There are so many loyalty programs today that it can be hard to know which ones are going to payoff, and how long it’s going to take to start earning rewards. Fortunately, there are many places that start you out with an INSTANT signup bonus. Score!!
This post is dedicated to the restaurants where you’ll get immediate rewards for signing up to be an email subscriber and / or loyalty program member.
Hall of Fame: The BEST Food-Related Signup Bonuses
These programs are absolutely too good to miss. Sign up today and take advantage of the most generous offers available including recurring freebies! The IKEA loyalty program is so generous that you can get a FREE drink EVERY DAY (no purchase required) just for signing up! Enjoy!
IKEA
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- Free coffee or tea in the restaurant every day plus…
- Generous birthday gift of free meal and $15 gift certificate!
- Extra time for your kids in Smaland on every visit
Chili’s
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- Free Chips & Salsa or Non-Alcoholic beverage on 1st visit
- Free Chips & Salsa or Non-Alcoholic beverage on each following visit (eligible with at least $5 spend in past 60 days)
- Free birthday dessert
Godiva
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- Free chocolate piece every month (eligible with at least $10 spend during a rolling 12 month basis)
- Free shipping coupon for one $25+ order
- Generous birthday gift of $10 to use online or in-store!
95+ Signup Bonuses at Restaurants, Cafes, & More
The wide variety of dining signup bonuses offers something for every palette. These dining freebies have been divided into categories (breakfast, casual restaurants, fast foods, fine dining, and desserts) to help you quickly find your favorites.
Keep in mind that in addition to the nice welcome bonuses, if you actually do frequent these restaurants, you will earn even more rewards!
Most offers will arrive in your inbox instantly, while others may take a couple of days to post to your account. Note that most of the introductory offers are valid for a limited time (approx 1 – 4 weeks), so be sure your sign-up is timed to take advantage each offer.
Breakfast, Cafés, & Coffee Shops
Start your day with the most important meal and a nice bonus!
- Atlanta Bread Company: free bakery item
- Au Bon Pain: free travel mug and discounted coffee
- Black Bear Diner: free classic bear claw and a cup of coffee
- Cinnabon: free 4ct BonBites
- Einstein Bros Bagels: free bagel and shmear with purchase
- First Watch: buy one entree, get one free
- Krispy Kreme: free doughnut
- Orange Julius: buy one, get one free drink coupon
- Panera Bread: free pastry or sweet
- Peet’s Coffee: 10% off and free shipping on first online order
- Planet Smoothie: free size upgrade on 16oz or larger smoothie (+ birthday gift)
Casual Dining
This large category includes most restaurants that are in the mid-priced range and offer sit-down table service with waitstaff.
- Abuelo’s: free appetizer with entree purchase
- Applebee’s: free appetizer with entree purchase
- Backyard Burgers: free classic burger with any purchase
- Bahama Breeze: free appetizer with purchase of adult entree
- Baja Fresh: FREE taco
- Baker’s Square: 20% off
- bd Mongolian Grill: $5 off
- Beef O’Brady’s: Free appetizer with adult entree purchase
- Bennigan’s: Free Brownie Bottom Pie with purchase of entree
- Big Boy Restaurants: free Big Boy Original Double Deck Cheeseburger or Hot Fudge Ice Cream Cake
- Boston’s Restaurant and Sports Bar: free indy pizza
- Bubba Gump: free Forrest’s Appetizer of the Day with purchase of 2 adult entrees
- Buca di Beppo: FREE small Spaghetti Marinara, Fettuccine Alfredo, or Baked Ziti with purchase of entree
- Carrows: free slice of pie
- Cheddar’s: free chips & queso with adult entree purchase
- Chuck E Cheese: free personal 1-topping pizza
- Chili’s: free Chips & Salsa or Non-Alcoholic beverage (+ birthday gift)
- Corner Bakery Cafe: free bakery sweet
- Country Kitchen: free short stack of pancakes (+ birthday gift)
- Culver’s: Buy one, get one free value basket
- Denny’s: 20% off entire check
- Dickey’s Barbecue Pit: free Big Yellow Cup
- Don Pablo’s: free cantina nachos
- Fridays: free appetizer or dessert
- Friendly’s: $3 off a Friendly’s Ice Cream Cake coupon (redeemable in grocery stores)
- Fuddruckers: $5 off a $25 purchase discount
- Genghis Grill: free app or dessert
- Golden Corral: free beverage
- Gordon Biersch: free entree
- Hooter’s: FREE appetizer
- IHOP: free stack of pancakes
- IKEA: free coffee or tea in the restaurant every day!
- Joe’s Crab Shack: free appetizer with purchase of 2 entrees
- Johnny Rocket’s: free burger with purchase of entree and drink
- La Madeleine: free cup of soupe of petite salade (ID required)
- Macaroni Grill: $5 off food purchase
- Marco’s Pizza: $5 off a $20 regular price order
- Marie Callender’s: $10 off $30 purchase
- Mellow Mushroom: free pretzel bites and beer cheese with pizza purchase
- Moe’s Restaurants: free Queso Dip
- Ninety Nine Restaurant & Pub: free appetizer with purchase of entree
- O’Charley’s: free appetizer
- Olive Garden: free appetizer or dessert with purchase of 2 adult entrees
- On the Border: free bowl of Signature Queso or Sopapillas
- PDQ: 3 free tenders with any purchase
- Perkins: 20% off
- Piccadilly: free dessert
- Red Lobster: 75 loyalty rewards points
- Ruby Tuesday: free appetizer with adult entree purchase
- Ryan’s: $3 off buffet discount
- Sizzler: free handcrafted classic burger
- Sonny’s BBQ: $5 off $25 purchase
- Smokey Bones: $10 off $25 purchase
- Twin Peaks: free chips and queso with purchase of salad, sanwich, or entree
- Wild Wing Cafe: free appetizer (sent via postal mail)
- UNO: FREE appetizer
- Waffle House: free hashbrowns
- Yard House: free appetizer (no purchase necessary)
Fast Food Restaurants
For the times that you need a quick bite, take advantage of these welcome offers at fast-food restaurants.
- Arby’s: free small orange cream shake with sandwich or meal purchase
- Bojangle’s: FREE 1/2 gallon of Legendary Iced Tea® with purchase
- Boston Market: $3 off $10 purchase
- Captain D’s: free dessert or appetizer + 100 bonus points
- Cicis: free adult buffet with purchase of adult buffet
- Checkers / Rally’s: free large fry with any purchase
- Firehouse Subs: free large drink with sub purchase
- Hardee’s: free small fries and a small drink with Thickburger purchase
- Jersey Mikes: $1 off any regular sub at your preferred location
- Sbarro: free slice with purchase of any beverage
- Schlotzsky’s: 15% off first online order
- Steak ‘n Shake: free Original Double ‘n Cheese Steakburger ‘n Fries with any purchase
- Zaxby’s: free sandwich meal (mailing address required / coupon sent via postal mail)
Fine Dining & Steakhouses
Whether you’re celebrating a special occasion or just ready to enjoy a great meal, some of the most generous signup bonus gifts are with these higher-end restaurants.
- Black Angus Steakhouse: free dessert with adult entree purchase
- Bonanza Steakhouse: $5 off any dine-in food purchase
- California Pizza Kitchen (CPK): free small plate
- Dine Rewards (4 restaurants): $5 welcome credit at any of their restaurants when signing up via referral link
- Bonefish Grill
- Carraba’s Italian Grill
- Fleming’s
- Outback Steakhouse
- Fogo de Chao: $15 off discount
- Houlihan’s:$10 off $30 food purchase (+ birthday gift)
- Logan’s Roadhouse: $5 off $20 purchase
- Longhorn Steakhouse: Free appetizer with adult entree purchase
- Maggiano’s Little Italy: $10 off $30 purchase
- The Melting Pot: a free box of six Signature Chocolate-Covered Strawberries
- PF Chang’s: 1000 loyalty rewards points
- Ponderosa Steakhouse: $5 off any dine-in food purchase
- RA Sushi: free $10 shareable welcome certificate
- Ted’s Montana Grill: $5 off a $20 purchase
- Texas de Brazil: $20 off purchase of 2 regular dinners
- Texas Roadhouse: Free appetizer with adult entree purchase
Desserts & Sweets
It’s hard to feel guilty about a sweet treat that you get as a welcome bonus. Enjoy discounts on ice cream, cupcakes, and more!
- Bruster’s Ice Cream: $3 reward
- Carvel: Buy One, Get One Free Sundae
- Cold Stone Creamery: Buy One, Get One free of a Like It, Love It, or Gotta Have It item
- Dippin’ Dots: 10% off online order
- Gigi’s Cupcakes: 10% off 1st shipped order
- Godiva: free shipping on one $25 order (+ free chocolate each month + birthday gift)
- Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt: 25 smiles / points
- Rita’s Ice Custard: $1 off a large treat
- Sprinkles Cupcakes: double points offer
- Yogurtland: 3oz free
In addition to the above programs that you can sign up for online, there are additional programs that offer bonuses when you download their app. If you are willing to take that additional step to earn a freebie, then look into the programs at Famous Dave’s (free Burger or Sandwich), Chick-Fil-A, El Pollo Loco, McDonald’s, Marco’s Pizza, and TCBY.
Bon Appétit!
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Helpful Things For Dining Out
Each of the great restaurants above is hoping to provide you with a memorable dining experience that will turn a first time guest into a repeat customer. These restaurants will try to anticipate your needs and make sure you are comfortable, but it may help to make sure you take some essential items.
Consider stashing these in your purse or satchel to make sure you’ll be able to read the menu easily, manage any stains, stop any sniffles, and keep your purse stored nearby during your meal.
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I hope you will enjoy your restaurant welcome bonuses and stay tuned for future posts about signup bonuses available in the entertainment, shopping, and travel categories!
Wow! Thanks for the great comprehensive list of restaurants and other places that give out some great sign up freebies. I was thrilled to find your site! I am always looking for freebies and good deals and your site meets my needs perfectly! Being a grandma who is raising one of my grandchildren, I am especially inclined to find things that I can offer to her like a free meal now and then! Thank you again!
Karin, as a grandma you probably also qualify for most of the deals available to Seniors! It’s definitely nice to save money where you can!
I am not familiar with rewards signup bonuses. You did a nice job putting up this list together, now I understand what rewards signup bonuses are.
These bonus are really nice bonuses. Especially IKEA. The IKEA loyalty program is really really generous; I couldn’t imagine that I can get a free drink every day without purchasing anything, just for signing up! This is fabulous.
Hi Techie, In my town, the IKEA is within walking distance of a large university. I can only imagine that the students really enjoy the opportunity to get free coffee with their loyalty program!
Hi there. Thanks for sharing this article concerning quick rewards: signup bonuses at restaurants. Of a truth, there are so many loyalty programs nowadays and it becomes hard to know which ones will payoff, and how long it’s going to take to start earning rewards. I commend you for taking your time to recommend the best for us.
These are too good to be true
I’m happy that you have found this list of restaurant freebies to be helpful!
Hello,
This was a great post, I shop and eat at many places listed on your site. I was amazed cause I never knew that they offered loyalty programs,I’m definitely going to imminently sign up.
Thank you for the tips on these great reward offers and the quick navigation is great. You can find something for everyone, I like the discounts and the veteran hats are going to be great for the members of my family that served in the military.
Hi Wes, It’s wonderful to hear that you found out about some programs that you can take advantage of and save some money!
Hello there!
Well, that is a surprise and good news for people who like going to restaurants! These rewards have a positive impact on people’s savings, and also give them occasions to discover more interesting meals & foods, also enjoying them for free where this applies. And these discounts & free offers obviously apply to a great variety of places and meals, so that many people with different tastes will be content and glad about taking these rewards.
Of course, first of all you have to be a person who loves going out, and likes visiting restaurants & dining places on a regular basis. But since many of us do so, then many of us will enjoy. The more the customers who are fine and pleased, the more successful the businesses will be.
Best regards to BestRewards!
Peter
I was definitely happy to get a few great introductory offers at some of my favorite restaurants!
Wow! I didn’t know so many companies and stores, bars, etc. are giving away so many gifts for signing up for their email list. Can you imagine if you would do that online? I mean sending tangible products after you receive subscriber? Just joking.
Digitalization made it possible to use the “giveaway” strategy to build your email list. All that is a prove that email marketing is more alive than ever.
“Long live Email marketing”
Thanks for sharing this info!
Igor
You are right – the email marketing offers has really helped this “free gift with signup” concept to explode!
I was immediately attracted to your site today. It is Veteran’s Day and I found free meals and other freebies – a car wash, for example – everywhere I turned.
Aside for patriotism, these offers made good marketing sense to me. The best advertsing or marketing for a restaurant, in my opinion, is to create a new customer. If the food and service are good, the new customer will be back again and again.
A bonus for signing up with a restaurant chain makes a lot of sense to me. I would love the free items and I understand the marketing principle.
You are performing a valuable service by creating a “clearinghouse” for these many sign – up bonuses. Otherwise, we could only hope to stumble upon them ourselves.
And veterans must eat on days other than October 11…LOL.
Great job, Richard
Thanks Richard, I’m glad you found this list of free restaurant sign up bonuses to be helpful. There were some good deals offered for veterans today (on November 11, Veterans Day) in this post about Military Discounts for Veterans Day.
All these offers will make me stop cooking and eating only in the city! I’m kidding, of course! However, there are so many offers that sound good to me in your article! I like the food in general, and reading what you wrote spicy… I would like to be up to date with future offers posted.
Hi Irina, Bookmark the page or join the enewsletter to stay informed of any updates.
I’ve noticed some very tasty offerings in these rewards programs! Tacos! Doughnuts! Ice Cream! French fries! Chocolate! Where to begin?? I am stuck on a gluten-free diet, ice cream makes me sick instantly, but tacos… As long as the shell is corn and not wheat, I can indulge! Also, french fries are usually safe. My heart is pounding and my stomach is growling. I am going to further investigate some of these programs, so I can happily enjoy some free food and beverages. Thank you so much for sharing!
Hi Cathy, I hope you find some great gluten-free free signup bonuses that you can enjoy!
Hello Alyce, such offers are not to be missed by anyone. Going around and getting a good meal for me is one means at which i spend quite a lot of money on daily as a result of my large appetite. I stopped eating junk and regular snacks when i had some health issues and the offer of good food from this restaurants is a good deal for me. For signing up, how do I go about it?
Hi Benson, Each offer has it’s own slightly different sign up procedure, but generally you can sign up by clicking on each link that you are interested in and either signing up for enewsletters or creating a free account.
Oh, very good post you have here on sign up bonuses. Obviously this one is for everyone and anyone who can do as little as sign up which is exactly what I am going to do. I can see some of my favourite restaurants here that I will very much like to go to. I didn’t know that they had bonuses for simply signing up. Thank you!
Hi John, It’s great to hear you’ll be able to enjoy some of these great restaurant signup offers!
I know most of this websites and I have eaten at some but definitely not even up to half of the list. So, I will venfit well from this post and also a lot more of people will be able to benefit too from the listed rewards list here. Getting to signup and earning this bonuses is great and especially when one is on the road travelling, it would be cool to stop at some of these places and get treated nicely. Great one here and I’m surely bookmarking this
Thanks so much for the bookmark!
Wow, this post has made me really excited. I think it is really nice that I can sign up and get really good bonuses on restaurants. That’s a very big deal forme. You have also given so many ideas. I need to know though which of them are around here before I can sign up. Some people give bonuses as high as $10 to shop online or get great foods. That’s cool. Thanks
Hi Henderson, Since there are so many bonuses, it’s definitely helpful to only sign up for the ones that are convenient for you. I hope you enjoy and maybe find some new favorites!
Thank you so much for this list. I love to eat Godiva’s chocolates, so the signup rewards from them is very beneficial for me. I want to ask a question for other reward programs. Do they apply for all stores globally? Krispy Kreme is located near my house, but I want to make sure the reward program also apply in the place I live. Thanks
These programs generally state that they are good nationwide at “participating restaurants”, so it is always a good idea to double check with your location to make sure you’ll get the benefits you are expecting.
Warm Regards, Alyce
Wow, thank you for this great list of restaurants! There are cheap and worth a try!
I will download their app so that I can find them on my phone from anywhere in the world. The pictures make me want to go right away and buy some sweet stuff:) Love it!
Just a question, please. Can I buy ice cream in big quantity and receive it at home? I want to make a big party and invite all my children’s friends over. So I need a lot of ice cream:)
Thank you for this excellent post!
Hi Daniella, I also have a sweet tooth and can’t resist these goodies! 🙂
Regarding your ice cream question, you can buy online from a few places (Carvel even has a “party pack”) and pick up in store. If you need to have your ice cream shipped, Dippin’ Dots is a good option with 2-day delivery!
Enjoy!
Warm Regards, Alyce
What a great list of rewards. I just want to thank you for sharing this great information. Everyone could benefit from this. I’m familiar will lots of these restaurants and this is great when traveling or just want to eat out. I will write this website down and sign up a couple of days before I want to visit these restaurants.
Thanks for the great offers!
Awesome Letha, I hope you love the welcome bonuses when you’re enjoying a meal out at a restaurant!
Regards, Alyce
This is certainly a comprehensive list of restaurants that offer great bonuses. It is well worthwhile to sign up or download the app if you are a regular visitor to any of the above.
I for one am definitely going to take advantage of the Cinnabon offer as I just love their treats. My daughter is a die hard Mcdonalds fan so she will appreciate the free offers here, as she is a regular customer there.
I didn’t even realize that some of the places on your list had loyalty rewards, so will definitely have to take advantage of these.
Hi Michel, Cinnabon is almost impossible to resist once you’re close enought to smell those cinnamon rolls baking! So. Good!! I’m so happy to hear that you’ll be able to enjoy more than one of these great offers.
Regards, Alyce
This is a bookmark page for sure! I am so excited about finding this information and all on one page! Wow, you’ve done so much work putting all this together. My mom is always looking for a coupon or a discount. Wait until I show her this! I’ll not only be her favorite child, but this will dictate where we go to eat for the next year! LOL! I just wanted to pop in and thank you for such a thorough list of perks! Awesome!
Awesome, thanks Babsie! My Mom also loves a great discount… I think I might have inhereted that gene from her. 🙂
We actually used the free chips and queso offer ($4.99 value) at Cheddar’s last night. It was great to get a nice treat with our meal at no extra charge!!
Warm Regards, Alyce
What a great find! Your post has something for everyone, and I am impressed that you found so many freebies for us to try. I live in a small town, but will make a copy of your list so that when I travel, I can try out some of the places you are suggesting.
I think we all appreciate a free bonus, and finding such a great list of places to try is exciting. I can’t wait for my next trip so I can go to some of these businesses. Cinnabon is definitely on my list. Also will put on the Olive Garden. It’s one of my favorite places to eat. Thanks for researching these for us.
Hi Fran, Thanks for checking out the list! I’m lucky to live in an area where most of these are nearby, but there are a handful of good ones that I’ll have to wait to check out until I travel… which works out perfectly because I always enjoy trying out new / local places when travelling!
I hope you enjoy the freebies and the rest of the rewards that are shared on the website.
Warm Regards, Alyce
This is such a cool list of rewards program signup bonuses. There are a lot of restaurants on this list that I am a fan of — and I didn’t even realize that Godiva had a rewards program! I know a lot of people who are fans of their chocolate.
I going to signup with Panera Bread first. I haven’t been there in a while, but with a sweet bonus offer it’s definitely time to check them out again.
Hi Nate, I hope you enjoy the free pastry or sweet that you’ll get as a welcome bonus at Panera Bread. I plan to use that bonus too but it is going to be hard to choose which treat to get!! 🙂
Regards, Alyce