Don’t Be Fooled By Free Birthday Offers
April 01, 2014Lucky for me that I missed having an April Fool’s Day birthday by just two days. Not so lucky is Jon Gosselin. The former reality star of Jon & Kate Plus 8 is celebrating his birthday today and seems to be living in a perpetual April Fool’s Day.
No matter what day YOUR birthday falls on, retailers of all kinds would like to help you celebrate by offering free birthday rewards. I must have had at least a dozen email offers and mailings offering me free meals, gift cards, discount coupons, etc. Some of these offers really do come with no strings, such as the free Starbucks drink reward I was able to get, but of course, that’s only if you are a member of My Starbucks Rewards.
Many of the free meal offers do come with a catch, and that is typically you have to have someone with you who IS paying for their meal. I celebrated my birthday with dinner at Jimmy Guana’s on the waterfront at Indian Rocks Beach, along with my parents and husband Dave. The small print of the birthday meal coupon read “free entree with the purchase of another entree (equal or lesser value)” so I figured my $17 dinner would be free since Dave got mahi mahi for $19. But both my parents ordered a lighter dinner, about $8 each, and that’s what got subtracted from the bill – $8.
Lesson here: ALWAYS read the small print! JC Penney sent me a $10 gift card for any $10 or more purchase, but really – who can just spend $10 when all the new spring clothes are now out? And the catch for this deal is that any purchase over the $10 freebie must be charged to your JCP credit card.
If you don’t mind being bombarded with marketing emails and are willing to read the small print for each offer, check out this list of birthday offers compiled by chachingonashoestring.com, which provides leads on a variety of free birthday stuff. However, you almost always have to register for the merchant’s club first, such as the DD Perks Club for a free Dunkin Donuts beverage. But even though trying to get your free meal could end up being pricey, spending your birthday dinner with loved ones can be priceless!