thoughts on restaurant.com...

[onemaybaby]

I've never used this company before, any one else? Right now they have House of Blues and American Kitchen Bar and Grill (Located in B resort) on their site. Not sure what else would be reputable.

Any caveats to using these certificates?

 

[Iowajes]

I've used it. My biggest issue is that to be able to use the certificate caused us to spend more than we normally would, so there wasn't really any savings.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

You will have to walk from DS to the one at the B resort or pay ($18) to park there. They have no free parking at that resort even if you are just dinning there. You must also spend a $50 to use the gift cert. there. The House of Blues you must spend a minimum of $100 to use the gift cert from Restaurant.com

 

[Gumbo4x4]

We've used these certificates many times. One pizza place won't let me use them on anything but full-priced items, but no other issues.

There's always a minimum spend that is higher than the value of the certificate, so I buy cheaper ones if it's a cheaper restaurant. I've used $25 certificates purchased for $4 with a $37 minimum spend at Pasta House many times. We buy ~$40 worth of food for a total outlay of $19.

Bought a $5 pizza certificate for $.60 last week with a $10 minimum spend. So, I could get a $12 pizza for a total outlay of $7.40 (plus tax).

And the good news is they never expire & if you misplace one, you just reprint it.

 

[halfpintpeggy]

We use them all the time around home & when on vacation. Just make sure to read the print before you purchase so you understand the if there is a $$$ requirement. The HOB cert. for DTD is great! We had to spend $100 & got $50 off...bought the certificate when it was on sale for something like 5 bucks. DH loves that he can order a bunch of beers lol!

 

[ICF]

They are fine to use....used them many times....at home, and while on vacation in Orlando, Las Vegas and Virginia.

Just be sure you read the fine print so you know what (if any) exclusions or limitations there might be and how much you have to spend to use them

 

[pigletto]

We used the one for House of Blues. It was around Black Friday when I purchased and I found a discount code by googling that saved us extra. It didn't make us spend more than we normally would really. As a family of four, we just needed to add an appetizer or two and we hit the minimum.I'm pretty sure dh's two beers counted toward the total as well. So basically when all was said and done we saved about $40 ( I don't remember the actual numbers). We tried somewhere we wouldn't have tried otherwise, and we were pleased with the meal. I would go again.

 

[Bubblegum1286]

You have to do the math to make sure it's a good deal. There's almost always a minimum purchase required, and sometimes with that and a tip (plus if you get alcohol, which usually isn't covered by the gift certificates) it may not even save you any money. We have used them before, and it did save us some money, but I think we only saved like $15 on the meal. Granted, that does add up. It's not a waste as long as you stick to the guidelines and read the fine print. It is similar to a groupon purchased for a restaurant. Those can save you money too, as long as you stick to the stipulations and read the fine print.

 

[mollmoll4]

Like PPs have said, you need to do the math and see if you'll save by spending the minimum. FWIW, I've NEVER purchased a voucher from restaurant.com that allowed the purchase of alcohol to be included.

 

[pigletto]

Like PPs have said, you need to do the math and see if you'll save by spending the minimum. FWIW, I've NEVER purchased a voucher from restaurant.com that allowed the purchase of alcohol to be included.

I know it isn't typical, but it was included at this location. This was 2014, so you will want to read the fine print on your offer now, but it was included then.

 

[dancin Disney style]

Like PPs have said, you need to do the math and see if you'll save by spending the minimum. FWIW, I've NEVER purchased a voucher from restaurant.com that allowed the purchase of alcohol to be included.

HoB does.

I've used these certificates many times and have been lucky enough to have discount codes that will get me $25 certificates for $2-$3. I would say that often with the minimum required and some have a mandatory gratuity the savings is minimal. For me though, money saved is money saved. Even if it's $10.

 

[mollmoll4]

HoB does.

I've used these certificates many times and have been lucky enough to have discount codes that will get me $25 certificates for $2-$3. I would say that often with the minimum required and some have a mandatory gratuity the savings is minimal. For me though, money saved is money saved. Even if it's $10.

I didn't mean to imply that it's never possible... just that I've never seen one that allows alcohol to be included in the total purchase towards the voucher.

 

[dancin Disney style]

I didn't mean to imply that it's never possible... just that I've never seen one that allows alcohol to be included in the total purchase towards the voucher.

No, I understood what you meant.

Just wanted to confirm that HoB does allow it.

 

[onemaybaby]

Thank you everyone for your responses. Looks like I may go for the HOB ones, but probably not the one located in the B resort. Don't want the hassle of walking to the resort and certainly don't want to pay $18 to park.

I will check out the fine print to see what is included. The HOB ones up yesterday were worth $50, but they are not there today. I will keep looking, because if anything I would get those ones.

 

[skylynx]

We still use them, but after buying a whole bunch two or three years ago with really good coupon codes (a $25 gift certificate was about $3) nearly ALL of the restaurants we had certificates for and frequented often have stopped accepting them. Around us now, most of the places that still sell and accept restaurant.com are local Mexican or Asian or pizza places that we don't usually go to. We've exchanged our unusable certificates for replacements at the few that do still accept them, but of course it's a month between when you can use them for any individual restaurant. We were fortunate to get some where alcohol was included, which makes making the minimum effortless. As others have mentioned, sometimes the minimum you have to spend to use the certificate is so high you end up spending way more than you would have if you just ate there without a certificate, so just read the small print about what's included and if there are days you can't use them...occasionally weekends are excluded!

 

[dancin Disney style]

Well thanks for starting this thread!!!! Out of curiosity I went on the site and looked around(hadn't done that in a long while) and low and behold I discover that I have a $25(minimum spend $35) for HoB that I never used. I'll be putting that to good use on my March trip.

 

[mom2my3kids]

We used a house of blues one and no problem, we had to spend 100 but that was no problem as it was five of us..I just purchased a few for around my area, thinking about using one today..

 

[halfpintpeggy]

Like PPs have said, you need to do the math and see if you'll save by spending the minimum. FWIW, I've NEVER purchased a voucher from restaurant.com that allowed the purchase of alcohol to be included.

Very strange, 95% of the certificates we've purchased allow alcohol. As a matter of fact...we've used several on bar tabs alone!

 

[mollmoll4]

Very strange, 95% of the certificates we've purchased allow alcohol. As a matter of fact...we've used several on bar tabs alone!

Probably because I live in lame old Massachusetts. We have some old blue laws prohibiting discounts on alcohol. Didn't really think about that until now....

 

[onemaybaby]

just curious...but where do you see the fine print on the restaurant.com, for example if the minimum spend can include alcohol or not? I see that it says minimum spend $100, but that's it (specifically for HOB)