In good news for burger fans across the country, Burger King will dish out a free Whopper or Impossible Whopper with any $3 purchase. This special is available from February 28 - March 1, 2024, at participating U.S. Burger King restaurants.
Take that Wendy’s!
Why Wendy's? Because Burger King's gesture isn't just about giving its customers a good deal. It's about giving them a counterpoint to Wendy's, which saw a recent PR snafu related to how it plans to charge customers for its burgers and other products.
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Burger King's free burger announcement happened just days after Wendy’s CEO said in an earnings call with investors that the company might start introducing "dynamic pricing," or what was perceived by investors and the media as Uber-style “surge pricing,” in 2025. The proposal would have allowed Wendy's to tweak the prices of its menu items based on the time of day, demand, location, and possibly even the weather. But the response on social media was brutal, and Wendy's backed off, saying it would not introduce dynamic pricing, but would instead allow select stores to offer certain discounts to customers at slower times of day, Reuters reported.
How to get a free Whopper
Diners can order online or via the BK app, and a Royal Perks account is required. You must activate the free Whopper offer in the “Offers” tab on the app or on the BK website before placing your order. The deal isn't valid on delivery orders. One offer per account.
Surge pricing isn’t new and can be profitable for both companies and consumers. Ride-sharing giant Uber alters the cost of a ride based on demand during rush hour or bad weather. Airline and hospitality companies have also benefited from dynamic or surge pricing for years. However, when Wendy's teased surge pricing earlier this week, diners were swept into a frenzy.
Wendy's reverses course
In a statement on Tuesday, Wendy's said its new digital menus "would not raise prices when our customers are visiting us most “but would allow Wendy’s to "change the menu offerings at different times of day and offer discounts and value offers to their diners more easily, particularly in the slower times of the day."
Even so, the only thing surging at BK today is its flame.
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