Black Friday gift card deals 2026: what ran last year, and what the bonus cards really are

As of 30 September 2026, no retailer or restaurant has announced its 2026 Black Friday gift card promotion; in 2025 the first opened on 20 October and most ran from early November to 31 December. Going by what actually ran in 2025, expect three kinds of deal: restaurants adding a $10–15 bonus card to every $50 in gift cards, stores adding a $10–15 store card to $100 of other brands' gift cards, and one-day sales of 15–25% off cards like DoorDash and Uber. This page is updated every week in November as the 2026 offers appear. If you only want a gift card to spend it yourself at one store, a seller can place that store's order for you at 8–40% below the checkout total instead, any week of the year. Stores you can shop below retail →

2026 Black Friday gift card deals

None announced yet (checked 30 September 2026). Deal trackers expect the holiday wave to begin in November; in 2025 the restaurant programs opened between 20 October and mid-November and the store promotions clustered in the two weeks before Black Friday, which falls on 27 November in 2026. Each offer will be added here with its dates and the bonus card's valid-from and expiry dates.

What ran in 2025: restaurant bonus cards

Sources: each restaurant's own gift card page or press release, most read from the Internet Archive's November–December 2025 copies because the pages have since changed. Cheesecake Factory's 2025 announcement · Landry's terms · Wetzel's Pretzels

What ran in 2025: gift cards sold below face value

• DoorDash, Black Friday only: 15% off digital DoorDash gift cards, 25% for DashPass members, capped at $25 of savings, one per person. On 10–12 December DashPass members got 15% off partner cards. DoorDash's announcement
• Target, 16–22 November: a free $10 Target eGift card with $100 of select other brands' gift cards (Apple, Disney, Nintendo, PlayStation, Xbox, DoorDash, Chipotle, Home Depot, Starbucks), one per Target Circle account; then 23–29 November, $15 with a $100 Apple gift card.
• Best Buy, from 19 November: 15–20% off select gift cards — $100 DoorDash or Darden for $85, $100 Domino's or adidas for $80.
• Costco, Thanksgiving Day: two $50 Uber gift cards for $74.99, two per member.
• Sam's Club, early November: a $50 Panera eGift card for $39.98.
• Amazon, 27–28 November: about 20% off select cards; the DoorDash and Instacart ones sold out early.

The store deals above come from deal-community threads quoting each store's terms (Slickdeals) and from Frequent Miler, not from the stores' own pages.

The fine print on bonus cards

A bonus card is a promotional card, not a gift card, and the 2025 terms were strikingly alike:

• A short window. Usually 1 January to the end of February or March; Panera's lasted only January. Red Robin's terms say the dates cannot be extended.
• Single use, often with a minimum spend (Landry's: $25 of food) and one per table or visit (IHOP).
• Not on alcohol, tax, tips or gift cards, and no cash value.
• Not on the day it is issued (Applebee's).

So "$10 bonus per $50" is $60 of food for $50, about 17% off, only if you go back in the window and spend at least the minimum. Unused, it is worth nothing, and nobody reminds you in February.

Military, student and teacher discounts, store by store

If you qualify for a military, student or teacher program, it can beat a holiday sale, or stack with one where the store allows it. Each guide below covers who qualifies and the limits the store states.

• Home Depot military discount: 10% off, every day
• Lowe's military discount: 10% off, and what it excludes
• Nike military, student and teacher discount: 10% each
• Samsung military and student discount: up to 30%, with limits
• IKEA student discount: 15%, in summer only
• Fanatics military discount: 15% via ID.me
• SHEIN student discount: 15%, capped at $10
• Bass Pro Shops military discount: 10%, 5% on firearms
• Academy Sports military discount: 10%, seasonal
• Boot Barn military discount: 10%, full-price styles only
• YETI military discount: select items, via ID.me
• Lululemon military discount
• Foot Locker student discount
• Target student and military discounts: what actually exists
• Best Buy military discount: does one exist?
• GameStop student discount: there isn't one; Pro savings instead
• Abercrombie & Fitch student discount: there isn't one
• Patagonia military discount: there isn't one

If the card is for you, not a gift

A gift card bought to spend yourself at one store has a simpler alternative: someone already holding that store's gift card places your order and ships it to you, and you pay 8–40% less than the checkout total. There is no bonus window, no minimum spend, and no Black Friday date to wait for; your money stays in escrow until you confirm delivery. The shelf below shows today's deepest discounts. How escrow buying works →