the fine print and your minimum purchase and you should be fine.

 

[TwoAtDisney]

In your experience using the coupons, will the restaurants allow drinks to be included in the coupon amount, or is it just for food. And if drinks are allowed in the coupon amount, is it only soft drinks or any drinks?

What if the entire coupon amount is not spent. Will the restaurant still accept the coupon? For instance, say I buy a $75 coupon that only requires 2 entrees & does not require a total amount of food $. Am I correct to assume the restaurant will accept the coupon, but I will just forfeit the extra $15 unused. No sense in ordering food we can't eat, & paying the extra taxes & tips.

Julie

 

[shoney]

In my limited experience..have only used about 5 coupons....
Most places do NOt include beverages....BB kings was the exception because they included the bar bill and let's face it..that is easy to do...

I have also never seen just an entree clause...usually a dollar amount. So if you have found somewhere that has "2 entrees" as their restriction..you may want to call.

Before we purchased our BB King's, we called. They informed us that not only were food and bev's (alcohol incl) included but also merchandise...so it never hurts to call the place and ask the details...

 

[mum4jenn]

I feel the same way... I coupon with groceries, and no one likes to be behind me in line... Lol
thanks for all the help I like at house of blues and kiminos that it is only 35 dollar purchase, and we can all have app, and drinks and still get an 1 or 2 entree and save some money. I liked the bb king prices as well.

Also be aware that there might be a cover charge for BB KIngs. We went in June and by the time we paid the cover charge for VERY loud music we really did not save anything and the food was very so-so.

 

[shoney]

We went to BB kings early...kiddos with us..and no music, we were a bit disappointed by that (w/no music..not about the kiddos). No cover though. We had such low expectations for the food, since we had the coupon...we all had the ribs (dry rub) and they were great(but we are from NY)! We also liked the mac n cheese (wasn't kraft LOL).....Sometimes it is all about timing, maybe we were just lucky! With the coupon it was well worth what we paid and when we go back to Orlando we will be going back there!

 

[Dizneydaz]

In your experience using the coupons, will the restaurants allow drinks to be included in the coupon amount, or is it just for food. And if drinks are allowed in the coupon amount, is it only soft drinks or any drinks?

What if the entire coupon amount is not spent. Will the restaurant still accept the coupon? For instance, say I buy a $75 coupon that only requires 2 entrees & does not require a total amount of food $. Am I correct to assume the restaurant will accept the coupon, but I will just forfeit the extra $15 unused. No sense in ordering food we can't eat, & paying the extra taxes & tips.

Julie

You have to spend the entire amount as listed on the coupon. If you buy a $25 certificate it may require a min. purchase of $35. (i.e. House of Blues). That means you must spend, before tax and tip, $35. Then they will deduct the $25 for your coupon and you will have to pay $10 difference, plus tax on $35, and tip on $35 (usually stated on coupon, lets say 18%). So, if you figure your bill exactly at $35, you will pay $10 difference plus tip of $6.30, and tax (let's use 9%) so $3.15, grand total $19.45 plus $2 for coupon (if bought at 80% off) TOTAL $21.45 for a $44.45 meal. A savings of $23.00 (your $25 coupon less $2 paid). The more you go over the min. spending limit, the less percentage you'll save. But you will still save $23. on your meal. In my example (and I did spend $35.07 once at HoB so I came very close to my example) it's a savings of over 50%. And the meal at HoB was very good (this was at DTD in Anaheim)

These are a good deal as long as you don't buy more food than you normally would.

Each coupon is different and spells out what you need to spend and what you can spend it on. Some exempt all beverages, others don't. Just read it before you buy it.

 

[muggle mom]

I am a HUGE restaurant.com fan! One of our favorite restaurants does certificates there. I will buy several at once when they have a good code. This is our standard buffalo wing fix place! We get the same thing every time we go...my husband and I and our oldest 2 kids share a big order of wings and we get a kids meal for our youngest. Normally our family spends $55 at that restaurant with tax and tip included if we don't have a certificate. I buy a $25 certificate for $2 and we leave spending $31 (that includes tax, tip and the difference between our bill an the $25 credit from the certifcate). It's a lot easier to justify spending $33 for a meal for the 5 of us than $55!

 

[TwoAtDisney]

I think the coupons are a great deal too. However, when I figure my costs & savings, I don't include the taxes & tip as a deduction on my savings. I figure I would pay that anyway, even without the coupon requirements. Of course, for determining OOP costs, I include those.

There are some coupons for $25 that do not have a minimum $ requirement; say "2 entrees" instead. Do you suppose on those, the entire $25 must be spent in order for the coupon to be accepted?

Also, I still wonder if the restaurants will allow soft drinks to be included in the coupon amount? Shoney, sounds like your drinks were alcohol, not soft drinks?

The only coupon I have purchased so far is HoB. Just wish we could use a coupon more than once during our 3 weeks in Florida! We usually don't go there often without a coupon, because we think their prices vs type of food are not a good value; same as Rain Forest.

Now, if I could just find a coupon for Rain Forest. However, we do have their membership card & get a free appetizer, which allows us to split a entree (Rasta Pasta-yum!) & still have plenty of food.

Julie

 

[KERdad06]

I am looking at the Uno certificate in Gurnee, Il, can you buy 2 and use them for the same visit? There will be 6 of us going, we could split the bill up?

Thanks

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

If you participate with My Coke Rewards, you can get a $25 restaurant certificate for free. I got the HoB $25 for 300 points that were just sitting there going to waste.

Suzanne