You don’t need to look much further than your inbox to see that friends and family aren’t the only ones wishing you a happy birthday. Today, plenty of stores and restaurants offer you bargains on (and ahead of) your birthday, but these deals aren’t always worth celebrating.
The birthday marketing tool is particularly common among chain stores. Starbucks (SBUX) gives reward club members a free coffee; Baskin Robbins offers a free ice cream cone. DSW (DSW) loyalty members get a $5 reward certificate, while Express credit-card holders receive a $15 coupon toward their next purchase.
For those and other retailers, birthdays can mean big business. For example, an offer of a free dessert may sway where you celebrate, and a good experience could lure you back later in the year, says Miro Copic, a professor of marketing at San Diego State University. Retailers also bank on you bringing paying friends with you when you claim your deal. (Few would choose to eat an ice cream sundae alone, particularly on their birthday.)
Birthday offers can also entice you to spend presents of cash and gift cards or make an extra purchase with your money. “They want you to think, ‘that $50 gift card [from mom], combined with my 20% off is going to yield some savings’,” says Catherine Williams, the vice president of financial literacy for Money Management International, which oversees nonprofit credit-counseling agencies.
So consider any strings before you take advantage. Even with freebies, you’re usually on the hook for sales tax and tip. Signing up for email lists also adds to the bulk in your inbox year-round.
If the birthday offer is a discount, make sure you can’t get the same bargain or a better one through other coupons or deals, Williams says. For example, for a $75 purchase at New York & Company, a current coupon code for $25 off a purchase of $75 is worth more than the store’s birthday discount of 25%. And many retailers, including Old Navy and Victoria’s Secret, let you use multiple coupon codes per online order, increasing the value of your discount.
Here’s a selection of birthday deals offered by restaurants and other retailers:
Apparel
Be cautious if the deal requires you to use your store credit card, Williams says. Rates can be as high as 30%, so don’t charge more than you can pay off in full next month. “If you pay any interest, it’s not really a good present,” she says.
DSW: Members of the free loyalty program receive a $5 reward certificate redeemable during their birth month.
Express: Store credit-card holders receive a mailed coupon good for $15 off a purchase of $15 or more during their birth month. Users must pay any remaining balance with their Express card.
New York & Company: Store credit-card holders receive a mailed coupon good for 25% off an in-store or online purchase during their birth month. Users must pay the balance with their New York & Company card.
Old Navy: Store credit-card holders receive an emailed coupon good for $10 off an in-store or online purchase of $50 or more during their birth month. They must pay the balance with their Old Navy card.
Victoria’s Secret: Customers can sign up for free email updates and get an emailed coupon code good for $10 off an online order during their birthday month. They’ll also receive a mailed coupon good for $10 off an in-store purchase during their birth month.
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