Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Restaurant Gift Certificates for Pennies

If you're thinking of giving restaurant gift certificates to family and friends this holiday season, you may want to take advantage of some great savings at Restaurant.com during the next couple of days. Through November 20, you can snare an 80% discount off the price of gift certificates at the site, which are primarily to smaller, locally-owned establishments.

Simply search for restaurants at www.restaurant.com in your area by zip code or city. When you find one you'd like to try, choose what value certificate you prefer. Most restaurants offer at least a $10 and $25 certificate, but a few offer higher values, too. The everyday cost for the certificates is $3 for a $10 certificate and $10 for a $25.

Add the certificates you'd like to your cart and when you check out, type the word SURPRISE in the promotional code field near the top of the page. Then update your total to confirm that you've received an 80% discount before you click through and pay. After that, enter your credit card information and complete the purchase. Within minutes you'll receive an email with links to the certificates you bought, which you then print out and present at the restaurant.

A couple of things to watch: make sure you're comfortable with the total amount you are required to spend in order to redeem the certificate and with any other restrictions that may be stated. Your certificate is good for one year from purchase, so you have plenty of time to use it.

I bought a $25 gift certificate last night, normally $10, and paid just $2. Even if I'm required to spend $35 at the restaurant, I'm still getting a nice meal out for around $12.

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