Comments on: How Does Restaurant.com Work?

By: Nick

Nick — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 18:19:11 +0000

I’m not sure, but my guess is the $100 certificate would carry a higher minimum purchase requirement. Is the $35 minimum for the $25 certificate?

By: Kat

Kat — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 05:04:27 +0000

Okay Nick, so I have a restaurant in mind from restaurants.com that has a mim purchase of $35 and offers certificates of up to $100…does this mean if I go to the restaurant and buy $101 worth of food…my coupon will cover $100 of it and I will be left with a bill of $1 plus tax and gratuity?

By: Mel

Mel — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 03:24:18 +0000

I also bought the $500 card from Today show (actually I bought 2 for gifts) then I went on-line and really looked it up. Guess I should have done that first, but being unemployed I thought cool, I can afford to eat. There is many laws on gift certificates and I know Groupon’s and Living social are being hit with lawsuits on their use calling theirs “gift cards” How can Restaurant.com pass for a gift card they are coupons!
I am in San Diego and see most as $100 with a minimum of $200 to spend…they all have no happy hour, and weekends and have to buy drinks that do not count towards bill and with an 18% gratuity added. And I read that most restaurants after buying them do not even take them when you bring them to the restaurant.

I feel really taken! How am I suppose to give “coupons” for gifts.

By: southtampa_filam

southtampa_filam — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 17:04:06 +0000

oh, i got that part, just left it out of the question since we covered it already. i do appreciate your time & thanks so much. i hope you & your family have a wonderful Christmas & new year. thanks again.

By: Nick

Nick — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 17:01:28 +0000

Sorry I’m not being clear. Your gift card is not valid at the restaurant. You have to buy a specific restuarant voucher on the restaurant.com website using your giftcard. These vouchers are typically sold in $25 or $50 values, but carry minimum purchase requirements of $35-100 respectively, excluding tax, tip, and sometimes alcohol. In the post I put some of the common restrictions. You will need to pay the difference between the voucher value and the meal total, plus tax and tip. In my example in the post it was $20…

I don’t work for restaurant.com, just thought they had an interesting business. For customer service please visit http://restaurant-com.custhelp.com/ or call 1-800-979-8985

By: southtampa_filam

southtampa_filam — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 16:53:10 +0000

ok, so say we go in have dinner and the total for everything excluding tips was $95 & the restaurants minimum was only $70, I would not have to pay for anything else except tips?

By: Nick

Nick — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 16:48:51 +0000

Restaurant.com won’t sell a voucher with a minimum less than the face value so you don’t have to worry about that. Tax and tip is not included so you’ll need to bring extra for those.

By: southtampa_filam

southtampa_filam — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 16:43:32 +0000

*get

By: southtampa_filam

southtampa_filam — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 16:43:12 +0000

i’ll have to more of them. so if i choose a restaurant with a lower minimum than my gc what happens then? and is tip covered or should i still bring cash or my visa? ive never used these cards before and i’d like to walk in to the establishment with the correct info.

By: Nick

Nick — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 16:40:26 +0000

Yep, and this week they’re selling $25 vouchers for only $1 so you’ll be able to get a ton of them! Promo code: JOY