Dining Deals In NYC

The Coupon Mom gives tips on how to get discounts at restaurants all over the country.

Americans spend up to 40% of their food dollar outside the home, and that can put a real bite in anyone’s budget. Take advantage of restaurant coupons and savings tricks from the Coupon Mom Stephanie Nelson to get more for less every time you eat out!

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Buy discounted restaurant gift certificates from Restaurant.com. You can buy $25 gift certificates from selected restaurants at a cost of $10. By using a coupon code from CouponMom.com, you can save 40% off that cost and pay only $6 for the $25 certificate.

Certificates are limited to participating restaurants, they may have specific limitations such as a minimum purchase amount, and inventories are limited. Shop early in the month to get the best selection.

Use restaurant rebate programs, which you get automatically when you use a registered credit card. No coupons required! The Rewards Network program provides cash back rebates of up to 20% at participating restaurants, including tax and tip. You can get your rebates in cash (via www.rewardsnetwork.com), in college savings earnings (via www.upromise.com) or in airline miles (your choice of 9 different airlines).

The Upromise and Airline Mileage rebate programs are free to join, however, the cash rebate program via the Rewards Network site typically has a $49 annual fee. Coupon Mom site users can get a free 3- month membership via a link in the Restaurant Coupon section at www.couponmom.com.

Unlike most restaurant coupons, your rebate/discount is applied to the entire bill—including tax, tip and alcoholic beverages. For example, if you had a $50 bottle of wine at a restaurant with a 20% rebate, you’d get $10 cash back in your Rewards Network account.

Use restaurant reservation services to earn free meals and get discounts automatically without having to use a coupon. Services like www.opentable.com reward diners with free points when they make reservations through their sites. Points can be redeemed for free restaurant gift certificates.

Get free restaurant gift certificates using United Airlines miles. You can get one $25 restaurant.com gift certificate with 1,000 United miles or a $100 gift certificate with 2,500 United miles. You can find the link in the restaurant coupon section of CouponMom.com.

Get an Entertainment book for your city. Each book has hundreds of coupons for fast food, casual and upscale restaurants. Typical offers are “buy one, get one free” and savings can be as high as $25 per coupon.

Once you receive your book, go to www.entertainment.com to register its membership number, which will allow you to print many additional coupons.

Go to restaurant websites to get free coupons. Most restaurants have their own websites and many of them coupons you can print or email newsletters that send out generous coupons.