Applebee’s is bringing back its Date Night Pass loyalty offering for the third 12 months, per details shared with Marketing Dive. The Date Night Pass costs $100 and unlocks $600 in value through $50 discounts on a dozen orders, whether dine-in or take-out.
With the return of the offer, Applebee’s is constant to look for methods to deliver value to loyalty members and construct on recent business successes that executives have partially attributed to strong marketing. The chain saw 4.9% and three.1% same-store sales growth in Q2 and Q3 2025, respectively.
The Date Night Pass launched in 2024 to provide consumers facing increased costs of living and decreased disposable income a technique to proceed dining out. The economic headwinds that led to the creation of the program haven’t waned in the years since: Fifty-three percent of Gen Z spends $0 a month on romantic dates, per a recent Bank of America survey, causing what some have called a “romance recession.”
Applebee’s Date Night Pass
Courtesy of Applebee’s
“This is a terrific moment to actually come back with Date Night Pass in time for Valentine’s Day,” said Applebee’s CMO Michelle Chin. “How will we get them, Gen Z, and possibly anyone of any generation back into the dating arena?”
Members of the Club Applebee’s loyalty program can register for eligibility for a Date Night Pass through Feb. 4. The chain will then randomly select 3,000 members and provides them a likelihood to buy the pass, which will be redeemed during 12 separate dining experiences between March 2, 2026, and Feb. 28, 2027. Last 12 months’s Date Night Pass push drove 175,000 loyalty program sign-ups.
“Our loyalty program is absolutely about giving our fan base unique experiences and opportunities,” Chin said. “[We] are bombarded by plenty of emails and texts throughout the day, and it must be relevant for us to really need to interact… We need to be certain that that we understand who you might be as a fan, and subsequently, how do you would like to be communicated with? How will we provide you with really personalized messages?”
Focus on social and value
Applebee’s executives have touted expanded marketing capabilities and social media prowess as drivers of growth. Since Q3 2024, the chain has increased social postings by over 300% and seen a 266% increase in engagement, said John Peyton, CEO of parent company Dine Brands, on a recent earnings call.
Social media is a serious focus for Chin, who joined Applebee’s in September after greater than nine years in various roles at Starbucks. The executive’s top priorities include being “maniacally focused” on guests, ensuring Applebee’s plays a particular role of their lives and celebrating the neighborhood-centric DNA of the brand.
“Focusing on those three things are critical, and all those things come to life rather well from a social perspective, because social is the place where it’s really a two-way conversation, where we’re jumping into conversations, demonstrating our perspective of the world, but then vice versa, listening to what our guests should say,” Chin said. “We’re really beginning to construct that ecosystem.”
Applebee’s will bring the Date Night Pass to life on social via a partnership with @MeetCutesNYC, an account with greater than 5 million followers across Instagram and TikTok that interviews couples on the street to study how they met. As a part of the partnership, certain interviewees will receive a Date Night Pass.
“We’re eager about people coming together, but much more so, real people, real connection, because Applebee’s is about the neighborhood, and it’s about that authentic connection,” Chin said of the partnership. “These inspirational stories are a way for us to encourage the singles on the market to get together, and it’s a pleasant linkage back to Date Night Pass.”
Date Night Pass isn’t the only way that Applebee’s is working to get cash-strapped consumers to its restaurants. The chain’s long-standing Two-for-$25 promotion, which offers an appetizer and two entrees, has also been cited as a shiny spot by executives. Similar offerings have helped spur growth at Applebee’s competitors in the casual dining space, notably Chili’s.
“It’s not only value based on price and product, nevertheless it’s really about the experience, making it special, making it a moment where you consciously make a date,” Chin said. “Giving the guest a Two-for-$25 on an ongoing basis gives them the extra reason to get out of house and get together and make a moment.”
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