How to use discount vouchers to get MORE than £10 off with Eat Out to Help Out
HUNGRY diners can use discount codes and vouchers to get MORE than the maximum £10 off being offered by the Eat Out to Help Out deal.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced the new half-price meal scheme to help entice customers back into restaurants following the coronavirus crisis.
As part of Eat Out to Help Out, Brits can dine at cafes, restaurants and pubs in August on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesdays for half price - with up to £10 a head per person off.
states restaurants can still run the Eat Out to Help Out promotion alongside other offers.
For example, you may be able to use existing promotions, such as a 50 per cent off with Tastecard or Meerkat Meal 2 for 1, on top of the government 50 per cent off.
The promotions are also applied BEFORE the Eat In Dine Out offer, meaning you may get more than £10 per person off your meal.
In fact, we've found a way to get £35 meal at Prezzo for two people for £10.25 instead of £17.50 - that's a saving of £12.37 per person - by using a 2for1 Tastecard.
The Sun has crunched the numbers to find out how much you could save per person, should restaurants allow you to use these discounts on top of Eat Out to Help Out.
How to get MORE than £10 off with Eat Out to Help Out
PREZZO WITH TASTECARD - save £12.37 per person
2x grilled chicken breast with mushrooms - £29
2x Pepsi - £6
COST: £35
WITH TASTECARD 2FOR1 DISCOUNT: £20.50
WITH EAT OUT TO HELP OUT DISCOUNT: £10.25
GIRAFFE WITH MEERKAT MEALS - save £10.77 per person
2x bacon and cheese burgers - £25
2x Pepsi - £5.60
ORIGINAL COST: £30.60
MEERKAT MEALS DISCOUNT: £18.10
WITH EAT OUT TO HELP OUT DISCOUNT: £9.05
HARVESTER WITH 25 PER CENT DISCOUNT - save £8.86 per person
2x beef burgers - £22.98
2x refillable soft drinks - £6
ORIGINAL COST: £28.98
25 PER CENT DISCOUNT: £23.24
WITH EAT OUT TO HELP OUT DISCOUNT: £11.62
TOBY CARVERY WITH 25 PER CENT DISCOUNT - save £6.24 per person
2x midweek carveries - £15.58
2x Coca Cola - £5.50
ORIGINAL COST: £21.08
25 PER CENT DISCOUNT: £17.19
WITH EAT OUT TO HELP OUT DISCOUNT: £8.59
The average family spends nearly £20 a week on cafe meals and eating out.
It means that for a family of four eating out at a restaurant, a total bill of £80 would be reduced to £40.
The scheme is set to start on August 3 and will be valid every Money, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Adult and kids meals are include - but you won't get money off alcoholic drinks.
Restaurants will need to apply to take part, so not everywhere will be offering the discount - we’ve got a list of places that have already signed up here.
It's part of a wider £30billion package to help the country's finances recover after three months of lockdown.
Tastecard is a paid-for membership scheme that gives either two-for-one or 50 per cent off food at participating restaurants.
Membership costs £4.99 per month and it doesn't cover drinks.
Meerkat Meals is similar, in that it also offers two-for-one on food, not drinks, at select restaurants - but you get this when you buy any travel insurance product through Compare the Market.
The cheapest travel insurance produce is currently £2.34.
Other restaurants, such as Harvester and Toby Carvery, are currently offering a one-off 25 per cent discount on food when you sign up to their email updates.
How to save money eating out
THERE are a number of ways that you can save money when eating out. Here's how:
Discount codes - Check sites like Sun Vouchersor for any discount codes you can use to get money off your order.
Tastecard - This is a members club where you pay to have access to discounts worth up to 50 per cent off at thousands of restaurants. It costs £4.99 a month or £34.99 for the year.
Loyalty schemes - Some restaurants will reward you with discounts or a free meal if you register with their loyalty scheme, such as Nando's where you can collect a stamp with every visit. Some chains like Pizza Express will send you discounts for special occasions, such as your birthday, if you sign up to their newsletter.
Voucher schemes - Look out for voucher schemes offered by third party firms, such as Meerkat Meals. If you compare and buy a product through CompareTheMarket.com then you'll be rewarded with access to the discount scheme. You'll get 2 for 1 meals at certain restaurants through Sunday to Thursday.
Student discounts - If you're in full-time education or a member of the National Students Union then you may be able to get a discount of up to 15 per cent off the bill. It's always worth asking before you place your order.
The savings per person are based on how much you save compared to the original price.
We first worked out the original cost of the meal without any discount, then how much it would work out with either a Tastecard, Meerkat Meals or another offer.
Based on this discounted price, we then took off how much money you'd save when the Eat Out to Help Out starts.
Katie Watts, consumer expert at MoneySavingExpert.com, told The Sun: "The big boon with this scheme is the fact that you CAN stack the discount with other vouchers (which are usually valid off-peak anyway), with the government discount being applied second.
"Effectively, you'll be getting a 50 per cent discount on an already discounted price, which in turn gets you more within the £10 cap."
Both Harvester and Toby Carvery have already confirmed they’ll be offering Eat Out to Help Out.
We've asked if customers can use Tastecard and Meerkat Meals discounts on top, and if any menu options are excluded - we'll update this article when we know more.
The Sun has also asked Prezzo and Giraffe if they'll be taking part too, and if they'll have any exemptions in place.
We've rounded up 12 discount and voucher schemes you can use BEFORE the Eat Out to Help Out starts.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Plus, here's a full breakdown of how Eat Out to Help Out will work.
Due to the new government rules, customers won't be able to serve themselves at Toby Carvery buffets - instead chefs will plate it up for them.