The Chick-Fil-A Ordering Hack That Can Get You More Bang For Your Buck

Frequent diners at Chick-fil-A know to head to the popular fast food eatery when their birthdays roll around each year. That's because, like many restaurants that offer birthday freebies and discounts, Chick-fil-A will give you a free menu item on your special day.  Depending on your status within the brand's rewards program, cake day revelers can score items like a free brownie, free beverage, or even a free sandwich. 

The prospect of getting a free sandwich is indeed attractive. Chick-fil-A prices can vary by location, but expect to spend at least $5 for that fried chicken, um, filet on a buttery white bun. To be more precise, the average price nationwide is a wallet-straining $5.79.

However, a few viral videos on TikTok and YouTube show a trick that Chick-fil-A fans can use to score a steep discount on their favorite sandwich. But we should mention that this hack night not be for everyone. That's because some assembly is required. Still, with how much Americans spend on fast food each month, the hassle could be worth the effort. 

Without further ado, the viral Chick-fil-A ordering hack to score a cheap sandwich begins with ordering some chicken nuggets instead. Depending on how many diners are in your party and how many sandwiches you want to make, you can purchase chicken nuggets in quantities of 5, 8, 12 or 30 pieces. Prices in the video (linked below) may be a touch outdated, but your author's local store in Colorado charges $5.69 for an eight-piece chicken nugget and $7.69 for the 12-piece. Like when ordering a larger pizza than you really need, sometimes a bigger portion is actually a better value based on volume.

However, the real magic of this hack lies with the bun, which costs just a quarter. That's right, Chick-fil-A charges just $0.25 for one of its buttery white buns. Assuming four nuggets per hacked sandwich, that translates to $3.10 for each of two small-ish sandwiches ($5.69 plus $0.50, divided by two). But perhaps four nuggets per sandwich is a little stingy? Hungrier appetites can purchase 12 nuggets for $7.69 and two buns for $0.50 total. That translates to a per-sandwich price of $4.10 for a supersized meal that's bursting at the bun with six nuggets per sandwich.

Saving the best for last in our chicken sandwich math lesson, hungry families can order a 30-piece nugget portion for $19.19. That, plus six buns at $0.25 each totals $20.69 for six Chick-fil-A fried chicken sandwiches with a generous five nuggets per sandwich. That's just $3.45 each. Compared to six regular sandwiches at $5.79 each, that's a total savings of more than $14.

Hardcore Chick-fil-A fans might note a flaw in our ordering hack, though. That's because the signature menu item comes with pickles to punch up the flavor profile. Well, the intrepid heroes in our video ask for pickles and receive a small container for absolutely free. Of course, your local store's attitude on the free pickles may vary. 

While this do-it-yourself sandwich trick will undoubtably save money, it's admittedly lacking somewhat in convenience. This isn't really a problem when eating at a table in the restaurant or taking your order home to eat. But diners on the go, like in a car for example, might appreciate the neater format of the larger chicken filet as opposed to assembling the sandwich and keeping individual nuggets under control while biting down. 

Whether or not the much-loved chicken restaurant fixes the nugget sandwich glitch remains to be seen. It probably won't raise the price of nuggets specifically for this reason, but it could begin charging significantly more for a'la carte buns. Or stop selling buns altogether.