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Applebee’s adds 1,000 Date Night Passes after sold-out debacleApplebee’s adds 1,000 Date Night Passes after sold-out debacle

Applebee’s is offering 1,000 additional Date Night Passes for purchase via a random drawing.

Alicia Kelso, Executive Editor

February 6, 2024

2 Min Read
Applebees date night pass
Applebee's Date Night Pass initially sold out in less than a minute.Photo courtesy of Applebee's

Applebee’s has come up with a bit of a mea culpa for angry fans threatening to boycott the casual dining chain after its Date Night Pass subscription sold out in less than 1 minute. The company announced Monday it is offering 1,000 additional Date Night Passes.

There’s a caveat, however. Those 1,000 passes will be made available for purchase via a random drawing. Guests are now able to register to participate in this drawing for the chance to purchase a pass now through Feb. 9 at Applebees.com/DateNightPass. The winning fans will be notified with details to purchase on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14.

“The Applebee's Date Night Pass showed us that our guests are hungry for date night at Applebee’s with the passes selling out in less a minute to guests in more than 40 states.​ We know our loyal guests were craving more of the exclusive passes. So we wanted to show them the love by offering 1,000 additional Date Night Passes which will be made available for purchase via a random drawing,” a company spokesperson said.

Applebee’s first announced its Date Night Pass promotion Jan. 17. The $200 pass was created to provide cardholders with 52 date nights, starting Feb. 1 through Jan. 31, 2025, with up to $30 on food and non-alcoholic beverages per use whether dine-in or to-go. That would typically equate to more than $1,500 in value. The company said the objective was to make date nights “more accessible and flexible,” as dating costs have increased by 40% throughout the past 10 years.

Related:Applebee’s Date Night Passes sell out within 1 minute

When the passes sold out in less than a minute, Applebee’s acknowledged the promotion “far exceeded expectations.” Time will tell if the company’s 1,000 additional – and random – card giveaway will be enough to appease the masses of angry social media users.

Contact Alicia Kelso at [email protected]

 

About the Author

Alicia Kelso

Executive Editor, Nation's Restaurant News

Alicia Kelso is the executive editor of Nation's Restaurant News. She began covering the restaurant industry in 2010 for QSRweb.com, FastCasual.com and PizzaMarketplace.com. When her son was born, she left the industry to pursue a role in higher education, but swiftly returned after realizing how much she missed the space. In filling that void, Alicia added a contributor role at Restaurant Dive and a senior contributor role at Forbes.
Her work has appeared in publications around the world, including Forbes Asia, NPR, Bloomberg, The Seattle Times, Crain's Chicago, Good Morning America and Franchise Asia Magazine.
Alicia holds a degree in journalism from Bowling Green State University, where she competed on the women's swim team. In addition to cheering for the BGSU Falcons, Alicia is a rabid Michigan fan and will talk about college football with anyone willing to engage. She lives in Louisville, Kentucky, with her wife and son.

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