8 Tips to Save MORE and Get the Most Out of Restaurant.com

March 19, 2009 by Diner Dave
Filed under Gift Certificates, Restaurant Coupons

This is a follow up from yesterday’s post on how I saved $303 in ONE WEEK dining out with Restaurant.com certificates. By now, you know that you can purchase $25 restaurant gift certificates for $10 every day on Restaurant.com. What you probably do NOT know is that you can save EVEN MORE and get the most out Restaurant.com with these “secret” tips:

Look for coupon codes on the home page of DinerDave.com to save EVEN MORE on their gift certificates. Restaurant.com ALWAYS offers $25 gift certificates for $10, but sometimes they offer them for $6, $4 or even $3 with these special coupon codes!
Make sure you dine with a friend. Many of the restaurants featured on Restaurant.com require a minimum purchase of $35 when using a $25 gift certificate. It is hard to spend that much when you are alone. Plus, you are bringing another new patron to that restaurant and that is really why they give $25 gift certificates in the first place - NEW CUSTOMERS.
Tip on the original amount of the bill. Your waiter is working as hard for an $11 tab as he is for a $38 tab and should be compensated for his efforts.
Email gift certificates to friends. That’s another great thing about Restaurant.com - you don’t have to send the gift certificates via “snail mail” and pay for postage.
Make sure to check out the restaurant’s “mini-website” on Restaurant.com. They usually show pictures of the restaurant and provide detailed information about the restaurant so you can make an informed decision on where to dine.
Try buying most of your gift certificates at the BEGINNING of each month because the restaurants only allow a certain number of gift certificates to be sold each month. Sometimes they run out near the end of the month.
Join the Dinner of the Month Club at Restaurant.com. They have 3 deeper discount options available if you sign up for 3, 6 or 12 months. You can select from the following: 3 months with a free $10 gift certificate, 6 months with a free $25 gift certificate, or 12 months with a free $50 gift certificate.

Don’t be discouraged if you don’t see a large number of gift certificates for your city. Many of the gift certificates on restaurant.com are in the major metropolitan cities, but they also have offerings in the smaller towns as well. Let your favorite restaurant know about restaurant.com so they too can offer gift certificates AND get a new customer in the door!