Free food delivery sounds like it might be too good to be true, or perhaps it is just your lucky day!
While the thrill and idea of getting food delivered have its perks, what you might not know is that often times food delivered comes at a premium.
A NY Times experiment found that the markups on the food deliveries were 7 percent to 91 percent more than what you would pay if you bought the meal directly from the restaurant.
One way to cut down the costs of food delivery is to get free food delivered to you at home. Take a look at some of the best ways to get free delivery deals here!
How To Get Free Food Delivery Deals
Top Food Delivery Services:
Before we get into the ways to get free food delivered to your home or place of work, here is your top choices for delivery services:
- DoorDash
- Uber Eats
- Postmates
- Grubhub
- Delivery.com
With each of the above, you can often get free first delivery deals when you sign-up or download the app. For example, Grubhub was offering free delivery for members on orders over $12.
Delivery.com offers a $7 sign-up bonus for new first-time users. Just be sure you are strategic on which service you use. Similarly, if you’re looking for healthier options, many of the meal services offer free delivery as well.
Now, let’s look into the other ways to hack the delivery system for free delivery deals!
Related: 11 Legit Ways To Score Free Food
1. Use a Rewards Card
Depending on your credit card, some rewards and credit cards offer free delivery deals when you perform normal spending. Some cards will even offer pass subscriptions.
For example, the Chase Saphire Preferred card was offering a free DoorDash DashPass subscription when you signed with their credit card in March of 2022. With a minimum order of $12.00, you can get free delivery with your credit card!
Other cards that can offer delivery partnerships and passes include:
- Platinum Plus from American Express
- Chase Slate Card
- American Express Gold Card
- Apple Card 3% cashback on Uber Eats
2. Get Free Delivery at Work
With a lot of small delis, market stores, pizza shops, and Chinese food places you can get delivery waived if you’re ordering to your work. Many businesses and places of work will do large orders once a week, once a month, or once a quarter which allows you to experience free delivery!
How to make this work is to make sure you call to place your oder! This way you can get on the phone with the restaurant and talk to them about free delivery. Sometimes asking is the trick! Later in the article, we share another technique that is worth noting.
Even Chik Fil A might deliver (when you get their catering)!
3. Use a Discount Code
One of the best ways to get free delivery is to find discount codes and special offers.
Many companies run promotional offers throughout the year to get you to order their food (just being honest). Knowing this, take advantage of this.
Simply search “Free Food Delivery” or “Free Delivery Near Me” and see what comes up. What you will quickly find is a list of companies offering promos for ordering with their app or online.
A simple search on my end found deals (these change frequently):
- Popeyes free delivery with their app and orders over $20 are free
- Boston Market offers free delivery when you order with their app online
- McDonalds – first time order comes with free delivery through DoorDash
- Others to consider are Panera, Chipotle, Papa Johns, Burger King, Wendys, and Taco Bell
Why do companies do this?
You might be wondering why companies offer “More Free Meals” and free delivery when you download their app. They know that if you download their app you are more than likely to order again in the future. Knowing this, you can take advantage of the first-time offers that will waive the delivery fee!
Enjoy free delivery!
4. Order From a Restaurant Directly
Local restaurants are aware of a few things.
One, consumers want to have food delivered and two, people will pay for it with a delivery service such as Postmates or DoorDash. The problem with this is the fees associated with these delivery services can sometimes cripple small-owned restaurants.
This is why man restaurants are beginning to offer their own form of delivery and in some cases when you order a certain amount you will get free delivery! Common places that offer free delivery include:
- Select pizza establishments
- Chinese food establishments
- Small mom and pop places that are common for takeout
5. Grocery Delivery Service
Groceries delivery service options exist when you shop with companies like Instacart for the first time. The way it works is pretty straightforward and there are many supermarkets to choose from:
- Sign-up with Instacart (make sure they’re in your area!)
- Do your normal grocery shopping, but just do it online
- Have an Instacarter shop and deliver your groceries to you
Most grocery delivery partnerships like Instacart do usually come with a service fee and can be pretty pricey if you’re looking to save money, sometimes you can find “First time order online is free” deals.
Similar to some of the ways to procure free delivery on this list, you have to keep an eye out for special offers! Another option if you’re looking to save time but don’t want to spend the money on delivery, is to see which stores offer free shopping for you.
For example, Walmart will shop for you when you have over $35 in groceries and you can simply back into a pickup spot to get your groceries. Pickup services are just as quick!
6. Check Ibotta
While it might be hard to land free food delivery, you might be able to find some deals or percentages off with a cash-back savings app like Ibotta!
If you’re not a member of Ibotta, first sign-up here or download the app.
Next, search for deals and see if any offer free contactless delivery deals or free meals even. Sometimes new partnerships will offer some unique one-time offers you can take advantage of.
7. Jump On Someone’s Delivery
Delivery fees are annoying, but you are paying for convenience. One way to work around this is to tack on to someone else order. While this opportunity is not as widely available, it is always a possibility.
Hypothetically, say a coworker or friend (think college or watching a game) is hungry and considering food delivery. Deep down you know that you really want some food delivered to you so you encourage them.
Have them place the order and say, “Hey you mind if I can order with you?”
Order your menu item at cost and get free delivery… for you at least. Simply Venmo or Cashapp your coworker! Point to note: In the future, you might have to scratch their back and order in the future and cover the delivery fee!
Related: 9 of the Best Delivery Apps
The Verdict: Just Go Get It Yourself!
Chances are you are most likely in a position where you’re close enough to food places to receive the delivery or you’re too far away to enjoy the option (think rural).
In either case, sometimes the best option is to skip the delivery and just go get it yourself! In instances where you go pick up your own food, you will not only save money but you might actually save time.
Believer it or not, you can sometimes place an order online and start your trek, arrive at your location, grab your food, and bring it home faster than any delivery service can. Of course, this is just an option to consider.
At the end of the day, if you are looking for free food delivery to your home – we hope this list helped!
*Disclaimer: With free food delivery, there are so many rotating promotions and deals that sometimes deals can change rapidly. Please always look for more info and do your due diligence prior to ordering online! This is merely just a guide to give you creative ideas!