Vaccine VIPs: Vaccinated Customers Get Special Perks From These Companies
Companies all over the country are enticing customers with rewards and freebies with proof of vaccine.
The perks are a silver lining in a trying year. With rewards like free doughnuts and rideshare trips, getting your shot will get you more than peace of mind at these companies.
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Krispy Kreme: Free Doughut
Krispy Kreme created a social media frenzy when it announced that it’s doling out a free Original Glazed doughnut to every patron who shows their vaccination card until the end of 2021. The glazed doughnut giveaway is “valid at all 369 Krispy Kreme shops located in 41 states and available ‘anytime, any day, every day for the rest of the year,’ Dave Skena, Krispy Kreme chief marketing officer, told USA TODAY. No other purchase is necessary,” USA Today reported
Krispy Kreme CEO Mike Tattersfield faced backlash for the promotion, with critics claiming on social media that incentivizing people to gather in closed locations is a bad idea. Still, at least one physician has shown support on Twitter, claiming any incentive to get people out there to get jabbed helps.
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Rideshare Services: Free or Discounted Ride to Vaccination Site
Uber and Lyft will provide a free ride to and from a vaccination site, which comes at an important time when one of the largest roadblocks to getting people vaccinated has been transportation.
Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, released a statement saying, “Uber is committing another 10 million free or discounted rides to help make sure that transportation is not a barrier to getting the vaccine.”
A statement on Lyft’s website said that to do its part, the company is “mobilizing partners and community members to help provide access to 60M rides to and from vaccine appointments.”
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Staples/Office Depot: Free Vaccination Card Lamination
Moving forward, your vaccination card can be just as important as your ID. Office Depot and Staples have both offered to laminate your completed (with both doses, if applicable) vaccination card for free in order to keep it safe.
Office Depot’s offer requires the use of its coupon, which can be found on its site. The offer ends in July.
Staples does not require a coupon, and it does not currently have an end date to its offer, CNN reports.
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Multiple Companies: Cash Rewards for Employees
Lots of companies are offering actual cash to employees who get vaccinated.
Kroger, a popular supermarket chain, is offering a $100 cold-cash reward to employees who receive the full recommended dose(s) of their vaccine, according to a press release on its website. That’s on top of the $100 in-store credit the company is providing to hourly frontline grocery workers.
Following in Kroger’s footsteps is Publix, another grocer, which is giving away $125 gift cards to its employees after vaccination, CNN reports.
Trader Joe’s, Aldi, Dollar General and McDonald’s are all offering four hours off, fully-paid, to go get the vaccine, according to media reports.
Other major companies like Chobani and Amtrak have also announced cash bonuses or paid time off for employee vaccinations.
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Market Garden Brewery (Cleveland): 10-Cent Beers
Cleveland’s Market Garden Brewery is offering 10-cent beers for the first 2,021 people who bring in their completed vaccine certificate. This comes as the NFL draft, which begins on April 29, is expected to draw in thousands of visitors to the area, according to Cleveland.com.
The promotion is a fun way to lure customers eager for normalcy during a time when bar and restaurant owners are optimistic about the draft’s possible impact on local recovery, Cleveland.com reports.
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Multiple Restaurants: Food Discounts
Restaurants around the country are offering discounts and/or free food for your first post-jab meal, Fortune reports. In Detroit, Oak & Reel is offering 50% of to customers who dine in with a vaccine card. In Chicago, Village Tap is giving away $10 gift cards to the first 1,000 people who verify vaccination. Junior’s, of cheesecake fame, is offering a free mini cheesecake to customers in Brooklyn who can show their vaccination status.
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Up-Down Arcade: Tokens for Poke'ns
Up-Down Arcade, which has locations throughout the Midwest, created an aptly named rewards program called Tokens for Poke’ns that gives 20 free game tokens to anyone who shows a completed vaccine card to a bartender or server.
David Hayden, Up-Down Arcade’s communications manager, came up with the idea after receiving his first dose and wanting to give people a way to celebrate it, The Des Moines Register reports.
The rewards program will be available in all its locations. The promotion will last through the summer.
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Cleveland Cinemas: Free Popcorn
One of the hardest hit industries during the pandemic is looking for ways to lure its customers back into its seats. Cleveland Cinemas, a popular theater chain in Ohio, will give away a 44-ounce popcorn to anyone who presents vaccine proof through April 30, according to The New York Times.
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Marijuana Dispensaries: Free Joint, Edibles
Marijuana dispensary Greenhouse of Walled Lake is offering a free pre-rolled joint to anyone who proves vaccination. Owner Jerry Millen told CNN, “We’re all stressed out….and we just want to reward people who are going ahead of the curve to get the vaccine.”
The Pot for Shots program ended in February, providing over 4,000 joints. But Millen has said he will consider extending it if he sees more people getting vaccines.
The Mint dispensary in Phoenix is giving a free edible to those who present their vaccine card, the Phoenix New Times reports.
In Washington, D.C., DC Marijuana Justice is taking it a step further with its “Joints for Jabs” program. The organization announced in January that it would “lawfully distribute free bags of cannabis outside vaccination centers as soon as the general public is able to be vaccinated.”
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