Restaurants and fast food chains have mastered the art of coaxing you to add a drink to your meal. After all, it's hard to resist free refills on soft drinks, and many restaurant chains have introduced programs that make you think you're getting a great deal. Then, there's Panera, which created a paid subscription service called the Unlimited Sip Club that gives you unlimited drinks at most Panera locations for only $14.99 a month, plus tax. With this subscription, you can order any size drink you like and receive refills every two hours, as long as it's the same drink you originally ordered. However, there is one major caveat with this program. It can only be used for basic drink options.
You can order as many fountain drinks, hot and iced coffees, lemonades, and hot and iced teas you want every month with the Panera Unlimited Sip Club, but you can't order any specialty drinks on the Panera Bread menu. So you'll have to pay full price for Panera's smoothies, which cost roughly $7 each, and its seasonal frozen lemonade, which is about $4. And you definitely can't use your Panera membership toward any lattes, espresso, cappuccino, or hot chocolate. This is unfortunate because these drinks cost between $4 and $6, and you would save a lot of money if they were included in the membership. You also can't use your Unlimited Sip Club membership for milk, fruit juice, and shareable portions of iced and hot tea, lemonade, and coffee. If you go on the Panera website to order, most of the items included in the membership will have a "Free for Subscribers" banner.
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What You Need To Know About Panera's Unlimited Sip Club Membership
The Unlimited Sip Club is a great program if you're a frequent Panera visitor. You can easily sign up for this membership online, in-person at the ordering kiosks, or within the app. However, you can only create an account if you're a current member of Panera's free MyPanera rewards program. But all new members can get a few months of Unlimited Sip Club membership for free if they sign up during a promotional period, so if you're on the fence about subscribing, be on the lookout for those.
Along with getting unlimited access to over 20 drinks, you get a bunch of other perks as well. The biggest one is a waived delivery fee. As long as your order is at least $10, before fees and taxes, you'll never have to pay for delivery when you place an online order with your account. You'll also get exclusive deals on select Saturdays, discounts on popular Panera menu items, and a bonus birthday reward. Panera estimates you'll save over $100 a month if you frequently use its membership — and since it costs around $15 a month, you'll be saving money if you even order more than five basic drinks a month from Panera.
Whether you're craving one of Panera's many sandwiches or want a bowl of broccoli cheddar soup, you can still earn rewards if you decide to use your sip club membership. You just have to make a purchase. However, if you only want to get a drink that's covered by the subscription, you won't be able to earn any rewards because it doesn't count as a purchase. So to redeem a drink, login to your account, click the reward that says "Unlimited Sip Club National," and select the drink you want before checkout. You can also use your phone number or MyPanera card at the register or kiosk. Now you're ready to enjoy unlimited drinks all month long.
Read the original article on Tasting Table.
