Photo: KULLAPONG PARCHERAT (Shutterstock)
Taco Bell is appealing to taco fans everywhere by testing out a new subscription service called the Taco Lover’s Pass. But how much do you have to love tacos for it to actually be worth the cost? Unlike other fast food loyalty programs that offer occasional freebies, this would be the first prepaid subscription service of its kind for fast food—and you’d need to eat a whole lot of tacos to make it worthwhile. Here’s a look at how it works.
What’s the Taco Lover’s Pass?
It’s a monthly taco subscription run through the Taco Bell app. For now, it’s only being being tested out in Arizona, but if successful, the subscription could be rolled out nationwide. The price of a subscription is also being tested, in the range of $5 to $10 per month. The fee entitles you to one free taco each day, from a menu that includes the following tacos: Crunchy Taco, Crunchy Taco Supreme, Soft Taco, Soft Taco Supreme, Doritos Locos Tacos, Doritos Locos Tacos Supreme, and Spicy Potato Soft Taco.
Is the subscription worth it?
Only if you go to Taco Bell a lot —since it’s a “one per day” deal, you’d have to eat at Taco Bell every day to get the most value out of the subscription. Also, most people eat more than just one taco in a given visit (more like 2-4 tacos), so you’d likely be spending extra money for each meal. And indeed, that’s point of these app-based promotions: The company says that users enrolled in its loyalty program spend 35% more compared prior to joining.
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That said, tacos range from $1.89 to $2.39, so that would essentially count as a discount on every meal, whatever the total cost. In the end, you’d have to eat Taco Bell six times (or more) every month you have the subscription to get some value from it. In that case, you might want to do this only if you already order Taco Bell through the app ten times or more each month. Either way, the more visits you make for that free taco, the better the deal: If you were to eat a free taco every day (it’s fine, no judging here) without purchasing any additional items, you’d save up to $71.10.
