Михаил Руденко/istockphoto
Yes, there is such a thing as a free lunch. Fast food restaurants love to entice hungry customers with offers of free food, from complimentary shakes to free fries. Most reward you just for downloading their app, signing up for text or email offers, or taking a short survey about your last visit. So if you don't have the patience to rack up points on a loyalty or rewards program over multiple visits, check out these ways to score free fast food right now.
BK always has a number of free offers available for its Royal Perks members.
New members get a free Whopper, original chicken sandwich, or Croissan'wich with any purchase of $3 or more.
Free fries with any purchase after 10:30 a.m.
Yes, you can get free guac at Chipotle. All you have to do is sign up to be a member of their rewards program, and you get a free order of guacamole and chips with your first purchase.
Downloading the mobile app at McDonald's will get you access to a slew of freebies. You'll get $4 off any order of $4 or more on your first order, plus free medium fries every Friday (Fry-day, get it?) with any $1 purchase when you use the app. Make sure to check out the Deals section of the app for ever-changing freebies.
New members to the Taco Bell rewards program will get an instant coupon for a free item, which includes popular picks like crunchy tacos and cinnamon twists. Give them your birthday and you'll get a free Mountain Dew Baja Blast Freeze.
There are many ways to score free stuff at Wendy's.
Download the app and then open the offers section, where you'll find rotating coupons like free any size soft drink with a purchase, or free small chili with any fry purchase.
Fill out the survey on the back of your receipt to get a free burger or chicken sandwich on your next purchase.
Make sure you add your birthday when you sign up for a rewards account to get a free Frosty on your special day.
This one requires some planning ahead, but you can buy a Frosty key tag in November each year to get free Frostys with a purchase the entire next calendar year.
For more great restaurant guides and dining tips, please sign up for our free newsletters.
Firehouse Subs, the sub shop known for its hot sauce selection, is giving away a free large drink when you sign up for its rewards program and buy a sub. If that's not good enough for you, you'll get a free medium sub once your birthday rolls around, too.
Sign up for the Blizzard Fan Club — who isn't a Blizzard fan? — and get an email for a buy one get one free Blizzard. Plus, check the bottom of your receipt because you can often score a free Dilly Bar by filling out a survey.
Long gone are the days of $5 Footlongs, but the ubiquitous free cookie bid will seemingly never die. Take the survey at the bottom of your receipt and you'll get an offer for a free cookie or drink on your next purchase.
If you sign up for MyCulver's rewards and finish your profile — it's just simple information, like preferred location and favorite flavors of the day — you get a coupon emailed to you for a buy one get one free value basket. Enter your birthday for a free sundae that day.
When you join the MyPanera rewards program, you'll get a coupon for a free sweet treat, pastry, or bagel in your account in the app. You'll get the same thing when your birthday rolls around. Another bonus? Panera offers $0 delivery fees for 30 days when you first join the rewards program.
You'll get a freaky fast free sub at Jimmy John's when you sign up for the Freaky Fast Rewards program. The only catch is you earn it after you make your first purchase through the program, but you'll get a birthday freebie, too.
You can grab a free beverage or food item just for signing up for DD Perks, Dunkin's rewards program. Plus, if you enter your birthday, you'll get a free beverage when that rolls around, too.
There are two ways to get free drinks at Sonic. First, sign up for their text offers — different than the app rewards— and you'll get a coupon for a free drink. Then use the code at the bottom of your receipt to get another free drink next time.
You'll get a free cup of queso (and chips, but those are always free here) when you sign up for the rewards program at Moe's. And get excited for your birthday, because you'll get a free burrito as well.
Score free medium fries when you sign up for the restaurant's text or email promotions. It'll also unlock freebie coupons for items like mini churros.
Join Noodles Rewards and you'll get a free small entree after your first purchase, plus a free birthday gift. The most difficult part will be deciding between mac and cheese and Japanese pan noodles.
The reward for downloading and signing up for the Checker's loyalty app is points, not food, but in the app you can currently get a buy one, get one free sandwich, along with free fried mushrooms with a $5 purchase.
Sign up for Popeye's Rewards in order to take advantage of their best deals. You'll get two free pieces of chicken with a $10 minimum order to enjoy right away. And check your receipt because you can get a two-piece chicken tenders and biscuit if you fill out the guest feedback survey.
It's hard to go to Steak 'n Shake without getting a shake; it's in the name, after all. Sign up for the rewards club and you'll get a free shake with your first purchase.
There are two free tacos on the horizon when you sign up for Del Taco's rewards program, cleverly called Del Yeah! Rewards. Plus you'll get a free regular size shake on your birthday each year, along with free coffee every day before 11 a.m. with purchase.
If you sign up for the email offers at Hardee's, you'll get a coupon for a free small fries and drink with the purchase of a burger — turn your burger into a combo meal for free, essentially.
Just sign up for the Zax Fan Club online or in their app and you'll get a free Big Zax Snak to munch on.
The loyalty program at Quizno's, called Toasty Points, will award you $5 off any purchase just for signing up.
The receipts at Panda Express always have a way to claim free food on them. Just go to the website listed, fill out the quick survey, and you'll be rewarded with a free extra entree on your next visit.
This West- and Midwestern-based competitor to Taco Bell has a pretty sweet deal for downloading its app and joining the Bigger Bolder Rewards program: a free small Potato Olés.
Everyone who craves White Castle should download the company's app. Once you sign up for the Craver Nation loyalty program, you'll get a coupon for a free combo meal.
Weirdly enough, Raising Cane's still uses actual cards for their loyalty program. So in order to score a free box combo meal, you need to go to a Raising Cane's location and sign up for the Caniac Club, then register the account online. Your coupon will be emailed to you.