Things my teenaged daughter is currently into: treats, trying coffee drinks, using her phone to obtain free perks, and figuring out the boundaries of her independence. Combine these traits and you’ve got the perfect recipe for a blog post about the abundance of free birthday deals you can pick up from national chains in your area. She was so excited about the possibility of scoring free birthday perks that I challenged her to come up with a list of the top 10 she wanted to hit for her special day (or week…or month as you’ll see in the following). These are the best deals she insisted we pursue:
Auntie Anne’s Pretzels
YOUR BIRTHDAY DEAL: So many birthday treats are sweet, how about a little salt with all that sugar? When you become a member of Auntie Anne’s Rewards (download the app), you’ll receive one free classic Auntie Anne’s pretzel after your first order, hot and fresh out of the oven. You’ll also be eligible for a free pretzel on your first birthday after becoming a rewards member. Many of these pretzel shops are located within mall food courts or other shopping hubs but this was only seen as a bonus for my teen. Verified March 2023.
Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream
YOUR BIRTHDAY DEAL: At Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream, she had the choice of either one free kids scoop or one 3 oz soft serve, plus was eligible for a special discount on an ice cream cake just for us to take home and celebrate. Enjoy all your favorite flavors (choose from 31 of them!) when you sign up today with the Baskin-Robbins Birthday Club. Verified March 2023.
BRUEGGER’S BAGELS
YOUR BIRTHDAY DEAL: She started her birthday morning off right by claiming her free bagel with cream cheese (excludes the gourmets but she’s happy with cinnamon raisin). In order to grab this deal you must sign up for the Bruegger’s Bagels Inner Circle Rewards Program. BONUS! Not only will you score a free bagel on your birthday, you get one just for signing up. Verified March 2023.
Caribou Coffee
YOUR BIRTHDAY DEAL: Anyone else have a teen suddenly obsessed with trying every cooler on the menu at Caribou? By joining Caribou Perks, she earned a coupon for one free drink, any size, available for the entire week of her birthday. No surprise, she went for the tallest chocolate covered strawberry mocha cooler. Verified March 2023.
Dunkin Donuts
YOUR BIRTHDAY DEAL: Sadly, you can’t score free donuts on your birthday, but she did grab a complimentary tall iced caramel swirl mocha to mark the day. Get yours by signing up for their DD perks program; your free birthday drink coupon is valid for one week. (Verified March 2023).
Nothing Bundt Cakes
YOUR BIRTHDAY DEAL: This may have been her favorite birthday freebie. We simply walked in and they directed her to pick her flavor of bundtlet from the case. (She chose red velvet.) It wasn’t necessary to verify her birthday, but the website will direct you to sign up for their email list in order to receive your treat. Verified 2023.
Panera Bread
YOUR BIRTHDAY DEAL: We walked right into the Rosedale Mall location and ordered her free birthday pastry (your choice under $3.75) from the kiosk, quick and easy. We had a freshly baked blueberry muffin within minutes! To claim this birthday freebie, register for a MyPanera account and you’ll receive a credit loaded to your account the week of your birthday. BONUS! You’ll be treated to a free pastry coupon from Panera just for signing up, valid for 60 days. Verified March 2023.
Papa John’s Pizza
YOUR BIRTHDAY DEAL: After signing her up for the Papa John’s rewards program, she was eligible to receive a free birthday cookie pizza valid for the two weeks following her birthday. Note that there is one small catch. According to the website, you must have placed an order using your account in the 6 months prior to your birthday month. This, however, did not appear to be a requirement when we redeemed the coupon. We did tack the freebie onto an order of pizza and perhaps that was sufficient. The treat came pre-sliced into eight pieces, enough for the entire family to enjoy some birthday dessert together. Verified March 2023.
Portillo’s
YOUR BIRTHDAY DEAL: Oh my, is this moist, springy chocolate cake delicious. Our mouths water just thinking about it. Her mom had a hand in securing this birthday freebie, but it’s super simple: create a Portillo’s online ordering account and you can add up to three kids’ birthdays to receive free slices of this craveable cake during their birthday week. We bumbled around slightly trying to get the perk to display in the online account but the drive-thru staff quickly and efficiently prepared our order for free cake with no other purchase necessary. Verified March 2023.
Starbucks
YOUR BIRTHDAY DEAL: My daughter earnestly cautions you to make sure to sign up for this birthday freebie at least a week prior to your special day or you won’t score the deal. As she craves Starbucks like you wouldn’t believe, there was palpable disappointment when we did not fulfill this requirement. It’s also important that you’ve made at least one order with your Starbucks account beforehand. The birthday freebie includes almost anything posted on the menu, food or drink item.
More birthday freebies
These free-on-your birthday deals are posted online by the various businesses; we include them here because we feel they are worth checking out even if we have not personally verified them. If you have more to add to our list we implore you, please let us know. We’ll add them!
Jersey Mike’s Subs
Create a My Mike’s account and be rewarded with a free sub sandwich on your birthday.
Nadia Cakes
Receive a free cupcake on your birthday upon signing up for the Nadia Cakes email club.
Red Robin Burgers
Sign up for the Red Robin Royalty rewards club and enjoy a free burger on your birthday.
Yarusso Brothers
635 Payne Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55130
The first Monday of your birthday month, show your ID to get a FREE entrée.
