Should I start by saying HAPPY BIRTHDAY!? Even if it isn’t your Birthday, it is probably coming up and you want to know where to go to collect your Birthday Freebies. I get it. You’ve landed on the right page.
I’ve always kind of known my go to places for Birthday freebies. I live in New York City, so many of the suburb big chain freebies are not available to me (not sad, not where I was going with that). But the reality is that the availability and the offers for Birthday freebies has gone dramatically down over the years. Many years ago, Starbucks offered a free drink anytime during your Birthday month, it is now only offered on your actual Birthday, Dunkin’ Donuts (or is it just Dunkin’ now?) no longer offers a free drink. So, whatever you’re reading in preparation for your Birthday, make sure it is recent and updated.
The Birthday freebies from clothing and other stores are a lot less. They often rely on discount codes, which is good, but not a freebie. Nevertheless, there are some good options out there to try out and explore. So, let’s dive into this, shall we?
This post is everything about Birthday Freebies. May you have an amazing day, week, and month celebrating!
FOOD ITEMS
From top left clockwise: Starbucks, Crumbl, Ole & Steen, Panera, Baskin Robbins, and Krispy Kreme.
#1 Starbucks
Starbucks is honestly my favorite. No Fuss, no muss. You stop by, open the app and your reward shows. You order whatever type of drink and size you want and you tell the barista before scanning to honor your reward. You can choose to get a drink or food item of your choice. This has to be on your actual Birthday, unlike other Birthday rewards that are eligible a few days before or after, or anytime during the entire month… Starbucks is a little restricted, but frankly doesn’t bother me as I need a cup of coffee on my Birthday anyway.
#2 Crumbl
Probably my favorite cookie place. I mean these are massive, taste good and look so cute. Get the app and sign up. Crumbl will give you a cookie on your Birthday. It is loaded in your account the day before and valid for more than a month.
#3 Ole and Steen
Ahhhhh the best place in my opinion to get bread, pastries, and sandwiches. If you sign up on the app, you will receive your Birthday reward, which includes a small cake. Yum. The app wasn’t working properly for me during my Birthday week. I went to the store, they were aware of that glitch and honored my reward anyway.
#4 Krispy Kreme
The OG of all Birthday rewards. Sad to tell you that the days of a box of dozen glazed donuts are over. The current reward is a box of three glazed donuts. Download the app and sign up. The rewards will load in your account in 24 hours. You have an entire month to use the reward.
#5 Baskin Robbins
You can download their app or just sign up online. They will email you the reward for a free ice cream scoop on your Birthday. You can show it at the store and get your free scoop! The reward is valid for 10 days. If you’re new to Baskin Robbins app then you get a welcome free scoop too, it’s valid for three months.
#6 Panera
After you sign up on the app, you get a reward – a pastry or bagel of your choice. The reward is loaded on the day of your Birthday and you have 7 days to use the it. Very simple.
CLOTHING & BEAUTY
From Left to Right: Sephora, Ulta, Madewell.
#1 SEPHORA
Sephora offers all its reward members a free gift set. Make sure to sign up for their reward program. They often have another special gift set for their highest tier status, the VIB rouge. But the other two tiers, Beauty insider and VIB have 2-3 excellent choices to pick from. These are pretty substantial in size, and are a combination of 2-3 products in deluxe sample size. You can pick up anytime during your Birthday month. They are very relaxed about it and will often give it you even past the month if you go to the store.
#2 ULTA
ULTA offers its members a reward gift on their birthday month. They have a selection of birthday gift options each month, which are all usually a single deluxe sample size product. Depending on your location they may have a couple, or all options available at best, so it really depends on your luck. You have the entire month to pick up your gift, but you must be able to show your reward on your app, or in an email, as they are strict about this.
#3 MADEWELL
Madewell has consistently offered 25 USD over the years for all its insiders to be used anytime during their Birthday month. Just make sure to sign up as an insider, you can do this the next time you visit the store. I’ve had issues with the reward not showing up on my account online, but the store associates offered me the reward anyway.
OTHER STORES & SUBSCRIPTIONS
#1 IKEA
IKEA offers 10 USD off your purchase during the entire month of your Birthday (the freebie). If you decide to eat at their restaurant, they will offer you a free slice of cake with any full price entrée (not a real freebie, but I included this anyway).
#2 HULU
If you’re not a regular HULU subscriber but have been in the past, they will reach out to you with a free month trial on your Birthday month. How nice! All you have to do is sign up and then make sure to cancel before you’re due for your next month’s payment and you’re all set.
#3 CLASSPASS
Classpass will offer you a month of membership. The offer is valid for almost 43 days, so more than a month! You can sign up until the last day the offer is valid, if your birthday month is busy and you want to delay this membership. Last year I signed up but never used them, they gave me 33 credits, so just be aware it is not an unlimited amount of credits when they say a month long membership.
#4 WILLIAMS SONOMA
I couldn’t not include this. If you have a Williams Sonoma, West Elm or Pottery Barn credit card, you will receive a 25 USD credit on your Birthday month and have the entire month to use it. I know what you’re thinking, it’s not exactly a freebie. But let this slide for me.
This is a great second credit card to have if you buy things from these companies even occasionally. I won’t go into the benefits, but there are no annual fees on this card, free shipping and you earn redeemable rewards by shopping from them. Win win win.
Final Thoughts
There are many other offers. These are the ones that do not require you to make a purchase to receive something, they are true Birthday freebies – which was the purpose of this post. So, I didn’t include Chipotle’s guac & chips with any 5 USD order, amongst others. Nor did I include the discounts you’re going to receive from stores to shop on your Birthday month, like Anthropologie’s 20% discount. Not a freebie per se.
The complete list is exhaustive, and frankly many of the chains don’t operate in New York City, so my list is smaller but I think – also better. It can get really unhealthy really quick, so hopefully you’re not collecting your Birthday freebies all on the same day. Make sure to give away whatever you have left or even better yet share them with someone.
This post is everything I know about Birthday Freebies for 2024. Enjoy and Happy Birthday!
As always, thank you so much for stopping by and reading.
See you next week,
Girl on the Upper East Side
If you enjoyed reading this, you might enjoy;
Leave a Reply