20 Firehouse Subs Menu Hacks to Extinguish Your Hunger

Firehouse Subs isn’t just a first responder-themed sandwich shop; it’s a chain with a menu created by firefighters that donates a percentage of profits to those who serve.

If you love the Firehouse Subs menu and want to make the most of each visit, we’ve uncovered all the important details about the Firehouse Subs app, the Firehouse Subs rewards program, sub sizes, birthday treats, and everything else the sandwich shop has to offer. Paying for lunch shouldn’t have to feel like a four-alarm fire in your wallet.

 

1. Get at least 10.5% back in rewards when you sign up for Firehouse Subs Rewards.

The loyalty and rewards program at Firehouse Subs is pretty generous. Firehouse Subs rewards you on the total amount of money you spend at the restaurant, and you get to redeem those points for free subs or salads once you hit certain spend thresholds.

You’ll earn 1 point for every penny you spend. Check the rewards wallet in the Firehouse Subs app to keep track of your rewards (and add new ones when you’ve earned enough). Here’s what you can get with your points:

• A free small sub (reg. $6.49) with any purchase costs 6,000 points, which means you spend $60 to get up to 10.6% in value back.
• A free medium sub or salad (reg. $8.49) with any purchase costs 8,000 points, which means you spend $80 to get up to 10.5% in value back.
• A free large sub (reg. $11.49) with any purchase costs 10,000 points, which means you spend $100 to get up to 11.3% in value back.
• A free deluxe catering platter (reg. $58.99) costs 50,000 points, which means you spend $500 to get 11.8% in value back.

Most of these rewards require you to buy something to get the freebie. So you’ll want to buy the cheapest thing on the menu — a cookie for $1.09 — to get the best value for your points.

Note: You don’t earn points on Firehouse Subs gift card purchases, and you can only redeem one reward per order.

 

2. Firehouse Subs will give you — and your kids! — a free sub on your birthday.

Make sure you enter your birthday when you sign up for your Firehouse Subs rewards; they will give you a free medium sub reward in the app on your special day (usable up to a week after your birthday).

The free Firehouse Subs birthday rewards aren’t limited to you, either. Adult account holders may sign up children aged 15 and under for a free kids’ birthday offer by visiting FirehouseSubs.com/Kids. You can register up to five kids in your household.

Check your email on your child’s birthday for a coupon good for either a free kids’ combo (reg. $5.24) or a free medium sub (reg. $8.49 — way better value) with purchase of a medium or large sub, chips, and a drink. Print the coupon or show it to the cashier on your smartphone to redeem the offer.

 

3. Keep your receipt because it’s good for a free medium drink (and could be worth $500).

With every Firehouse Subs purchase, there’s a prompt on the back of your receipt to complete a short survey. When you visit FirehouseListens.com and complete the short survey (it took me about three minutes), you get a Firehouse Subs promo code for a free medium drink with any sub or salad purchase (reg. $2.40).

Write the five-digit code on the receipt and show it to the cashier on a future visit to get the free beverage. (As if the drink wasn’t enough, every survey participant will be entered to win $500 from Firehouse Subs. One winner is selected from the survey pool every month.)

Tip: If you place an order for pickup, you’ll have to ask the cashier for a receipt — as those orders don’t typically come with one.

 

4. Eat at Firehouse Subs on Mondays to earn double the rewards points.

You can speed up the process of earning rewards points by eating at Firehouse Subs on Mondays, when customers get double points on their orders.

That means if you were trying to earn the 10,000 points it takes to get a free large sub, you’d only have to spend $50 (instead of $100) if you only ate at Firehouse Subs on Mondays. That means you’d get a whopping 23% back in value for your purchases!

Firehouse Subs routinely reminds customers about extra double point days (the day after Thanksgiving was a special one, for example) and even triple point days (such as Halloween 2021) on their social media feeds.

 

5. Earn 300 bonus points every time you refer a friend to Firehouse Subs rewards.

There’s a referral code in the Firehouse Subs app that you can text to contacts in your phone, and each one that creates a new account will earn 300 bonus points for both you and themselves — and you can refer up to 10 people!

If all 10 open new Firehouse Subs rewards accounts, that’s 3,000 free points — the equivalent of spending $30 at the restaurant and halfway to a free small sub reward!

 

6. You can get credit for in-store purchases up to 7 days after your visit.

Forget to provide your account details during your order? You can still get credit for a previous purchase within 7 days of the visit. But you’ve gotta have that receipt. Here’s how:

• Open the Firehouse Subs app
• Tap “More” in the bottom right corner
• Select “Submit Receipt”

You will need to give the location you visited, the date and time on the receipt, the order number located near the top of the receipt, and the subtotal of the order. And you’ll be asked to snap a photo of the entire receipt with your smartphone.

 

7. Buy a large sandwich and split it to save 40%.

There are three Firehouse Subs sizes — small (4 inches), medium (8 inches), and large (12 inches). The large is perfect for splitting between two or three people, since it’s the equivalent of three small sandwiches.

For example, the New York Steamer brisket and pastrami sandwich costs $5.99 for a small, $7.99 for a medium, and $10.99 for a large.

If you cut a large into thirds, each person would have the equivalent of a small 4-inch sandwich, for just $3.66 each — that’s $2.33 less per person than if you all bought your own small sandwich, or about $7.00 total savings!

Even if you cut it into halves, both people would pay just $5.50 to get 6 inches of sandwich each — which is still cheaper than buying two small (4-inch) sandwiches.

 

8. Kids’ meals will save you 42% on a small meal.

When it comes to getting the most bang for your sandwich buck, kids’ meals at Firehouse Subs are a solid choice.

For just $5.24, you get a small sandwich (4 inches), chips or dessert, and a 12 oz. fountain drink. If you were to purchase those items individually off the Firehouse Subs menu, you’d spend $5.39 for the sandwich, $2.25 for the drink, and $1.39 for the chips — a total of $9.03 — which means you save $3.77 (42%).

Note: You can only get hot ham and provolone, hot turkey and provolone, or hot grilled cheese sandwiches with the kids’ meals.

 

 

9. You can get Firehouse Subs promo codes by following the restaurant on social media.

When you follow Firehouse Subs on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter — they all have the same content — you’ll be alerted to special offers and deals. Here are some examples:

• The restaurant announced a promotion in November 2021 where you could get a Firehouse Subs promo code for a free medium sandwich ($8.49 value) with purchase of a $25 gift card.
• On National Sandwich Day (Nov. 3), they sent out a Firehouse Subs promo code (NSD500) that gave customers 500 bonus rewards points when they entered it in their Firehouse Subs app, which has a $5 value. They also sent a promo code for a free regular sandwich for the first 113 customers who entered “NSD113” in the app.
• On Oct. 10, 2021 — the 27th anniversary of the first Firehouse Subs opening in Florida — customers got 1,994 bonus points with any purchase, a $19.94 value. Look out for that promotion again in coming years.

 

10. Create a big salad by adding on a bunch of free ingredients.

You can customize Firehouse Subs’ salads to add a lot more fresh produce for no extra cost. The Firehouse Salad with Grilled Chicken ($8.29) comes with salami and grilled chicken on top of romaine lettuce, bell peppers, mozzarella, cucumbers, and pepperoncinis. You can request extra of everything (except the meat and cheese) to grow your salad substantially — for free.

You can also add cherry peppers, banana peppers, jalapenos, black olives, chopped pickles, caramelized onions, and caramelized peppers to the salad — light, regular, extra, or on-the-side — for absolutely no charge.

Premium add-ons like mushrooms ($1.00), bacon ($1.50), and mozzarella ($1.80) cost more, as do other additional cheeses ($1.20) and meats ($1.25).

 

11. You get 67% more chili when you order a bowl versus a cup for only $1.00 more.

Firehouse Subs serves two sizes of chili: a 6 oz. cup for $3.19 and a 10 oz. bowl for $4.19. You’re spending about $0.42/oz when you buy a bowl, whereas with the smaller cup you’re spending $0.53/oz.

You can also customize the chili’s ingredients — light, regular, extra, or on the side yellow onions and jalapenos — for a bigger kick at no extra charge.

 

12. Get 12 cookies for the price of 11 when you order from the catering menu.

Dessert bundles are on the Firehouse Subs catering menu: three cookies for $3; six for $6; a dozen for $12. That’s better than the individual cookie price ($1.09).

If you bought 12 cookies individually, it would cost $13.08, which means you’re basically buying 11 and getting one free with the bundle.

 

13. Buy discounted Firehouse Subs gift cards at Raise.com for an easy 2% discount.

You can buy Firehouse Subs gift cards in any store location or online on the restaurant’s website. But if you head to Raise.com, you can find discounted gift cards, so you pay less than the card is worth. Last we checked, you can save only about 2%, but every little bit helps!

When you redeem a gift card in the restaurant, a portion of your purchase will go to the Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation, which provides lifesaving equipment to first responders across the country.

 

14. Firehouse Subs has a gluten-free option, but it’s only available for regular-sized sandwiches.

Sandwich restaurants have started to introduce gluten-free bread to serve those with celiac disease and other allergies.

Firehouse Subs is on board, with a gluten-free option available for regular-sized sandwiches for an additional $2.00 charge. Gluten-free bread is not available in small or large sizes, however.

 

15. You’ll pay about 25% more when you get delivery via services like GrubHub.

Does Firehouse Subs deliver? Yes, via third-party delivery services. When you want some Firehouse grub, you can always order delivery through third-party services like DoorDash and Uber Eats.

Unfortunately, you’ll pay more than you would in store. At GrubHub, DoorDash, and Uber Eats, a medium Hook & Ladder turkey & ham sub costs $9.25. This sandwich is only $7.39 in store, so you’re spending 25% more than necessary by choosing delivery — and that’s before taxes and fees and tip are added on.

 

16. First responders always get a free medium drink with any purchase.

True to form, Firehouse Subs has a soft spot for the first responders who keep our communities safe. The only standard discount the restaurant offers is a free medium drink for all first responders any time they make a purchase (reg. $2.40).

 

 

17. You can buy an empty five-gallon pickle bucket for $3.

All Firehouse Subs come with a pickle spear on the side. Did you know that those pickles come from the famous Katz’s Deli in New York City? They’re shipped to each location in giant five-gallon buckets, and those buckets are for sale once they’re empty.

I bought two at my local store last spring to plant tomatoes in, and they only cost $3 apiece. That’s cheaper than any home-improvement store: they’re $4.98 at Lowe’s and Home Depot, and $3.56 at Walmart.

 

18. Stock up on Firehouse Subs Hot Sauce for 74% cheaper than Amazon.

You can buy Firehouse Subs’ branded hot sauce directly from the restaurant, and it’s quite the bargain compared with online stores that sell it. Captain Sorensen’s Datil Pepper Hot Sauce comes in two sizes (a 15 oz glass fire hydrant or a 16 oz plastic bottle) for $6.49. That’s 74% cheaper than the price on Amazon, and 70% cheaper than the price (plus shipping) at HotSauce.com.

 

19. You can make any sandwich into a combo meal and basically get chips or a cookie for free.

Firehouse Subs lets you upgrade any sandwich to a combo meal, and you’ve got a few options. Combos include a bag of chips or a cookie and either a medium drink for $2.39 extra or a large drink for $2.64 extra.

If you’d rather have a brownie with your sammich, that’ll set you back $2.89 with a medium drink and $3.29 with a large beverage. (Brownies cost $1.69 on the menu while cookies are $1.09 apiece).

It’s an easy way to save, as a medium drink ($2.40) costs more by itself than the chips or cookie combo; you’re basically getting the side item for free.

 

20. You’ll enjoy a 25% discount on your order all the time if you work at Firehouse Subs.

Some restaurants allow their employees to eat free meals during a shift, but Firehouse Subs isn’t one of them. You have to pay for everything you eat and drink, but you do get a 50% discount while you’re on the clock and a 25% discount at all other times.