Originally Posted by
MDtR-Chicago
It's not as good a deal as it seems. You still need to tip on the original price plus many places will redeem these AFTER tax. So you could easily be in a situation where your $50 is worth more like $50-$4.63-$9.83-$4 = $31.54
Now the real TOTAL cost of your meal is more like $83 after tax/tip/cert cost. That's only a deal if you would not have simply gone somewhere else for a $50 meal.
(Also note that many locations add the restriction that the cert is good toward food only... so drinks might end up being additional in a case like that.)
I would disagree with this assessment in general terms; I have been using Restaurant.com certs for several years. IME most Restaurant.com certs are applied before tax (like a coupon), so it ends up being worth almost an extra 10% (in CA sales tax). Of course YMMV (e.g. at the Red Marlin at the HR Mission Bay, it was deducted before tax). I have only seen these applied after tax a couple times in all my uses.
Also, used in conjunction with a Hyatt stay and charged to the room folio, it could be worth up to an extra 20% when the stay is paid with HCC's from Costco... and that's on the total restaurant charge including tip (almost nowhere can you use a coupon after tip!).
Not to mention HGP points earned on the spend as well. I think Restaurant.com certs are a good deal; used during a Hyatt stay even better.
I would also disagree with the alternative suggested... just going to a cheaper restaurant. Really, that's the solution? Even in your calculation, almost $20 was saved.
After all, you could just go to McDonald's and save a bundle.
