As Pret stops ‘5 drinks a day’ deal, excessive road bargains you will get

Pret A Manger’s ‘too good to be true’ subscription deal has, much to office workers’ dismay, finally had its chips.

The pay-per-month plan, that saw customers get up to a whopping five barista-made drinks a day and 20 per cent off food and drink for £30 a month via its Club Pret subscription service, is ending.

The food giant emailed those signed up yesterday to say it was ‘time to rethink how it works’.

The current offer has been running for the last four years and, unsurprisingly has had huge sign-up in that time…but it seems Pret A Manger have finally done the sums and one too many people were taking full advantage of those five daily drinks. 

It will be replaced, the company said, by a ‘simpler offer’ of five half-priced drinks a day for £10 a month. 

One thing that is unchanged is that getting your preferred high street lunch/drinks via a subscription service is probably still very much the future. 

Those mourning the ‘five drinks for £30’ deal shouldn’t worry too much – there’s still plenty of ways to eat and drink at a cut price if you’re canny about loyalty apps, meal deals and end-of-day price cuts.

Here, MailOnline tracks down the best deals…

LEON: SUBSCRIBE FOR DRINKS – AND A ROAST REWARDS LOYALTY SCHEME

LEON rivalled Pret A Manger’s £30 a month scheme back in May when it launched a similar subscription service for £25.

Subscribers can enjoy up to five barista-made drinks each day, along with a 20 per cent discount on LEON’s breakfast and all-day food menu, excluding meal deals. 

Roast Rewards members can also earn 100 points for every £1 spent, and once they hit 3,000 points, they’re entitled to anything on the menu for free.

Mac Plumpton, Managing Director at LEON, said at the launch in May: ‘We’re so excited to unveil the UK’s most affordable coffee subscription. Get ready for a service packed with flavour, value and great coffee.

‘At LEON we’re all about providing exceptional experiences at an unbeatable value.’

OTHER COFFEE SHOP LOYALTY SCHEMES – INCLUDING COSTA, STARBUCKS AND GAIL’S 

In short, most of the high street coffee shops we know and love have loyalty schemes – with the basic premise being every time you buy a coffee, you work towards a free coffee down the line. 

Greggs? You need to buy nine items of the same type (eg hot drinks) and the tenth is free.

It’s a similar story at Costa – except you need 10 ‘beans’ to claim your free coffee. Got a reusable cup? You’ll get an extra bean for that.  

Caffe Nero follows Greggs with the nine stamps for a free coffee model – with an extra point for using a reusable cup.

Meanwhile, Starbucks fairs badly on the loyalty app side of things; the US coffee giant’s loyalty scheme sees customers get three points for every £1 spent – but you need 150 points to get a free coffee…and that’ll cost you around £50 before you get anywhere near a free drink.

POUNDLAND: CHEAPEST MEAL DEAL ON THE HIGH STREET 

Earlier this year, Poundland launched a money-saving lunchtime meal deal including a sandwich, snack and drink for just £3.

In a bid to compete with the likes of M&S, Waitrose and Tesco, the bargain retail chain announced customers could snag the cheap lunch deal with no need for a loyalty card. 

The ‘Grab A Bite’ deal includes mains such as a chicken tikka wrap, cheese and pickle sandwich, sushi pack and prawn pasta salad.

The deal also includes a snack such as a Ginsters Slice, small pot of Pringles, packet of Doritos or a Snickers bar.

To wash it all down, customers can also choose a drink from a range which features Lucozade Alert, Red Bull, Coca Cola and San Pellegrino. 

Pre-pandemic, commuters might have secured their lunch meal deal for a couple of pounds, but costs have since spiralled, meaning workers often have to fork out for their lunch. 

Amid inflation hitting food prices, Sainsbury’s raised their meal deal cost from £3 to £3.50, while Tesco increased their deal by 90p to £3.90.

Co-op and Morrisons also charge £3.50 for their version of a lunch deal, rising to £4 for those without advantage cards. 

Meanwhile a meal deal from Waitrose will set workers back fiver, and M&S doesn’t offer a sandwich deal at all.

GET THEM BEFORE THEY GO: HALF-PRICE FOOD DEALS AT CLOSING TIME

Japanese-inspired brand Itsu has soared in popularity in recent years and, like many other outlets, has a loyalty scheme for regular diners.

The Itsu app sees fans collect butterflies and get free items…with the brand offering double butterflies every Monday when you spend £5 or more in store.

However, certainly the cheapest way to bag a meal at the high street chain is to turn up just before closing – sushis and salads are slashed by 50 per cent 30 minutes before stores shut up shop.

So, for example, a salmon & avo dragon rolls set will normally cost £7.50 – but is £3.75 if you turn up late. Most branches stay open til around 9pm.

THE LUNCHTIME DEALS OFFERED BY FAST-FOOD GIANTS 

Fancy a Friday night takeaway at lunch instead of in the evening. There’s plenty of fast food outlets willing to oblige. 

In March, KFC introduced a new lunch deal for just £5.49, offering a fried chicken wrap or fillet burger, crisps or a cookie, and a water or regular drink, available from Monday to Friday until 3pm.

Domino’s also made the move earlier this year to encourage people to dine with them in the middle of the day, offering an irresistible £4 lunch deal. 

The pizza chain offers a 7in pizza or Hot & Cheesy Wrap with a side of with Chicken Kickers, Chicken Strippers, Classic Chicken Wings, Crispy Golden Fries, or two Domino’s Cookies, for less than the price of a coffee. 

And Greggs offers a breakfast deal starting at just £2.85, and a lunch deal starting at £3.60.