Dining app inKind has made what may feel like an unKind change to those who have become accustomed to stacking offers with account credit (perhaps gathered by purchasing discounted gift cards). Sadly, as reported by Doctor of Credit, you can no longer (as they say) have your cake and eat it, too. Moving forward, it’s one or the other: take advantage of an offer or use account credit, but not both.
The Change
- inKind now allows members to use either a) inKind Cash, b) inKind Cash Back or c) an offer you may have. It is no longer possible to stack two or more of the above.
Quick Thoughts
This is disappointing for those who have been able to make regular use of inKind since it is often possible to buy discounted inKind gift cards (like at Costco, BJ’s Wholesale or even Amazon). Stacking those discounted gift cards with the ability to earn cash back or with a good discount offer made a great deal even better. It is disappointing that you can no longer stack.
That said, it is still regularly possible to purchase inKind gift cards at 30-35% off of face value. Keep in mind that, unlike Uber Eats or DoorDash credit, inKind credit doesn’t lock you into inflated prices – you just order off the menu and pay your bill at the end via the app instead of handing over a credit card. Getting a 30-35% discount via inKind gift cards is still a terrific deal if there’s an inKind restaurant where you’d like to dine. It obviously makes sense to feel disappointed if you’ve been stacking, but even without that component you can still get a pretty good deal with either a great restaurant offer or discounted inKind gift cards.
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Once Bilt Mobile Check-Out for Dining is fully rolled out, it will operate much like InKind.
idk how this kind of business survives in long term though. what if inKind declares bankruptcy? All of these unused credit would be just gone
Many, if not most, retailers maintain the value of gift cards in bankruptcy.
I agree with what Nick is saying around how this can still be a great deal. There are many restaurants on inKind that my wife and I would either a) go to anyway or b) wouldn’t go because it’s too pricey but the discount makes it possible for us. Now if this was signalling a shift in the ability to buy inKind credit for cheap at Costco/Amazon etc. then I can get on board with this being a massive shift. As for the offers, why not just have the restaurant split the bill?
inKind has been been amazing – between all the mystery money (almost monthly $25 off $50~$75), Birthday (mine and inKinds offers). In addition to to generous referral bonuses.
Even the occasional triple stacks opportunities (Plat Resy, CSR Tables, and Inkind ($65 Costco GC) many/most of José Andrés restaurants – made for many affordable, yet amazing and delicious higher end meals in CHI, NYC, MIA, and LAS.
Hopefully this change isn’t a sign of inKinds VC cash dwindling (like so many) – still reluctant to load up on Costco iNkind GC.
Have also found (and we return) to many restaurants -that wer’nt on our radar or only tried because of inKind – sadly many are no longer on the platform.
InKind was great when you could build the credit super cheap by buying Amex offers in bulk off DD. That was a few years ago tho. Not anywhere nearly so compelling now….