I've used many of these coupons over the past couple of years. Just be sure to read the "fine print" to make sure you are in compliance. They have a good selection of restaurants, and you can always find these coupons for sale.

we use these quite often actually - they are a great value.
keep tuned to hotdealsclub.com or fatwallet.com to find 60-80% off discount codes for restaurant.com. what a deal.
Can be combined with idine/dining for miles or opentable.com at a few locations.

Thank you for posting - I bought some

Sounds like a good deal, but watch out for the fine print (from one restaurant; not sure if all are the same):

Limit 1 redemption per party, per month, per restaurant
Limit 1 gift certificate per party, even if the party is seated at different tables and receives different checks
Valid for parties of 2 or more unless otherwise stated
Expires 1 year from date of issue
(Plus other miscellaneous terms)

Here's a special requirement at the one restaurant near me that participates:
Special Instructions: Valid with a minimum of 4 dinner entrees. Excludes alcohol.

So I have to order four entrees at probably $12-$15 each (a total of $48-$60) in order to redeem the $25 gift certificate. That's not a bad deal ($60 worth of food for $35...hope the T&C don't exclude taking stuff home in a doggie bag!), but it's definitely not like you're just getting free money, here.

There's also a thread on S.P.A.M. discussing restaurant.com coupon codes. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=347721

Perhaps these can be merged?

They have promotions constantly ranging from 50-80% off. Good deals ...

Hi!

Browsed around Restaurant.com (first time user) and found what I thought a good deal, $75 gift cert with $35 minimum food purchase. Bought it a couple of days ago and printed for use in January.

Now I received an e-mail from Restaurant.com saying the cettificate will only be valid with $150 minimum food purchase and if I don't like that they will issue a credit for future use at Restaurant.com.

Can they actually change these terms after a purchase?� Or should I ask them to honor the original terms?

Yes, they can.

The best you can expect is to get a credit. It is the restaurant changing the terms... not restaurant.com.

William

I've used restaurant.com in the past, albeit infrequently, but only on places where the minimum spend is something we could easily envision for a single meal and where they don't have the gall to add on an 18% tip for using the certificate.

At any rate, changing the minimum required purchase from $35 to $150 is rather steep, IMO, and would have me starting the charge dispute process with my CC issuer, as I wouldn't necessarily want to carry the credit at restaurant.com.

OP wrote that restaurant.com is offering a refund, so why go to the hassle of the "dispute process?" Is that supposed to make a point? Take the credit offered and be done with it.

OP actually wrote that restaurant.com is offering a credit, not a refund....

And no, my intent would not be to "make a point" with the non-hassle, 30 second process for initiating a dispute with Amex. I said in my original post that I don't use them that frequently, so I wouldn't want to have a credit hanging around out there. I fully understand that using any variety of coupon code, OP's out of pocket cost might have been as little as $15. Still, whether it's the restaurant itself or restaurant.com, the point is that you've changed the terms after I paid, which is grounds for a chargeback.

I don't think it's ever worth buy their gift certificates.

You do not consider getting a $25 dinner credit for $2 worth it? WOW!

Yes, no refund was offered, just credit.

I'll mail them next week asking to honor the cert as purchased and report here how it turns out.

I am not sure I understand. On restaurant.com:

The $25 certificate (normal price $10, as low as $2 during sales) is typically good for $25 off of a $35 purchase.

The $50 certificate (normal price $20, as low as $4 during sales) is typically good for $50 off of a $100 purchase.

The $75 certificate (normal price $30, as low as $6 during sales) is typically good for $75 off of a $150 purchase.

The OP bought a $75 certificate and expects to use it on a $35 purchase? So what, the restaurant should give a free $35 meal and then also give back $40 in change? Clearly there was either a misprint on the site or the OP read the terms for the $25 dollar certificate and then bought the $75 dollar one.

Either way restaurant.com does not sell certificates worth $75 of food and allow them to be used on a $35 purchase!

I agree with wharvey, in markets with a lot of restaurants to choose from, getting a $25 dollar certificate for $2 that can be used on a $35 purchase is an awesome deal. Who cares if the 18% tip is already added to the bill, don't most people tip at least that much anyway?