Comments on: I Finally See Value in Entertainment Books

By: BrewCrewFan

BrewCrewFan — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 13:06:08 +0000

I take the same strategy as you. I wait a couple of months after the books come out. The price of the book comes down $10 and I save another $6 purchasing the book through ebates. I primarily use the book during the long Wisconsin winter to take the kids bowling and laser tagging, so waiting a couple of months to get the book is no big deal.

By: Dan

Dan — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 02:49:42 +0000

My wife and I have purchased several Entertainment books over the last 8 years or so. We’ve generally managed to make them pay off, so I think it is a pretty good deal and definitely worth the money. I wanted to share some caveats, though.

Some restaurants renege on the deal after they get their coupon in the book. We’ve had this happen several times. We’ve had mixed results on having them honor the coupon. Watch for posted signs at the door. I’ve walked away from a few restaurants because of this, and I’ll never return to a few others.

Another issue we’ve had is that the restaurant will change their policy on when the coupon is valid. They’ll impose or change the time limitation on the coupon. This can mess things up if you’ve made a reservation.

Of course, you should note that many of the coupons for better restaurants have limitations. Friday and Saturday nights are the most common exclusion, as the restaurant needs to fill seats other nights of the week.

My advice is to call and make a reservation, ask if you can use the coupon for your meal when you make the reservation. If they hassle you at all don’t go.

By: Brianne

Brianne — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 16:16:51 +0000

There was a link to the entertainment book last weekend on the pizza hut website. I think the deal was if you bought the entertainment book you would $20 back to spend at pizza hut. I contemplated it since I’ve heard it has grocery coupons, but we ended up buying Dominos anyway. I’ll check it out through ebates now.

By: Carla

Carla — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 00:19:17 +0000

I used to love the Entertainment books – they are definitely a great deal for eating out. Unfortunately my diet had to become more strict so we only eat out at a handful of places in our area; all of them are not in the book so it would be worthless for us to get it.

By: Patrick

Patrick — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 23:29:12 +0000

I have been to Nichi Bei Kai several times and have enjoyed my meals every time. I may have to pick up a booklet if I am able to save that much money off of my meals there

By: MissMartha

MissMartha — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 21:33:26 +0000

We bought one for a trip to Lake Tahoe. It was a great investment since many of the coupons are for attractions that are tourist related. I know that we saved at least $45 on one item, a scenic boat tour of Lake Tahoe with lunch! It was well worth it.

EBs also have good deals on car rentals.

By: Matt Fyffe

Matt Fyffe — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 14:11:27 +0000

Wow, I looked at the one for my area and it looked like in just one dinner with my family, I would have made the costs back. Unfortunately, I’m moving in May but I’ll definitely be looking at these again next year!

By: Jim

Jim — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 23:14:04 +0000

That’s a great idea! Too bad there aren’t many attractions in Maryland.

By: Donna Freedman

Donna Freedman — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 22:47:52 +0000

I’m a MyPoints user too, so I get my Entertainment Book that way — extra points and 50%-off books plus free shipping make me happy.
If you’re having visitors, let them rummage through the tourist-attraction coupons often found in these books. Who knows: They may take you out to dinner with another coupon!

By: Matt

Matt — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 21:49:14 +0000

Also, you can buy it through MyPoints and get about 1,000 points. Based on current point values, that’s about $6.67 worth of points.

By: dmeanea

dmeanea — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 20:44:49 +0000

Through the end of March, you can get $6 cashback bonus on these books from either Cashbaq or Ebates, making your final price just $6.50! If you don’t have an account with either of those services, you should sign up; it’s free, and it’s VERY easy to earn cashback rewards. (Jim, if you have an account at either Cashbaq or Ebates, please post a referral signup link here.) Anybody who needs to sign up, please do so through Jim’s link; it doesn’t cost you a thing, and he gets a referral bonus. It’d be a nice way to thank him for this excellent website!

I bought an entertainment book last week, and on the first page I opened to was a two-for-one green fees coupon for a course I golf regularly. Bam, “Entertainment Book arbitrage” right off the bat!

By: Ethan

Ethan — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 19:51:29 +0000

My wife and I picked up an Entertainment book for $20 and it’s more than paid for itself. It is very location specific so we approach it kinda like… let’s go out tonight, ok i’ll thumb through the entertainment book and pick a place. We end up at restaurants we wouldn’t normally select, but it’s nice to try new things. Plus it’s more than just restaurants. Definitely look through the book before purchasing to make sure you understand what’s inside.

By: Jim

Jim — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 19:01:44 +0000

I agree, it’s very location specific and it’s crucial that you look online to see if it has any coupons you’d use. If it forces you to change your behavior to make it “worth it,” then it’s not worth it.

By: Alan

Alan — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 18:51:30 +0000

My fiance and I just bought the Entertainment Book for Vancouver, BC. It cost a little more than yours did (about $40 after a 35% discount), and to be honest, we are a little disappointed. We will most likely earn our money back, but that’s about it. There aren’t that many good deals in our version of the book.

I have heard that the Entertainment Book is very location specific, so a try before you buy is recommended.

By: thomas

thomas — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 18:44:10 +0000

dropping $25 up front isn’t much of a money commitment when you consider the total values you can reap. 2 nice meals and the book is paid for and we should all go out to eat every now and again to break the frugality mode.