Taco Bell is testing out a new monthly subscription service that could be coming soon to a location near you.
The new Taco Lover’s Pass is now available in 17 restaurants across Tucson, Arizona. If it’s a hit with customers, the app-based program just might be rolled out nationwide.
How Does The Taco Lover’s Pass Work?
The Taco Lover’s Pass costs between $5 and $10 per month, depending on location, and it gives subscribers one taco a day for 30 days. Customers can sign up via the Taco Bell app. And once they subscribe, a special section with the app is unlocked.
When subscribers order from Taco Bell via the app, that special unlocked section allows them to add the taco to their cart during the checkout process.
The daily taco can be a soft taco, a soft taco supreme, a crunchy taco, a crunchy taco supreme, a spicy potato soft taco, a Doritos Locos taco, or a Doritos Locos taco supreme—whichever the customer chooses.
This current test run of the Taco Lover’s Pass in Tucson is active until Nov. 24. You can also find a list of participating restaurants on the Taco Bell website.
A New Kind Of Loyalty Program
The goal of the Taco Lover’s Pass is to turn casual Taco Bell customers into regular ones. Yum Brands, who owns the taco chain, would also like to see increased enrollment in their loyalty program. This is because the data they collect through the app gives restaurant owners information about customer ordering habits, which helps them customize deals and target diners.
There’s also that whole making money thing. Once they lure customers in with their “free” daily taco, the company hopes they will add more items to their order and increase the amount they spend.
In its recent earnings statement, Yum said that a top priority this year is to grow digital sales. The data shows that app users who are enrolled in Taco Bell’s loyalty program spend about 35% more than before they joined.
The Fine Print
According to the Taco Bell website—in the tiny fine print—Taco Lover’s Pass redemptions are only available on the Taco Bell app for in-restaurant pickup.
Subscribers will also have to pay for ingredient swaps. And, if you planned on picking up a taco on Thanksgiving Day, that’s not going to happen. That is the one day during this test program that the pass can’t be redeemed.
The Taco Lover’s Pass isn’t transferable, either. But if you can steal your ex’s Netflix passwords, surely there’s a way to use their taco subscription, too.
