Gift shopping got you eating on a budget this December? Thankfully, Panera Bread is now introducing a special promotion that can see you eat a free bagel every day for the rest of the year.
The promotion is to encourage Panera’s clientele to sign up for the MyPanera Rewards program. If you sign up, you can choose any of the dozen or so options available, and not only the plain bagel.
As we all know, there’s no such thing as a free lunch, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t such a thing as a free breakfast. With Panera’s promotion, you will have to pay extra to add cream cheese. In addition, you will only be able to redeem the free bagel upon entry at a store, not online or at a kiosk location.
The promotion seems a bit unfair to those who were already part of the program, as the free bagel is for new members. Despite this, MyPanera members get rewarded for their business all the time. Loyal patrons of Panera can’t really complain that they’re getting shafted by the company. In all honesty, even as a non-member of the MyPanera club, we have had countless free or close to free bagels from Panera in our lifetime, so the company’s OK in our book.
Regardless, to assuage the fears of their long-time members, Panera released a statement that said, “We surprise and delight our current MyPanera members all the time. Free daily bagels through the end of the year is also a reward we like to give current MyPanera members. Current members can check their online account to see if there is a surprise placed on it!”
In short, if you have a MyPanera membership, there’s a good chance you’ll also be getting free bagels. And if not, you’ll get something that might be even better. What a good company!