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Free Coffee at Dunkin Donuts
A look at various ways to enjoy a free cup of coffee from Dunkin Donuts.
Published April 1, 2022
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Daniel Hedlund
Coffee experts@The Coffee Lab
Who doesn’t love to get something for nothing? Whether it’s a sample of a new product you are given to try as a marketing strategy or a free coffee at Dunkin Donuts as a loyalty perk, you can’t beat the price, which in this case, is nothing! From time to time, you may have heard references to getting a free cup of coffee at your favorite donut shop, and that would be Dunkin, but have yet to figure out how. We can help you there! This is what we’ve gathered around the internet to help you in your quest for that fee cup of coffee you’ve been looking for.
Why Coffee and Not Donuts?
While there is still a huge portion of the population that have yet to catch on to the rebranding efforts of the Dunkin Donuts marketing team, some people simply can’t break a habit. Since 1948 when Dunkin’ Donuts was ‘born’ as a local coffee and donut shop, the Open Kettle, in Quincy, Massachusetts, there has been little doubt that donuts were an integral part of what this company offered.
It was the vision of founder William Rosenberg to offer affordable, high-quality donuts and coffee to community members who deserved to get what they paid for with fast, courteous service. It wasn’t until two years after launching that Rosenberg changed the name that was to stick for nearly three-quarters of a century to the iconic Dunkin’ Donuts. The year was 1950 and within just a matter of a few years, the brand was already franchising locations around the country.
In fact, not only was Dunkin Donuts a pioneer in fast, affordable, high-quality coffee and breakfast items but the company is also seen as a pioneer in the franchising paradigm of corporate structure. The purpose is twofold. Customers get superior products and services within their communities at a franchise often owned by a fellow community member.
However, over time, Dunkin Donuts recognized that coffee became a highly competitive market and there were many coffee brands competing for the top spot, many of which didn’t really deserve the honor. Their coffee was good, but not up to the caliber of Dunkin’ coffee that had been sourced for those 75 years mentioned above.
In 2018 the ‘Donuts’ was officially dropped from the Dunkin’ logo and the coffee war went into full battle mode. With that said, there is no doubt who the eventual winner would be, and it didn’t take a free cup of coffee to win the battle of beans (although that Dunkin Doughnuts free coffee didn’t hurt!)
DD Perks Just for You!
One of the best ways to get Dunkin free coffee today is to join the DD Perks customer loyalty program where you can earn points for purchases. These points can be redeemed in a variety of ways, but most often they equate to dollar amounts you can trade for that free coffee every time the points build up to a spendable balance. As a matter of fact, you even get a free medium cold brew coffee just for signing up for DD perks but there is a stipulation to be aware of. You need to collect on that offer within a week, seven days of signing up for the DD Perks program and app if you remember to download it. With that said, you really should take the time to download the DD Perks app because you may find that you get an occasional message that you can get a Dunkin donut free or Dunkin Donuts free iced coffee as part of a Dunkin’ Donuts Perks promotion.
That is one of the reasons why apps are in use today to the extent that they are. Not only do you get push notifications when special promotions are being offered but that app gives you the ability to pre-order up to a day in advance. The DD Perks app offers convenience and special discounts which are both highly appreciated in today’s oftentimes chaotic lifestyle.
Follow the Tags
If you spend any amount of time online, you are probably used to following the tags. This is an innovative way to search for discounts and coupon codes you may not normally spot. If you are active on social media, this may be the easiest place to find those golden hashtags that lead you to the door of amazing DD discounts, coupon codes and special promotions you may not otherwise find unless you spend a ton of time Googling deals.
That’s part of the beauty of social media. Once you follow a large enough group of friends, you can just search for tags in that social site’s search function and before you know it you will find dozens of deals and discounts you never knew existed. Are you looking for information on how to get free coffee at Dunkin Donuts? Try those social hashtags to see where they lead!
Free Coffee Monday
Although there is no guarantee that Dunkin will be offering the Free Coffee Monday promotion, chances are good that you will see this strategy from time to time so be on the lookout. Quite often the DD Perks program will run the Free Coffee Monday deal for Perks members. It usually is a promotion that entitles DD Perks members to a free cup of coffee on Monday with the purchase of any food item. Sometimes there is a further stipulation as to the amount of money being spent, but that isn’t typical much of the time.
This is something you really need to have the app to keep up with because promotions aren’t guaranteed every week in the year. For example, the last advertised Free Coffee Monday perk runs through April 26 where new members get a free iced coffee and DD Perks members get a free medium ice or hot coffee on Mondays. There’s always some sort of Monday deal going on for Perks members, so the combination of special push notifications and Monday freebies is a real plus.
Ways to Keep the Free Coffee Coming
Perhaps it bears special mentioning that if you join the DD Perks program, you probably need to pay special attention to the app. Don’t let those notifications go unread because you never know when you might miss a limited time deal on Dunkin Donuts free coffee Mondays, especially during times when the deal had expired and is about to go live again.
Also, it pays to be aware of the fact that every store is a franchise and so you may find special DD Perks offered at specific locations. Sometimes new Dunkin’ stores are being promoted and you might find ways to get a free cup for visiting that particular store.
Other times you may find seasonal deals that aren’t widely advertised online but come through your DD Perks app on your cell phone. The point being made here is that in order to keep the free coffee coming, you need to keep your eyes tuned to the places you are most likely to find those deals being offered.
Coupons and Promo Codes
Do you belong to comparison sites and those that offer vouchers, promos, and coupon codes? These are really great places to join because the webmaster typically gets some kind of reward for linking customers to products or brands. If they are good at what they do and keep up with all the latest deals, coupons and promo codes, you are likely to find ways to get at a bare minimum, Dunkin free donut with coffee purchase. No, the coffee might not be free, but the donut would be!
These sites should also be checked regularly because, like your DD app, special deals and coupon codes also change regularly. Bear in mind that many of the deals you see for Dunkin’ and really any brand, are the results of Big Data and data analysis. If the marketing team finds that one area of the country is lagging in sales, they will hit that area with special promotions.
This brings up another very good point when it comes to marketing. Although Dunkin is 100% franchised stores, there is a national marketing strategy that usually includes all stores in all locations. With that said, there may be regional variations so pay special attention to where the deals are being offered.
A Ticket Scalpers Reverse Approach!
Here’s something interesting that we’ve seen mentioned in blogs about ways in which to take advantage of gift cards you, or your friends, don’t really want or need. Sometimes a friend may get a gift card to Dunkin’, for example, yet that person isn’t a coffee or donut lover, but you are. One thing we’ve seen suggested is to ‘buy’ that gift card for a lesser amount than the face value of it. You may not be getting every cup of coffee free, but the savings on the price you pay at a fraction of face value may represent several cups of coffee and a menu item as well!
Doesn’t this remind you of ticket scalpers at a Superbowl game that was sold out days ago? Some highly attended sports events have scalpers selling tickets for many times the price those tickets would have cost and although that practice is highly illegal, the reverse isn’t true when it comes to buying gift cards cheap. There is nothing to say that you can’t sell something that belongs to you and that’s just what a Dunkin gift card is. It’s a piece of personal property of value. If the holder wants to sell it, at any price, that is their right. They can even give it away, so keep that in mind.
Host a Function at Church
Another innovative way to get a Dunkin Donuts free coffee would be to host a function at church or some group where you are in charge of making the ‘after function’ coffee. If you serve Dunkin’ coffee, you can have a cup for free and maybe even a Dunkin Donuts free donut if coffee and donuts are the break snack your group has organized. In other words, Dunkin isn’t offering the free coffee, but it would still be free to you if you didn’t have to buy the coffee out of pocket.
Your church or civic group paid for the cost of refreshments, and you would reap the benefit of choosing which brand to go with for that specific meeting. Who knows! Dunkin coffee and donuts may be so well received that it becomes a monthly tradition to order your donuts from Dunkin and to brew the Dunkin original blend coffee purchased at your local grocery store.
Weekly Meetups with Friends
Do you have that one friend you get together with every week to touch base on life events and to stay tuned to what they are doing in their life? Another way to get that coveted free cup of Dunkin coffee would be to take turns paying the check. Meet up at your local Dunkin Donuts shop and take turns paying! Every other week your cup of Dunkin coffee would be free and while not exactly the kind of free coffee you were looking for, it’s nice to be the recipient of a free coffee and donut from time to time.
New Product Introductions
Quite often when new products or coffee roasts are launched, Dunkin will offer promotions to introduce those products to the market. When it is a new coffee roast or flavor you are likely to be able to try that new coffee for free. You may get a coupon in the mail, a digital coupon if you subscribe to an email list or a coupon sent via the DD Perks app you have on your cell phone.
No matter how you receive the information on the new coffee being launched, do take advantage of the offer. Not only is it a way to find different products you might like even better than the blend you now enjoy, but at least you will know something about that new coffee to share with friends.
Reasons to Look for Free Coffee from Dunkin
Some of this has been mentioned above but there really are reasons why you might want to take advantage of free coffee from Dunkin Donuts, other than getting a free cup of your favorite brand. Have you ever found yourself stuck in a rut and unable to break out long enough to try something new?
This is often the case with coffee lovers because that one time they tried a new roast, or a new flavor was all it took to change our coffee preferences. One of the main reasons to take advantage of free Dunkin coffee offers is to use that deal to try something new.
Sometimes we are reluctant to ‘throw good money away’ when we aren’t sure if we will like something. One of the most important reasons to take advantage of free coffee offers is to see if just maybe Dunkin has a roast that we might like better than the Original medium roast beans Dunkin has been serving for years.
Another reason could be something to do with caffeine. Sometimes our doctor tells us to switch to decaf and it is just now coming to light that Dunkin also has decaffeinated coffee. Or, maybe we’ve been drinking decaf and are simply lacking the energy we once had and now need to add that little boost that only caffeine can safely provide.
No matter what your reason for trying a new coffee roast or flavor, using that free cup of coffee offer takes the ‘guilt’ out of trying something we are afraid will not satisfy our discriminating tastes. No one likes to pay for things they can’t use or don’t like, so use those free coffee offers to assuage your guilt!
A Coffee Lover’s Journey
We could go on forever and ever about the reasons why we might want to search for free coffee deals from Dunkin and how to get every cup of free coffee at Dunkin Donuts as the offers are launched. However, isn’t it really about the journey? Isn’t our search for free coffee more about the journey than about the amount of money we save?
A true coffee lover never turns down the opportunity to try new roasts and new flavors so on their journey with beans as steppingstones, a true coffee lover will be open to stepping off the worn and well-traveled path from time to time.
On your journey you will discover the delights of roasts and flavors you never dreamed possible and so when you get that voucher for a free cup of Dunkin coffee, check out all the variations you might like to try, at least once in a lifetime. Let’s take a quick look at how Dunkin categorizes the coffees they sell.
These will be sorted by filters, the first of which is the roast. Here you can choose between:
- Light
- Medium
- Dark
- Decaf
Then there is the form that pertains to:
- Cold brew
- Ground
- K-Cup
- Whole bean
Next on the list of filters, you need to choose between varieties that include:
- Bakery Series
- Signature Series
- Cold Brew
- Flavored
- Seasonal
And if that isn’t enough to keep you busy for a while, each of those entries within each filter has several subcategories to understand. For example, there are 24 flavored coffees, 13 seasonal, 34 medium roasts, 24 ground, and 22 k-cup forms to be aware of.
This is another reason why brand ambassadors have become so popular, perhaps the best known of the Dunkin brand ambassadors being Charli D’Amelio who hit the world running with her TikTok endorsement and love of Dunkin’s cold brew coffees sweetened with swirls and Sweet Cold Foam.
There is so much to learn and so little time when it comes right down to it! You could try a different roast in a different form in a different flavor literally every day for a year and still not know all there is to know about the ways in which to enjoy Dunkin Donuts coffees. Doesn’t it make perfectly good sense to look for ways to enjoy a free cup of coffee from the brand you love most?
Wrapping It Up
In the end, you may be perfectly satisfied with the roast and flavor of Dunkin Donuts coffee you have been drinking for years. Maybe you don’t really want to change that cup you have come to appreciate day after day, but maybe you are at least willing to try something new. For whatever reason you might be looking for free coffee from Dunkin Donuts, there are ways to find those deals that give you the benefit of a cup of coffee you won’t be asked to pay for.
While DD Perks is the perfect opportunity for customers to be rewarded for being loyal patrons, it is also one of the ways to be introduced to variations you never knew existed. You can try new coffee roasts when being asked to order for groups you belong to, and you can try new iced coffee flavors in anticipation of a long, hot summer.
Maybe you just like the thought of trying new things as an adventure through life and since you love coffee, you want to enjoy a free cup along your path to coffee nirvana. It doesn’t really matter ‘why’ you want to get that free cup of Dunkin’, what matters is that there are ways to do so.
From voucher codes to coupon codes to DD Perks and seasonal promotions, there is always going to be a way to find free coffee Dunkin is proud to serve. The question is, will you use those perks to try new flavors or are you happy with the coffee you have been drinking for so many years you can no longer count them? Even that doesn’t matter! What matters is that free cup of coffee waiting to be found. Are you ready to find it?
About the author
Daniel Hedlund
Working with the Era of We initiative and loves knowledge sharing and a really good cup of coffee.
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