Getting free stuff isn’t difficult, but there is a trade-off. In most but not all cases, you may have to join a loyalty program or download an app to your smartphone. That gives companies access to your phone number, birth date, and shopping or dining habits.
My advice: To preserve your personal info and keep your inbox from spiraling out of control, create a dedicated email account for online loyalty programs and e-clubs.
Here are some of my favorite freebies with no gotchas attached. Consider them a blueprint for finding similar offers in your community.
Food and drink
Join loyalty programs at these popular chains and they’ll give you an entree or starter in return — before you’ve earned any points. Sign up for CPK Rewards to get a small plate item of your choice at California Pizza Kitchen. Become a Raving Fan at Del Taco and take home your choice of taco. Sign on to IHOP’s MyHop for a stack of pancakes.
Newk’s Roundtable Club welcomes members with a free slice of strawberry cake. Penn Station East Coast Subs offers you the choice of a free small fresh-cut fry, chocolate chunk cookie or fresh-squeeze lemonade as a reward. On the Border’s Club Cantina revs up your appetite with a free bowl of signature queso or sopaipillas. Join Waffle House Regulars for a waffle.
In addition to giveaways based on loyalty points, you can collect birthday freebies. Among the most valuable rewards: Red Robin gives you any burger with bottomless fries. Enjoy lunch or dinner on the house at Sweet Tomatoes. Denny’s dishes up a “Build Your Own Grand Slam” breakfast. Firehouse Subs and Jersey Mike’s both gift you a sub sandwich; the latter includes a 22-ounce fountain drink.
Moe’s Southwest Grill serves you a birthday burrito; A&W Mug Club a root beer float. Download the honeygrow app for a free honeybar. Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh offers an entree of your choice.
Beauty products
Beauty and makeup stores such as BareMinerals, Sephora and the Body Shop are eager for you to test their products, so much so that most will give you three to four days worth of almost anything in stock – foundation, blush, bronzer, lipstick, lotion and perfume. BareMinerals even tosses in a mini-brush or applicator.
Share your email with Bath & Body Works in exchange for occasional vouchers for body wash, lotions, candles, hand soap and other goodies you can pick up in store. Stop into any Origins store for a complimentary 20-minute mini-facial.
Something else worth celebrating? Members of Sephora Beauty Insider, BareMinerals Friends and Benefits (FAB) and Ulta’s Ultamate Rewards receive cosmetics or skin-care products. Sally Beauty gifts a $5 birthday reward to spend online or in-store.
Services
Drop in to any LensCrafters or Visionworks (and most other eyewear retailers), and they’ll clean and/or adjust your eyeglasses free.
Drive into the designated bay at Discount Tire and Big O Tires and technicians will check and adjust the air pressure if necessary. Make a pit stop at Pep Boys for a free tire rotation, windshield wiper replacement (even if you bought them somewhere else), brake check and tire pressure check. The last two require you to be a member of Pep Boys Carlife Rewards, but joining is free.
Check online with CVS for updates on hundreds of free Project Health screening events planned for this year. Tests vary but usually include blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose and body mass index.
Classes and workshops
Hone your adventure skills through cost-free clinics in archery, fly-fishing, hunting, bike maintenance, camp cooking, snowshoeing and more at Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s and REI.
Get the skills to handle any household repair or project with Home Depot’s free do-it-yourself workshops. Find a schedule in store or online at HomeDepot.com.
Need to entertain kids on the cheap? Children can learn to safely wield a hammer and other tools at Home Depot Kids DIY workshops. Lakeshore Learning stores host free crafting sessions every Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Thinking about taking up a stringed instrument? Try a free group guitar class at the Guitar Center. Check NaturalGrocers.com for a list of free in-store cooking demos, as well as nutrition seminars on subjects such as reading food labels and healthy food alternatives.
