9 Ways to Get Free Chipotle

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Enjoy all of your Chipotle favs while saving money

Co-authored by Madeline Ryan, B.S.

Last Updated: October 11, 2024 Fact Checked

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• Getting Free Chipotle
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• Getting More Chipotle for Less
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• Chipotle Hacks That Don’t Work
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• Video

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You’re craving the mouthwatering flavors of cilantro, jalapeno, and lime — a Chipotle burrito is calling your name — but your budget needs some attention, too. Just because your eyes are bigger than your wallet doesn’t mean you have to abandon your weekly (or daily) Chipotle order. Get free Chipotle and more burrito for your buck with a few tips and tricks we’ve found.

Things You Should Know

• Sign up for Chipotle Rewards to instantly get a code for free guacamole on your next order.
• With Chipotle Rewards, you'll earn 10 points for every $1 you spend. You can use your points to get free food, like a free entree for 1,625 points.
• Order a burrito bowl with 2 tortillas on the side, then make 2 burritos for the price of one bowl.

Steps

Section 1 of 3:

Getting Free Chipotle

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1. 1
   Sign up for Chipotle Rewards to get free guacamole. You get free guacamole when you first sign up with Chipotle rewards. Go into Chipotle, order your meal and scan your rewards code on your phone. You’ll get a free order of guacamole with your purchase, which is worth about $3. From there, you’ll start earning reward points for how much you spend.

   • Chipotle reward members get 10 points for every $1 they spend either online, in the app, or in the store when you scan your code.
   • If you forget to scan for reward points, you can submit a points request online or in the app within 30 days of your purchase.
2. 2
   Redeem your Chipotle Rewards points to get a free burrito or bowl. After you’ve collected points, you can start redeeming them for free items. You can get free sides, entrees, Chipotle merch, or even donations to charities.The lowest-point item you can redeem points for is a side tortilla (85 points) which amounts to $8.50 spent on food. That’s over 5% cash back!

   • You can also get free chips (350), a free side of guac or queso (500), a free kid’s meal (1,050), and a free entree (1,625), among others.
   • Choose the most expensive meat for your free reward entree. It’ll be like 6% cash back!
   • Don’t wait too long to redeem your points because they expire after six months of inactivity. If you select an item to redeem, it expires 60 days after being added to your account.
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3. 3
   Subscribe to Chipotle Rewards emails and texts for surprise deals. Sometimes Chipotle will give you a surprise free drink or side of guacamole just for being a member. Other times, they’ll have deals or challenges that help you save money on your next meal.

   • Popular challenges in the past have included ‘Freepotle’ where members were entered in a lottery to win “Free Chipotle for a Year,” and Chipotle Mystery Boxes, some of which included hidden $500 Chipotle gift cards when you bought the box.
4. 4
   Order a vegetarian entree for free guacamole and extras. When you order an entree without meat, Chipotle won’t charge extra for a scoop of guacamole or for extras of any toppings. Stock up on tons of beans, rice, salsa, cheese, and anything else you want. Just make sure to nicely remind your cashier that you have a vegetarian order so they don’t accidentally add the standard guacamole cost.
5. 5
   Go into Chipotle on your birthday. When you go into Chipotle on your birthday and spend $5, you’ll get a free side of guacamole.

   • On Halloween, wear your costume when you visit Chipotle. You’ll get discounted meal prices for Chipotle’s ‘Boorito’ special.
6. 6
   Buy gift cards during the holidays. Chipotle occasionally offers BOGO codes with gift card purchases. This usually applies to purchases of a $30 or $40 gift card around Christmas. Check in December to see if your Chipotle is participating in the deal. It’s like getting 6 burritos for the price of 5!
7. 7
   Be nice to employees. Chipotle employees will sometimes cover your meal cost if they like you. And everyone needs a little extra kindness in their day! Don’t go into the restaurant expecting to charm your way into a free meal every time, but don’t fret — good karma has a way of finding you eventually.
8. 8
   Speak up if something’s wrong with your food. Chipotle will often offer customers a free meal as a way of apologizing. If you find something like a hair in your food, nicely inform an employee and ask if your order can be remade. They might add an additional coupon for the next time you come into the restaurant.

   • Chipotle is extra focused on food safety after an E. coli outbreak was linked to Chipotle’s food in 2015.They have since done a big upgrade in their food safety practices.
   • If you ordered delivery, you can also submit a complaint online.
9. 9
   Work at Chipotle. Every employee gets a free meal for each daily shift. A meal includes one entree, a side, and a drink. You’ll also get other benefits, like 50% off your other purchases.
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Section 2 of 3:

Getting More Chipotle for Less

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1. 1
   Ask for a half-and-half scoop of everything. Employees will probably overestimate two half portions. When you’re choosing your beans, rice, and meat, ask for half-and-half of each option. If you ask for both black and pinto beans, for example, you might get more beans than if you had just asked for a whole scoop of one kind.
2. 2
   Order burrito bowls. Burrito bowls hold more food than a regular burrito or an order of tacos, even though the different entrees are the same price. In a burrito bowl, there’s no tortilla to hold you back.
3. 3
   Make two burritos from one burrito bowl. You can feed two people with one order. When you’re ordering a burrito bowl, ask for an extra portion of meat or any topping for a little over $1, and ask for two burrito tortillas on the side for about 50 cents each. Scoop half of the bowl into each tortilla and roll them up into two burritos.

   • Chipotle started charging for tortillas on the side in 2020.They started at 25 cents and now cost 50 cents.
4. 4
   Ask for a double-wrapped burrito. Extra security is great if your burrito is always bursting and falling apart without foil. The extra tortilla will cost about 50 cents, but sometimes employees will give it to you for free. No matter what, you’ll be glad you preserved your burrito before it crumbled out of your grasp.
5. 5
   Order a kids’ meal. Chipotle’s kids’ meals are surprisingly filling and affordable, and you can order them even if you’re an adult. In a kids’ meal, you get two free tortillas, one protein and two sides, a small bag of chips and a small drink.

   • Order the most expensive meat to get the most for your money. The restaurant adjusts prices depending on the meat in a regular meal, but everything is the same price in a kids’ meal. Treat yourself to some steak!
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Section 3 of 3:

Chipotle Hacks That Don’t Work

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1. 1
   Ordering catering if you’re on a budget. Catering orders are expensive and don't save you money per meal. TikTok creators popularized using Chipotle catering as a faster and cheaper way to meal prep, but this has since been debunked — it’s much cheaper to cook the same ingredients yourself.

   • However, if you don’t have a lot of time or don’t enjoy cooking, ordering catering could have more pros than cons for you.
2. 2
   Turning a single taco order into a “$3 burrito.” Chipotle made this viral hack impossible. A TikTok creator tried to use the app to order a “burrito” for only $3 by choosing a single taco from the menu and then loading up on extra ingredients on the side for no charge. Chipotle responded by removing the option to add extra toppings without cost.
3. 3
   Ordering Chipotle delivery. Chipotle occasionally offers “free delivery” or “$1 delivery” through the app, but this is misleading. To adjust for delivery costs, Chipotle puts extra fees into the menu items. A class action settlement in 2021 concluded that Chipotle had deceived consumers for inaccurately explaining the hidden costs of delivery.

   • Delivery and service fees now add over $2 to your meal, in addition to the higher price on all menu items.
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