Besides being with my family or eating to an excess, one of my favorite parts of the holiday season are the amazing discounts.

One of the best deals besides steep discounts on electronics for Black Friday are restaurant gift card bonuses. Basically, many popular local and national restaurant chains offer a bonus when you buy a certain amount of gift card credits.

Popular denominations include a $5 bonus when you spend $25, or a $25 bonus when you spend $100.

These deals are great for a few reasons:

• If you buy a gift card for a friend or family member, you can save the bonus for your own dining purposes
• If you buy a gift card bonus deal for yourself – you can cash in on savings any time during the year

If there’s a restaurant you love offering one of these deals – stock up. Think about how many times you visited that place in the past year and plan accordingly. Just don’t force yourself to spend them right away because they’re burning a hole in your pocket. There’s no reason that smart shopping can’t benefit you year-round.

A word of caution – some restaurants give you the extra money on a gift card, some give you a “bonus” card that has an expiration date. Plan accordingly!

I like buying Lettuce Entertain You gift cards and Einstein Bagels, because I frequent LEYE restaurants and bagel places. Think about the places you go to regularly – they might have a deal like this!

Here are some of the best 2015 Restaurant Gift Card Deals… I’ll be adding more as I become aware, so check back!

2015 Restaurant Gift Card Deals

Applebees offers a bonus card worth between $5-25 when you buy $50 in gift cards.

Einstein Bros. Bagel offers a $5 bonus when you buy $25 in gift cards.

Flemings offers a $20 bonus when you buy $100 in gift cards.

Lettuce Entertain You offers a $25 bonus when you buy $100 in gift cards.

Morton’s the Steakhouse offers a $50 bonus when you buy $250 in gift cards.

Noodles & Company offers a $5 bonus when you buy $25 in gift cards.

Outback Steakhouse offers a $20 bonus when you buy $100 in gift cards.

PF Chang’s offers a $20 bonus when you buy $100 in gift cards.

Red Lobster offers a $10 off coupon (or free appetizer) when you buy $50 in gift cards.

Red Robin offers a $5 bonus when you buy $25 in gift cards.

Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse offers 10% back in promotional cards for every $250+ you spend in gift cards.

White Castle offers a $5 bonus when you buy $25 in gift cards.

Are there any 2015 restaurant gift card deals that I missed? Share in the comments and I’ll add them to this list!

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