5 Mouthwatering Meal Deals — and a Tip to Boost Your Savings

The weekend is almost here — which means you’ll find multiple restaurant deals. We’ve spotted several that involve entire free entrees or meals.

Just be sure to call ahead to confirm that the restaurant location near you is participating in an offer. These great deals include:

1. BJ’s Restaurants: Save 20 percent on takeout, delivery and catering orders through Oct. 8. Use promo code 20PERCENT.
2. California Pizza Kitchen: Get a free Power Bowl with the purchase of one Power Bowl through Sept. 17 with coupon. CPK describes these new dishes as “protein-packed with supergrains and layered with fresh veggies.”
3. Olive Garden: The Italian-American restaurant chain is currently offering a couple of ways to save on dinner. Its beloved Buy One Take One offer — which provides two entrees for as little as $12.99 in total — is back for a “limited time.” There’s also a new Early Dinner Duos offer for as little as $8.99. It’s available between 3 and 5 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, also for a “limited time.”
4. Shoney’s: This chain is turning 70 — and celebrating it every day for seven weeks straight, with a different 70-cent deal available every day of the week. For example, during this “777” period, you can snag five Shoney’s wings for 70 cents on Fridays or an All-American Burger for 70 cents on Wednesdays. The party ends Oct. 22.
5. Wienerschnitzel: Get a free chicken schnitzel sandwich with any purchase on Saturday, which is National Wiener Schnitzel Day. Use the coupon you’ll find on this chain’s website.

Supercharge your savings

One of the best ways to save money when eating out is to pay with a discounted gift card. These are gift cards that you can buy for less than their face value — a gift card that’s good for $100 but for which you pay only $80, for example.

While you can use them as a single way to save at restaurants, discount gift cards also enable you to boost your savings because you can combine them with coupons and offers like those mentioned above.

There are two main types of discounted gift cards:

• New gift cards can be purchased for less than their face value at wholesale clubs. Here is the Sam’s Club’s gift cards webpage, for example.
• Unwanted gift cards can be purchased for less than their face value at marketplaces like Cardpool.com and Raise.com. These are basically websites that enable folks with unwanted gift cards to sell them, and enable savvy shoppers to buy them.

What’s your favorite way to save money at restaurants? Share your tips below or on our Facebook page.