Donut Make These Pricey Order Mistakes at Dunkin'

Sure, you're just popping into Dunkin' for that famous coffee or a doughnut (or six), but you can save money, time, and headaches by avoiding these common Dunkin' mistakes.

Have you gotten the Dunkin' app yet? You should, because the offers tab is worth perusing before you go in. While this particular offer ended after May, the free medium coffee with any purchase was the stuff of many TikToks, including one that noted it was totally okay to buy a single munchkin and still get a free coffee. Keep your eyes peeled for what's available next. 

The doughnut chain does offer a rewards program, much like Starbucks and other fast-food places. Dunkin' Rewards replaces the previous program, DD Perks, and there are some differences. You earn 10 points for every $1 spent, and starting at $150 points ($15 spent), you can redeem points for free food and drinks. But remember to use those points, as they expire after six months.

While you used to get a free birthday drink through the rewards program, now you can get three times as many points for one day. But if you don't want to go to Dunkin' on your birthday, that's okay. You can activate the offer the day before or even the day after your birthday. And you'll only get the offer if you add your birthday to your rewards account, so do that, too.

Want this sandwich for slightly less? Instead of ordering a Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Sandwich, get the Wake-Up Wrap instead and add a toasted bagel to your order. Just plop the contents of the wrap on the bagel, remove the wrap, and you have the sandwich for less. Another money-saving hack? Get the meat for any sandwich on the side — chances are your order will be less, which makes adding meat yourself a very easy (and economical) choice.

Bagels, sandwiches, croissants, and muffins are automatically toasted. Most people like that. But if you are not one of those people, say something while you're ordering, or face a warm treat (horrors!). 

Say you're getting coffee and doughnuts for the office. Everyone wants something different, and you know that getting it right is important, but you also aren't really listening when the order is read back to you. Remember: The more complicated the order, the better the chance it might be wrong or missing something. Listen carefully when the Dunkin' employee repeats it back to you so you can catch any mistakes. 

On the flip side of the rude customer who rushes through the drive-thru, there's the pokey person who jams it up. Don't hold up the drive-thru with your ridiculously long or complex order. An employee pointed out that Dunkin' locations measure success by how quickly customers get moved through the drive-thru, so if your hemming and hawing doesn't get a great reception, that might be the reason. Just park and go inside so you can stare at the menu for as long as you like.

If you're thinking you'll have a slightly healthier (it is a doughnut shop, after all) breakfast by grabbing s high-protein option like the Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Sandwich or a Wake-Up Wrap, do realize that the egg is only sorta egg. It's actuslly egg product, according to The Street: egg whites, egg yolks, soybean oil, water, corn starch, salt, natural flavor, xanthan gum, cellulose gum, and citric acid. Yum! You didn't think they had a griddle to fry up a fresh egg back there, did you?

Maybe you care nothing about calories or your insulin level, but let's face it — like lots of other coffee vendors (cough, Starbucks, cough) Dunkin' is selling desserts full of syrups, creams, and other high-calorie goodies and passing them off as coffee. Don't kid yourself — that blueberry-flavored, caramel-swirled, whipped cream-topped monstrosity might as well be a milkshake.

Okay, this isn't a tip for the faint of heart (and, given that it might constitute trespassing and it's really not sanitary, we don't recommend it at all) but rumor has it that many Dunkin' locations toss their unsold donuts in the trash at the end of the day. If you're willing to go dumpster diving and take that risk (actually, many risks), this one's for you.