Holiday Gift Card Promotions

If you want to save money or earn a little extra, check out all the holiday gift card promotions. Buying gift cards with promotions is a great way to stretch your money a bit further!

Gift cards a very popular gift option. I don’t know about you, but I love getting gift cards as gifts, and giving them too. My family and I are spread out across the United States so it is easier (and cheaper with postage costs!) to mail gift cards instead of physical gifts.

Most of the time, I buy gift cards through our school Scrip program. They sell gift cards and we earn a percentage back towards our tuition. It’s a way to get gift cards that I will already use and earn a bit of money for school fees.

Some times, I buy the occasional gift card at Kroger when they are running their 4x fuel rewards on gift card purchases. This allows me to pick up a gift card when I am shopping for groceries – and earn additional money off my gas.

Of course, I earn free gift cards throughout the year by quickly clicking on emails and participating in a couple rewards programs. You can learn more about how I quickly earn free gift cards here. 

At the holidays, I take advantage of all the great holiday gift card promotions and buy my gift cards directly from retailers. Why? Christmas is a time when many retailers (especially restaurants) offer great rewards for purchasing their gift card.

For the past couple years, we have been big fans of the Culvers gift card promotion. Their promotion is simple. When you buy $30 worth of gift cards, you get a couple for a free value meal. You can buy 1 gift card for $30 or 3 gift cards for $10 – or however you choose to divide it. As long as you buy $30, you will get a coupon for a free value meal. If you buy $60, you get two free coupons.

We eat at Culvers (with coupons) throughout the year, so it only makes sense to purchase some gift cards for our own use and earn a couple free value meals too. We now save some of our budget money particularly for this purpose and buy our gift cards during the holiday season. By setting aside our eating out money like this, it actually helps us save money – and get a bit more for our dollar!

We have done this with other restaurants, particularly when buying gift cards for grandparents. If there is a bonus, you can give it to the recipient or keep it for yourself. We’ve done both at various times. It really is up to you.

For the past couple years, I finally started paying attention to the deals that were running and went looking for the best holiday gift card promotions.

I was amazed at how many restaurants offer various gift card promotions! Most start in the middle of November and run through the end of December. Some start later and some end earlier. Some give you free food coupons and others give you an actual gift card to use later.

You should know that all of the bonus rewards have an expiration date of some point. The gift cards, of course, do not expire. The bonuses do. Remember to use your bonuses before they expire so the promotion was actually worth your time!

If you are going to eat at a particular restaurant anyway, why not buy a gift card (or two) to save yourself some money?

If you are going to give a gift card to someone, why not take advantage of a holiday promotion to do so?

I went to many restaurant websites in search of the current, best holiday gift card promotions. The following is a list of the best ones I found.

This gift card promotion list that I am sharing is current for 2022. 

This is not an exhaustive list but it is a list for some of the most popular restaurants and those with the best gift card promotions. I listed the dates of the sale, as well as when the bonus expires to make it easy for you. I also included direct links to the sale sites. Most have the fine print easily available there for you to read.

One interesting item of note? Many of these restaurants are starting to double their rewards on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. If they did that the previous year, I noted it on the list so you can wait to purchase your gift card deals then, stretching your money even further!

If you have a favorite restaurant, check their gift card promos as part of your Thanksgiving weekend shopping deals!

These are some of the best holiday gift card promotions.

This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. You can read more in my disclosure policy.

Best 2023 Holiday Gift Card Promotions

Applebee’s – Buy $50, Get $10 in Bonus
Buy $50 in gift cards and get a $10 bonus gift card. Promo offer runs October 30 to December 31. Bonus card expires February 25, 2024. Bonus gift card may not be redeemed on day of purchase. (Promo doubled to $20 on Black Friday & Cyber Monday.)

Auntie Anne’s – Buy a Gift Card, Get a Free Pretzel Coupon
Buy $5 or more gift cards and get a coupon for a free original or cinnamon sugar pretzel. Promo offer runs September 26 to December 31. Limit 1 free pretzel coupon per transaction. Free pretzel coupon must then be unlocked in the app by January 14 and coupon is good for 14 days after activating.

BJ’s Brewhouse – Give $50, Get $10 / Give $100, Get $25 and 20% Off
Buy $50 in gift cards and get a $10 eBonus. Buy $100 in gift cards and get a $25 eBonus plus a 20% VIP coupon. Promo offer runs November 3 to December 31. Bonus cards valid between January 2-31, 2024.

Buffalo Wild Wings – Buy $25, Get $5 eBonus
Purchase a $25 in Buffalo Wild Wings gift cards and get a bonus coupon for $5, $10, $25 or $100. Promo offer runs from November 6 to December 31. Limit 4 eBonus certificates per person. EBonus coupons valid between January 1 and February 29, 2024.

Chili’s – Buy $50, Get $10 E-Bonus
Purchase $50 in Chili’s gift cards and receive a $10 e-bonus. Promo offer runs from November 1 to December 31. Bonus coupons valid between January 1 to February 13, 2024. (Promo doubled to $20 on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.)

Granite City – Buy $50, Get $10 Bonus
Receive a $10 bonus eGift for every $50 in Granite City Gift Cards purchased. Promo offer runs from November 1 to December 31. Bonus card is redeemable between January 1 and March 31, 2024. (Promo doubled bonus on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.)

Logan’s Roadhouse – Buy $50, Get $10 eBonus
Buy $50 in Logan’s Roadhouse gift cards (physical or digital) online and receive a $10 eBonus emailed to you. Promo offer runs through December 31. Bonus gift card valid through February 13, 2024. Bonus gift card may not be redeemed on day of purchase. (Promo doubled to $20 on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.)

McAlister’s Deli – Buy $25, Get $5 Reward Voucher
Buy $25 in McAlister’s gift cards and get a $5 reward voucher. Promo offer runs November 1 to December 31. Bonus gift card valid January 1 to February 29, 2024.

Moe’s Southwest Grill – Buy $30, Get $10 E-Bonus
Purchase $30 in Moe’s gift cards and receive two $5 E-bonus rewards. Any combination of gift cards may be purchased to reach $30. Must have Moe’s app to redeem bonus. Promo offer runs November 1 to December 28. E-bonus is valid between January 1 and February 28, 2024.

Panda Express – Buy $30 Online, Get a Free Panda Bowl
Buy $30 in Panda Express gift cards online and receive a coupon for a free panda bowl. Any combination of gift cards may be purchased to reach $30. Promo offer runs from November 6 to November 19. Free panda bowl is only redeemable online and expires January 31, 2024.

Panera – Buy $50, Get $10 Bonus
Purchase $50 in Panera gift cards and receive a $10 bonus card. May be a combination of plastic or ecards, purchased online or in café. Promo offer runs from November 8 to December 31. Bonus gift card must be redeemed between January 1-31, 2024.

Subway – Buy $25, Get a Free 6″ Sub
Buy $25 in Subway gift cards and receive a coupon for a free 6 inch sub. Limit 4 free subs per gift card order. Promo runs from November 15 to December 31. Free sub coupon redeemable through January 31, 2024.

Taco Cabana – Buy $25, Get $5
Buy $25 in Taco Cabana gift cards and get a $5 bonus customer appreciation gift card. Promo runs November 1 through December 31. Bonus appreciation card is activated 2 hours after purchase and is valid through March 31, 2024.

Texas Roadhouse – Buy $30 Online, Get $5 E-Bonus
Buy $30 Texas Roadhouse gift cards online and get a $5 e-bonus gift card. Promo runs from October 1 to December 31.

Holiday Gift Card Promotions from Previous Years

These are the best gift card promotions from previous years. It is safe to assume that the deals will return, but I will leave the previous list here until the dates are confirmed.

Carrabba’s Italian Grill – Buy $50, Get $10 Bonus
Purchase $50 in Carrabba’s gift cards and get a $10 off bonus. Promo offer runs from November 15 to December 27. Bonus $10 off coupon valid between January 1 and February 6, 2023.

Cheesecake Factory – Buy $50, Get $15 Ebonus Gift Card
Buy $50 in Cheesecake Factory gift cards and receive a $15 bonus. Promotion runs from November 22 to December 31. Bonus gift card valid between January 1 and March 31, 2022.

Culver’s – Buy $30, Get a Free Value Meal Coupon
When you purchase $30 or more in Culver’s Gift Cards (in any denomination or combination), you will get a Free regular value basket coupon to use on a future visit. Order gift cards online or purchase in store. Promotion runs November 16 to December 27. Value basket certificate expires February 28, 2023.

Freddy’s Frozen Custard – Buy $25, Get $5 Bonus
Purchase a $25 gift card and get a $5 bonus gift card. Promo runs through December 24. Bonus valid January 1 to February 15, 2022.

Red Robin – Buy $25 Online, Get $5 Bonus Buck Reward
Purchase $25 in Red Robin gift cards and receive a $5 bonus buck certificate. Gift cards must be purchased online for this promo. Promo offer runs November 7 to December 31. Bonus buck valid from January 1 to February 28, 2023.

Taco Bell – Buy $20, Get 2 Free Nacho Fries
Buy $20 in Taco Bell gift cards in store and receive 2 free nacho fries right then. Promo runs October 13 through December 22.

These are some of the best holiday gift promotions in 2022. Do you have another favorite promotion that didn’t make this list? Let me know in the comments! And I would love to know…

Do you buy gift cards during the holiday season?

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