Does IHOP Still Give Free Birthday Pancakes?

Birthdays don't always hold the same promise for adults as they do for kids. You're more conscious of growing older — without the excitement of growing up – and you may find yourself tasked with planning your own birthday celebration rather than enjoying the freedom of knowing that someone else will handle it. 

Thankfully, many fast food chains and other restaurants can take some of that off your plate with various offers for birthday freebies (and for those needing an extra boost mid-year, don't forget that Chipotle offers special deals on your half-birthday). The International House of Pancakes is another restaurant known for birthday bonuses, promising a free stack of pancakes on your birthday — provided, of course, that you're a rewards member.

If you're not a rewards member, you may not realize that IHOP has its very own digital currency system, monitored through the International Bank of Pancakes. For every $5 a rewards member spends at their local IHOP or via the IHOP app or website (delivery services don't count), they earn one PanCoin. PanCoins can then be exchanged for coupons in the IHOP app.

While three PanCoins can earn the bearer a coupon for a short stack of pancakes, five gets you a full stack of the restaurant's world-famous buttermilk pancakes, and anyone who's signed up for the rewards program (and given IHOP their birthday upon doing so) receives five free PanCoins in their account on the first day of their birthday month. It may sound a little convoluted, but the nice thing about this system is that, if you already have PanCoins in your account, you can choose to use the five bonus PanCoins toward something more than a simple plate of pancakes. You don't have to redeem the rewards on your exact birthday either, giving additional flexibility.