Freebies and Discounts You Can Get on Your Birthday

While an incredible number of birthday perks revolve around free food, there are plenty of companies out there that will give you discounts and gifts on practically everything else on your special day. Company loyalty programs often offer celebratory perks to their members in return for signing up for a card, newsletter, or club (which is almost always free). Here are more than 50 ways you can get birthday freebies and discounts for you and your loved ones, from car washes to beauty samples to rounds of golf.

Related: Can You Guess the Minimum Wage the Year You Were Born?

Free cupcake
How to get it: Sign up for Kids' Club

While there are no birthday freebies at Barnes & Noble for adults, children who are signed up for its Kids' Club can get a free cupcake from the bookstore's cafe.

Free gift
How to get it: Add kids to your loyalty account

The children's clothing retailer will toss you a free gift as part of its rewards program. You have to add your kids to your customer loyalty account, and there is one catch: Birthday offers will go only to households that have made a purchase in the last 12 months.

Free gift
How to get it: Sign up for credit card

If you sign up for the clothing retailer's Express/Next credit card, a free and undisclosed birthday gift awaits.

Free gift
How to get it: Sign up for rewards program

Beauty brands just love giving away birthday gifts, and Clinique is no exception. To receive a birthday gift, you have to sign up for Clinique Smart Rewards, provide your birthdate in your profile, receive an offer code in the mail, make a purchase during your birth month, and apply the offer code to your purchase.

Free gift and double points
How to get it: Sign up for rewards program

This beauty and spa brand lets its Aveda Plus Rewards members rack up points toward products, treatments, and three-day resort stays. For their birthdays, members can receive a gift, redeemable in-store or online, and a certificate for double points on their next Aveda product purchase.

Free gift
How to get it: Sign up for email list and birthday club

This apparel chain wants to get you on its email list and will give you 20% off your first purchase for doing so. It'll also give you a birthday gift if you provide your birth month.

Free gift
How to get it: Join loyalty program

Joining Sephora's Beauty Insiders club gets particularly fun around your birth month, when the beauty chain gives away a different gift each year. This year, it's a set of miniature samples from Laura Mercier, Amika, Tatcha, or ILIA.

Free gift
How to get it: Sign up for rewards program

Join Kohl's Rewards program and the store will send you a "special birthday gift." In the past that gift was a $5 or $10 coupon, but it appears the retailer might now be adding points to customers' rewards totals — which still translate into savings.

Free brow arch
How to get it: Bring valid photo ID

There are three great words that make any birthday freebie better: no purchase necessary. Benefit Beauty Brow Bar beauty lounge will give you a free brow arch on your birthday with no purchase or membership required. Just bring a valid government-issued photo ID to prove it's your birthday.

Free gift
How to get it: Sign up for loyalty program

Do you think your pet doesn't notice when you miss its birthday? Petco knows better. In the past it gave members of its loyalty program 10% off on all purchases made on their pet's birthday. The store now promises a free gift.

Free gift
How to get it: Join rewards program and spend $75

SmashBox's SmashCash members have to earn their birthday gifts. Unless you've spent a minimum of $75 with SmashBox within the year, forget it. If you spend $250 or more, you get an even bigger present.

10% discount
How to get it: Shop with rewards club membership within the past two years

Members of this women's clothing retailer's rewards program get one day of discounts during their birthday month. It's 10% off for Classic Awards Loyalty members but 15% off for Talbots credit card holders. You can't use other discounts or gift cards with your purchases, and in order to activate the birthday perk, rewards club members need to have shopped at Talbots at least once within the last 24 months.

20%-off coupon
How to get it: Sign up for rewards club

Want a sweet down vest or fleece jacket for your birthday? Columbia won't hand you one, but it will give you a 20%-off birthday coupon if you join its rewards club.

$3 reward
How to get it: Sign up for ExtraCare Beauty Club

Members of the health and beauty chain's ExtraCare Beauty Club get $3 in rewards as a birthday gift. 

15-25% discount
How to get it: Sign up for loyalty program or credit card

Real Rewards is American Eagle's stab at a loyalty program, and it offers members 15% off a single total purchase within their birthday month. However, if you spend $150 in a year, that birthday discount increases to 20%, or to 25% with $350 per year in spending.

Surprise offer
How to get it: Sign up for rewards program

Clothing retailer Bebe plays it coy with its Club Bebe rewards program. But even if you join the free tier of its loyalty program, you'll receive a surprise "birthday offer."

$5 or $10 gift certificate
How to get it: Sign up for rewards program

This hangar-size shoe chain sends members of its free rewards program $5 gift certificates. For the true shoe junkie who spends $500 or more annually at DSW, that goes up to $10.

$5 or $10 discount and double points 
How to get it: Join loyalty program

If you scratch Famous Footwear's back, it'll scratch yours. The shoe chain has a loyalty program that nets you $5 off plus double points earned on purchases made during your birthday month. Spend $200 within a year, and that $5 becomes $10.

$2 reward code
How to get it: Sign up for rewards program

Redbox is not only sticking with its program of renting out DVDs and Blu-rays, but rewarding those who haven't given in and switched to streaming. If you sign up for its rewards program, you get a $2 reward code for a rental.

Free gift and double points
How to get it: Sign up for rewards program

Everyone in the Ultamate Rewards program gets a birthday gift and double points on their birthday. However, if you spend more than $450 a year, you also get a $10 birthday coupon and points that never expire.

Free gift
How to get it: Join loyalty program

Known to most simply as World Market, this specialty and import chain now owned by Bed Bath & Beyond has a loyalty program based around rewards, coupons, and member pricing. It also promises an annual birthday offer but won't say what it is; it's a "surprise."

$5 or $10 reward
How to get it: Join rewards program

This cooperative of independent hardware stores fashioned itself a rewards program that offers cash back through points. You get a $5 birthday reward, or $10 if you spend $750 or more in a 12-month period. 

$5-per-person discount
How to get it: Sign up for loyalty club

This chain of bowling alleys and its well-named Pinsiders Club offers $5 off bowling per person for a group of up to four for signing up, and also fills your inbox with lots of other offers. In previous years, they've included offers for children's birthdays to members who have signed up their kids, as well.

Free gift
How to get it: Sign up for loyalty program

Members of this beauty chain's Good loyalty program get a free birthday gift. After signing up, you will be added to BareMinerals' email list and get other reward codes in your inbox.

Discount and other perks
How to get it: Sign up for rewards program

This card giant's Crown Rewards program offers $5 off your next purchase for joining and comes with some interesting birthday perks. While its website doesn't specifically say what it offers for birthdays, Hallmark has previously offered members a free card for their special day as well as 20% off their next purchase.

Free gift
How to get it: Subscribe to newsletter

When you subscribe to its newsletter, this jewelry shop offers a discount of roughly 25% on a $200 purchase and also alludes to a free birthday gift. A few years back, that gift was a set of pearl earrings.

Free admission
How to get it: Sign up for email newsletter

It's dinner theater with horses, and Medieval Times gives away the theater part for free on your birthday. While you have to bring a friend and pay for the finger-food meal, the cost of admission is waived when you join Medieval Times' Queen's Court mailing list.

55 Swagbucks

How to get it: Sign up through email

This online surveys and video company doles out points toward gift cards for the amount of time you're willing to waste on any of those distractions. On your birthday, you get 55 of those points, known as "Swagbucks," for signing up.

Discount
How to get it: Sign up for loyalty program

Anthropologie's most die-hard adherents consider this clothing and home store a lifestyle. The company offers a bevy of perks if you sign up for its loyalty program, and also doles out a discount for each AnthroPerks member's birthday.

$10 reward
How to get it: Sign up for membership club

The Love Your Body Club is a rewards program like most others, but it's a little more generous when it comes to celebrating members' birthdays. It doles out $10 in rewards, which club members would otherwise have to spend $100 to earn.

20% discount
How to get it: Sign up for loyalty club

This children's clothing retailer doesn't give loyalty club members rewards for their own birthdays, but they get a 20% discount for their kid's big day (25% if they use a My Place Rewards credit card). Even better, they get that discount on the birthday of every child they have, up to four.

Free popcorn, coupon, and gift
How to get it: Join email list and sign up for membership program

Joining Cinemark's weekly email list will score you a free popcorn and coupon on your birthday. Also, if you sign up for the movie theater chain's Cinemark Connections membership program, you'll receive an undisclosed gift on your birthday.

Free car wash
How to get it: Sign up for rewards club

It's simple: You join the rewards club for free and get a free car wash on your birthday (or the day before or after) each year. If only all birthday perks were this straightforward.

$5 credit toward concessions
How to get it: Sign up for rewards program

Just about no movie theater is going to give you a free movie on your birthday. However, Harkins' rewards program gives members $5 toward concessions on their birthday no matter how many points they earn during the year.

Free gift
How to get it: Sign up for rewards program

Sign up for UO Rewards and you get a present on both your birthday and your half-birthday. The program also offers the chance at tickets to exclusive events, artist meet-and-greets, and live performances, as well as 10 ways to win a $5 reward all year long.

1,000 points
How to get it: Join rewards program

While IHG doesn't explicitly describe its perks for joining its rewards program, folks who keep an eye on loyalty programs have confirmed that IHG offers 1,000 points to rewards club members on their birthday with no stay required.

Free reward
How to get it: Join membership program

Marriott sometimes gives away a free night at its hotels to select rewards-club members on their birthdays, according to its customers, but promotions shift from year to year. If you sign up for the program and add your birthday to your profile page, you might be one of the lucky ones who receives a reward on your special day.

Free benefits
How to get it: Sign up for rewards plan

This is not the sort of thing Lufthansa advertises, but its previous birthday benefits for Miles & More members have included a free upgrade or complimentary breakfast for an entire stay at Swissôtel locations. Even better, those gifts were valid for a full year. While Lufthansa keeps those birthday benefits a well-guarded secret, they don't seem out of line with the other perks of the airline's rewards plan.

Free round of golf
How to get it: Sign up for mailing list

There are a lot of free or discounted birthday golf specials out there, but the folks at GreensKeeper keep all that info on one tidy page. The Oakmont Golf Club in Santa Rosa, California, for example, offers a free round of golf on your birthday with ID. The Perdido Bay Golf Club in Perdido Bay, Florida, also offers a free birthday round, though you have to register first.

Free gift
How to get it: Join email list

Chuck E. Cheese has always been a birthday destination. To keep that business coming, the namesake mouse and friends offer kids a special surprise treat for their birthday and half-birthday if parents join the pizza chain's rewards club.

10-20% discount
How to get it: Sign up for rewards program and spend

Online clothing retailer ShopBop is another company with a merit-based birthday rewards system. While those in its bronze spending level don't receive any benefits, the ones who've spent enough to earn silver, gold, or platinum status get 10%, 15%, or 20% birthday discounts, respectively.

Free perks
How to get it: Join benefits program

Hard Rock's benefits programs are all tied together, but its rewards club members get an annual birthday offer as part of their plan. Other perks include late checkout priority at hotels, welcome amenities at hotels, and priority seating at restaurants.

Free spice blend
How to get it: Sign up for rewards program

Spices are not cheap, and this spice-shop chain knows it. As part of its rewards program, Savory will let you rack up points toward free spices and also send you a small spice-blend bottle for your birthday.

Birthday offer 
How to get it: Join rewards program

GameStop has two levels to its PowerUp Rewards program: a free Player level and Pro, which costs $15 a year. Both levels include a birthday offer, which gamers have reported online is usually a 20%-off coupon toward a pre-owned game. The Pro level includes this discount anyway, so if the birthday perk is all you're after, stick with the lower-level membership.

Discount
How to get it: Sign up for rewards program

For members of the Perfect Fit rewards program, $30 off tuxedo rentals alone is a great perk, but the special birthday offers are a big plus. Even a little discount can go a long way if you know what to shop for.

Free gift

How to get it: Join rewards program and spend $100

Get yourself a track suit or some sneakers from Adidas and sign up for the AdiClub rewards program when you do. Once you earn 1,000 points, the equivalent of spending $100, you get a free birthday gift, although the company keeps the specifics a secret. 

Free large popcorn

How to get it: Join loyalty club

Everyone wants popcorn when they see a movie, and you can get a large popcorn for free if you see a movie at AMC Theatres on your birthday. Just sign up for the free Stubs Insider club. If you pay a membership fee, you get a free soda (and other perks) as well.

15% discount

How to get it: Join rewards program

Big Lots already offers big discounts, but you can get even more savings during your birth month. Members of the Big Rewards club receive a 15%-off birthday coupon, the same discount new members get when they sign up.

Free full-size beauty product

How to get it: Join loyalty program

Fans of e.l.f. Cosmetics products get a free full-size item for their birthday when they sign up for the company's free Beauty Squad rewards program. If you spend at least $100, you also earn bonus rewards points during your birth month. 

Discount and surprises

How to get it: Join rewards club

Sign up for the free rewards club and your child can get some birthday surprises from Build-A-Bear. You can also take advantage of the Count Your Candles offer, which allows you to pay their age for the Birthday Treat Bear, which is normally $14. 

$4 coupon

How to get it: Join rewards program

Fandango is an app that allows you to buy movie tickets at theaters all over the United States. If you sign up for the Fandango VIP rewards program, you get a $4-off coupon emailed to you on your birthday, and you can use it to buy a ticket at a number of theaters near you.

Free gift

How to get it: Join rewards program

Yes, JCPenney still exists, despite closing many stores and filing for bankruptcy. If you've actually shopped there in the past year and signed up for the free rewards program, you can get a surprise birthday gift on your special day — probably in the form of a coupon. 

$10 coupon

How to get it: Join rewards program

Sign up for the Status loyalty program at Finish Line and you get a $10 birthday coupon. You also get free mystery gifts for signing up and on your anniversary of joining. If you spend at least $500, you'll be eligible for "upgraded" birthday gifts. 

25% off one item

How to get it: Sign up for loyalty program

You'll be looking swanky in new birthday duds from H&M if you join the free loyalty program. For your birthday, you get a coupon for 25% off one item, along with a 10%-off coupon for signing up.

Discount

How to get it: Join loyalty club

Treat yourself to a new Lacoste polo for your birthday. When you're a member of Le Club Lacoste, you get a discount code valid for your entire order, although the percentage off is kept a secret.

$50 coupon

How to get it: Sign up for email newsletter and spend $100

Land's End products aren't cheap, but all you have to do to score a sweet offer is sign up for the email newsletter. You get a coupon for $50 off a $100 order for your birthday, essentially making your purchase half off. You also get a 50%-off code when you sign up. 

25% and 50% discounts

How to get it: Sign up for email newsletter

Beautiful baubles are on the docket during your birthday month from Kendra Scott. Sign up for the site's email newsletter and you get coupon codes for 50% off one fashion jewelry item and 25% off one fine, sterling silver, or home collection item. 

$20 discount

How to get it: Join rewards program

Plus-size fashion often comes at a price premium, but Lane Bryant will give you a discount for your birthday. Members of the Lane Rewards program receive an undisclosed "birthday offer," although members say it's $20 off, with a minimum order of $20.01, which is a pretty great deal.

$10-$40 coupon

How to get it: Join loyalty program

Treat yourself to new kicks for your birthday. Reebok's Unlocked loyalty program will send you a $10 coupon even if you haven't spent a dime. There are three higher tiers to the program, though; depending on how much you spend, you could get a $20, $30, or $40 coupon instead.