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Veterans Day Discounts (for people who have served)
Veterans Day discounts: I don’t know how many people have figured this out by reading my bio or any of my posts, but I’m a veteran and my husband is still an active reservist in the military. We also love a good deal. Early on in our military careers, we first started seeing special offers for veterans on Veterans Day around 2000/2001. The first one I remember is Golden Corral offered a free all-you-can-eat dinner (they still do this) as their Veterans Day discount. Back then if you tried to go on Veterans Day in a military town the line would be out the door and around the building, so we never took advantage of that deal.
In the 15+ years since then, the number of businesses that offer deals to veterans has grown exponentially. We tend to travel in November, so most years we are not home on Veterans Day. Last year we were. We decided we would try to take advantage of all the Veterans Day discounts that we could.
The reason I’m writing this post is first, I want to give recognition to some of the awesome businesses we went to last year, some who went truly above and beyond for us. The other reason is to tell our fellow veterans (and those still active duty) about some of the freebies you can take advantage of this year. Hopefully, you’ll be able to use one of these Veterans Day discounts.
Quick note about this post, I cannot possibly list all of the offers out there anymore, there are too many. But I will add links at the end to websites that are trying to stay on top of it as businesses come out with the announcements. Unless I state otherwise, every offer I mention in this post is being offered again this year. Also, some of these offers are available at all locations, some only at participating locations, so definitely check to see if the places near you are participating. Also look at what type of identification is required to prove your veteran status, that also varies from business to business.
Meineke Veterans Day Discount
The first thing we did was go to Meineke (1550 W. Main St., Lewisville, TX) where they offered a free basic oil change. I called ahead of time to see if I needed to make an appointment. They said we could just bring our car in. Our plan was to drop one car off, go eat free stuff, then drop the second car off when we picked up the first car.
I cannot even begin to tell you how amazing they were to us. First, they had donuts and coffee. Not just a box of donuts, but they were constantly bringing in more donuts the entire morning for the people who were waiting there. Then, when we came back in the afternoon they had a grill out front and were grilling hotdogs and hamburgers (and had chips and sodas) for everyone coming in that day. We would have loved to have had some, but we had our “plan” and didn’t want to deviate from it. But for the people who had to wait for their cars it was so nice of them. For people who came in later in the day when they knew they couldn’t get to their car, they gave them a rain check to bring their car back in and they would honor the free oil change. If we didn’t already have an auto repair shop closer to our home that we know and trust, I would have definitely become a loyal customer of that Meineke from then on out. If our auto repair shop ever closes up for any reason, it will be a no-brainer for me to start going to them.
Starbucks Veterans Day Discount
My first mistake last year was not realizing there was a Starbucks right next to the Meineke. If I had known that I could have gotten a free 12 oz coffee there. I already had my coffee for the day from home so we pressed on. Note: I haven’t seen yet if Starbucks is going to offer this deal again this year, but I have seen that Peet’s Coffee & Tea is offering a free small coffee or tea this year.
Denny’s Veterans Day Discount
Our breakfast stop was Denny’s (4007 N. Interstate 35, Denton, TX). Build-you-own grand slam from 5 am to noon. We considered going to IHOP, but their freebie was free red, white, and blue pancakes and we wanted more than just pancakes for breakfast. There are other places that offer free breakfast, but we don’t live near enough to any of them. Bakers Square, Bob Evans, Friendly’s, Village Inn, Krispy Kreme, LaMar’s Donuts (free donut and coffee at the last two).
Great Clips Veterans Day Discount
After breakfast, my husband got a free haircut at Great Clips (1435 South Loop 288 #111, Denton, TX). The kids got haircuts as well (not free) but customers that day are given cards to give to a veteran to get a free haircut good until the end of the year.
A lot of restaurants have free meals, but they’re from a specialized menu. Some offered free appetizers or desserts. Some are available all day, some only during lunch, and some only during dinner. Some include a non-alcoholic beverage; some require the purchase of a beverage.
Texas Roadhouse Veterans Day Discount
For lunch, we decided to go to Texas Roadhouse (2817 S. Interstate 35 East, Denton, TX, Richard Rijos, Managing Partner). We went because we wanted the 6 oz sirloin with two sides and a free sweet tea. J The restaurant was still crowded when we arrived shortly before 2 pm (the time the offer was going to end). We were assured that we could still take advantage of it and were seated in a few minutes. As we walked to our table we noticed there was a Missing Man Table set up near the front of the Link Slot Gacor.
Then at 2 pm, the manager got on the intercom and announced to the entire restaurant that he was going to extend the free lunch until 4 pm. He encouraged everyone there to message their friends or put it out on social media to spread the word to anyone who hadn’t had a chance to come by yet.
BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse Veterans Day Discount
Even though we had a late lunch, we still had two more places we wanted to go to that night. The first was BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse (3250 S. Interstate 35 East, Denton, TX). I liked their offer best for dinner because it wasn’t a set menu, it was any meal up to $12.95, no additional purchase required, and if you wanted a meal that cost more than that you simply paid the difference. The restaurant was pretty crowded for a Wednesday night, so we had a little bit of a wait. The food and service were great, and after how much I had already eaten that day, I was glad to have a bit more selection for dinner so I could choose a lighter meal. This is important given the last place I wanted to go to that night.
Hooters Veterans Day Discount
Last stop of the night, my favorite place for freebies… Hooters (985 S. Interstate 35 East, Denton, TX). Yes, I have a problem, I’m seriously addicted to their wings. Even though they have a set menu, one of the options on the set menu is a 10-piece traditional wings (no chicken dance required). Last year it was free with the purchase of a beverage, this year it looks like no purchase required. It is good all day on November 11th. Thinking about it I suppose we could go to different Hooters restaurants all day and keep getting free wings. Mmmm… wings…
Bed, Bath and Beyond Veterans Day Discount
Last, but definitely not least, Bed, Bath and Beyond (2315 Colorado Blvd, Suite 180, Denton, TX) also had a Veterans Day special (I have not seen yet if they’re going to do it again this year). This one we didn’t know about and completely Homered into when we went to a Bed, Bath, and Beyond to buy a wedding gift. *Note: I mean “Homered” in the Homer Simpson sense of the word, not the baseball sense of the word*
I know, I know, Tiff, Bed, Bath, and Beyond always sends out coupons, you can always get 20% off there. Yes, but this wasn’t 20% off of one item, this was 20% off your entire purchase. And it was good from November 7th – November 11th last year. The only kicker was it was good in stores only, which makes sense since they need identification to prove your veteran status.
Conclusion: Free stuff for veterans
That was the result of our Veterans Day discounts adventure last year. I ultimately was very happy with the decisions we made with which places to go. There were a couple more I wish I could have gone to, but either that business wasn’t near us, or it wasn’t feasible with everything else we were doing that day.
I haven’t looked at all the offers yet this year, so I haven’t come up with a strategy for 2016 Veterans Day discounts. I think we’re only going to get breakfast and dinner, but now that I said that we’ll probably try to go to even more places than last year. I’m going to list several websites that each have a fairly comprehensive list of the freebies. It’s really hard to keep track of them all, which is a great problem to have, but that’s why I’m including several links about Veterans Day discounts because some places are listed on one and not the other.
Happy Veterans Day and thank you, everyone, for your service past and present!
My dad served in the 50s. Stupid question – do you need proof that you are a veteran, and for someone who served so many years ago, what proof would he need?
It varies from business to business; I will say I’ve noticed they tend to me more lenient with older vets than younger ones. Here’s an example of some IDs they take, but you’ll need to check on their websites too:
US Military ID (active duty, dependents, retiree, guard/reserve)
VFW Membership Card
Veterans Advantage Membership Card
Veterans Administration ID Card
American Legion Membership Card
A copy of his DD214
Again, if he wears a hat, a T-shirt, saying he’s a vet, some businesses will consider that good enough, they know sometimes people lose their records. But if he does have any of the IDs listed above, one of those should work.
Hope this helps!