Have you heard the newest promotion from Burger King? The restaurant chain is offering Whoppers for just 1 cent.
However, it's a bit complicated, and it may not be as quite as easy to get your grub as the ads claim.
You first need to visit..McDonald's
We found downtown workers Seth, Kyrie and Nathan looking for a good deal on lunch Thursday afternoon, so they were intrigued by Burger King's new Whopper Detour promotion. The deal ostensibly allows customers to buy a Whopper for just a penny from now until December 12, 2018.
Like most promotions in this age of social media, there's a catch: You have to go to McDonald's to get your penny Whopper.
Did you catch that? To get the deal:
- You need to have the BK app on your phone
- You then need to be parked (or on foot) within 600 feet of a McDonald's restaurant.
- Your phone's location services will then allow you to order the penny Whopper.
To test it, I parked my news car 100 feet from a McDonald's in Covington, Kentucky, figuring the offer should work fine that close.
Best of all, the McDonald's I chose was right next to a Burger King, which would enable me to order the penny Whopper, drive next door to pick it up.
I downloaded the Burger King app, opened it up and clicked the Whopper for a penny deal.
For some reason, the order would not go through, instead giving me what Apple users fondly call the "spinning wheel of death."
I moved locations, even inching closer to the McDonald's entrance, but no luck.
What went wrong for me?
So I checked with a Burger King manager next door, who politely explained the offer only works if you are near a BK that offers mobile ordering. This one doesn't have it and is not participating.
That meant I jumped through a lot of hoops and ended up with another app on my phone just to end up eating at McDonald's.
We emailed Burger King's corporate offices but had not heard back by air time.
Meantime, the app shows just one BK restaurant in the Cincinnati area with mobile ordering. It's in Springdale by the Tri-County Mall.
We'll have to assume it works there -- my lunch break is over for the day.
As always, don't waste your money.
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