From Wikimedia Commons
Outback, Red Robin, and other major restaurant chains gave bonuses this holiday season to those who “gave” gift cards. The Outback version of this was buy $100 in gift cards and receive a $20 bonus gift card yourself. Can anyone calculate the rate of return on your money for that investment? That’s a 20% (20/100 = .2 = 20%) return on your investment. So, if you eat at outback 3-4 times a year, as my wife and I do, this might be a good investment for you.
What’s the catch? Well, with Outback’s deal you must use your bonus gift card any time between Jan 1, 2009 and Feb 10, 2009. For us, that isn’t a big deal - we’d be more than happy to go to a nice steak dinner for $20 (40 - 20 = $20) in the next month and a half. Anyway, these are only a good deal if you already frequent these establishments. If you don’t eat out, or you don’t eat out at these particular restaurants, don’t bother with these deals. However, if you do eat at these places, these offers can be good investments.
If you’re wondering about the image, I did a search for “bonus” on Wikimedia Commons, which is where I get all my images, and this was the most interesting result that appeared, so I used it.
