Why Dunkin' Donuts Stopped Giving Out Free Birthday Drinks (And What You Get Instead)
America used to run on free birthday drinks from Dunkin' – but not quite so anymore. Ever since the coffee and donut company's rewards program underwent a major revamp in Fall 2022, birthday celebrants heading to Dunkin' can't totally caffeinate in the same free birthday drink way. Instead, Dunkin' invites customers enrolled in the chain's rewards program to spend their own money on Dunkin' birthday treats, with the potential to earn triple rewards points for their purchase.
Paying for a birthday drink from your favorite coffee chain is yet another thing that used to be free that now costs money. If you think this deal sounds less like a birthday gift and more like a lackluster birthday coupon, you're not alone. Many fans of the formerly free Dunkin' birthday drink expressed their displeasure with the rewards program change announcement at the time, and still do so today.
Despite the supposedly customer-forward reasons that Dunkin' corporate brass have given for the change in rewards plan, many customers see their birthday coffee cup as half-empty. Tap into your inner "Sad Affleck" and read on to learn the reasons why Dunkin' might be saying unhappy birthday to you — as well as how might still be able to party hearty with the increased rewards points you could score on your birthday.
The official reason behind the birthday drink change
The lack of a truly "free" Dunkin' birthday drink is one of a long line of 86'd formerly-free menu items from corporate fast food chains. From Taco Bell now charging for items that used to be free to McDonald's pushing customers to use the McDonald's app for customized (yet small) savings, being a loyal customer enrolled in any chain's rewards program can feel more like a trick than a treat.
Still, Dunkin' leadership claims that the entire rewards program revamp is what customers really want. When the chain switched to Dunkin' Rewards from the once-beloved DD Perks rewards program, Dunkin' president and CEO Scott Murphy told the Associated Press that the new changes reflected customers' polled desire for more "flexibility, variety, and recognition."
The ability to stack and save Dunkin' Rewards points to spend on beverage items as well as food items allows members to customize rewards. This change is reflected in the deletion of the free birthday drink in favor of triple the reward points for purchases made on a Dunkin' rewards member's birthday. For example, members who don't even like Dunkin' drinks but are obsessed with Dunkin' breakfast items can reward themselves with food "paid" for with rewards points, rather than get a free beverage they don't care for on their birthday. Rewards program members can choose to tap into their triple-points birthday bonus the day before their birthday, the day of their birthday, or the day just after.
Getting the most birthday rewards points bang for your buck
Finding the best birthday freebies and discounts is as much a time-honored American pastime as corporations upping their cost. While Dunkin' seems to think three times the rewards points for any purchases made on a Dunkin' Rewards program member's birthday is far better for customers than a simple free birthday drink, there's a fly in the ointment (or coffee cup) with this corporate logic.
In the older version of the rewards program, members "earned" a free item for every $40 spent at Dunkin'. In the newer, more customized program, the amount spent to "earn" points for a free specialty treat is $70. However, since the new birthday treat is the ability to collect triple rewards points for any purchases made at Dunkin' all day on a rewards program member's birthday, there's potential to beat Dunkin' at their own pay-to-play game.
Clever Dunkin' lovers can maximize their triple-purchase birthday points by becoming a point person for the day's Dunkin' purchases for friends and loved ones. Coworkers, family members, heck, even trustworthy passersby (or the odd Affleck) can send money to the lucky birthday celebrant's account. Then, the lucky celebrant can pay for any and all Dunkin' purchases throughout said birthday, while racking up triple rewards points to later spend on other birthday treats for themselves and others. This is one completely hypothetical way to run on Dunkin', to get and give the rewards points that keep on giving.