14 Simple Tips, Tricks, And Hacks For Smarter Ordering At Dunkin'

What better way to start your day than with coffee and donuts from Dunkin'? Spotting that familiar, friendly pink-and-orange font on a roadside sign is a sure promise of tasty treats ahead. Whether you're a drive-thru regular or just an occasional Munchkin enjoyer, Dunkin' is a widely beloved spot for a quick pick-me-up in many parts of the country — although not every state has them. As the saying goes, "America Runs on Dunkin'," but for factual accuracy, the majority of Dunkin' locations are concentrated on the East Coast, with nearly 1,500 locations in New York and another 1,000 in Massachusetts. Only six states do not currently have any Dunkin' spots, and they're all in the Pacific Northwest — it seems they've already chosen their winner in the Starbucks vs. Dunkin' debate.

Whether you're stopping by Dunkin' on a cross-country road trip or frequenting the same location every morning, casual and full-time Dunkin' fans can benefit from smarter ordering strategies. For instance, did you know you can get free food just from having a Dunkin' Rewards account? Or perhaps you're interested in experimenting with an innovative flavor combo to get the most out of your drink order?

Read on to learn how to level up your Dunkin' ordering like a pro!.

Nobody likes waiting in line – especially when it's eight o'clock in the morning and a large Dunkin' iced coffee is the only thing that can motivate you to start your day. If your local Dunkin' tends to be busy at certain times of the day, you can save yourself a lot of time by ordering ahead on the Dunkin' app. You'll have to check the specific offerings of each store, but many Dunkin' locations offer walk-in pickup, curbside pickup, or drive-thru pickup for your advantage on the app.

To order ahead, you'll need a Dunkin' Rewards account, which is free to sign up. Plus, the Dunkin' app lets you pay ahead of time using contactless payment, saving you more time during your coffee stop. They say America runs on Dunkin', but when you order ahead, you'll be sprinting!

One of the best methods for smarter ordering at Dunkin' is to cash in on the multitude of free offers and coupons offered by the Dunkin' Rewards program. The concept is simple: for every $1 you spend at Dunkin', whether it's through the app or in-store, you get 10 points. You can earn points regardless of how you pay, and these points add up quickly. Just one $15 order equates to 150 points — and 150 points earns you a free order of hash browns! 250 points, or a $25 purchase, gives you a free donut, and the offers for free items only get better with the more points you rack up on your account. 

If you've been a longtime Dunkin' customer, you might remember the previous program called DD Perks. In 2022, Dunkin' replaced DD Perks with its current Rewards program, and there are some key differences. Now, you can use points on both food and drinks, and you can cash in multiple items at once. The birthday offer is also slightly different, as you can now earn three times as many points on purchases. A $25 purchase would rack up 750 points on your account, allowing you to obtain a free chai latte, hot chocolate, bagel, or breakfast wrap. With no limit to how many points you can cash in at once, you're looking at a constant supply of free items!

All you have to do is sign up on the app to start earning.

Dunkin' loves to offer coupons to their customers. In the past, you could find coupons in newspapers and email promotions. Luckily, the Dunkin' app now centralizes all these offers along with exclusive member coupons, making it a whole lot easier to use them. Coupon offers often include a free coffee or donut with a purchase or extra points with the Dunkin' Rewards program. These coupons usually have expiration dates, so use them quickly if you see a great one.

Even if you don't go to Dunkin' that often, you might get even better coupons because you don't go frequently.  Dunkin' wants to attract the casual crowd, which means the occasional Dunkin' customer will get exclusive deals through the app that frequent customers don't!

The app isn't the only place to find coupons but it's probably the easiest spot to use them. Third-party websites like retailmenot.com, Groupon, and Honey often feature sweet deals, but it's important to remember that not every Dunkin' location will accept third-party coupons. Your best bet for smarter ordering is to stick to the ones on the app. 

Being a Dunkin' regular comes with some perks. If you're already a Dunkin' Rewards member and you stop by Dunkin' 12 times in one month, you'll unlock the Boosted Status. But what does Boosted mean? Essentially, you get two extra points on each dollar spent, meaning that $1 equates to 12 points instead of 10. That might not seem like much at first, but those extra points make a big difference over time. For example, if you spend $15 at Dunkin' when you have the Boosted Status, you'd get 180 points instead of the usual 150. At that rate, you'll be racking up even more free food and drinks in no time!

A nice feature with the Boosted Status is that when you unlock it one time, you get to keep it for three months. That means you don't need to maintain that 12-visits-a-month rate forever. If you're already a regular, keep this in mind to maximize your Rewards points.

If you've ever felt like your Dunkin' iced coffee is a bit too heavy on the ice, you're not alone. In fact, people on TikTok have noticed it too with one viral video demonstrating that one large iced coffee only contained half as much actual coffee without the ice. This is why it's important to strategize just how much ice to include in your beverage for the ideal balance of coldness and taste. 

Ultimately, the exact amount of ice in a standard drink will vary from location to location, depending on who makes your drink. But if you want to maximize the coffee-to-ice ratio in your Dunkin' drink, try asking for no ice or ice on the side. Not only will this get you more actual coffee, but your drink won't taste so watery after a while, either. If you're taking your drink home, you can simply add your own ice later in the day. 

There's nothing wrong with a plain black coffee, but sometimes it's fun to shake things up — and Dunkin is one of the best spots to try a new flavored coffee beverage. If you're looking for an adventurous new taste, try customizing your coffee with different flavors or sweeteners from your usual coffee.

When it comes to sweetness, some people think Dunkin' is too sweet. Others would say it's not sweet enough. It's helpful to know that when you ask for sweetener in your coffee, Dunkin' employees will put in two pumps of sweetener for a small coffee, three pumps for a medium, and four pumps for a large by default, according to employees on Reddit. When ordering on the app or in person, try asking for an exact number of pumps to tailor it right to your tastebuds. 

Dunkin' has six options for flavor shots you can add to any drink: vanilla, hazelnut, toasted almond, blueberry, raspberry, and coconut. These flavor shots don't contain any sweetener, so you can mix and match flavors with your preferred sweetness level to create the perfect customized drink.

When experimenting with custom flavors at Dunkin', it's helpful to know the difference between flavor shots and flavor swirls. If you prefer fewer calories, less dairy, and less sweetness, flavor shots are a great go-to addition. However, if you're in the mood for a truly delectable coffee treat, flavor swirls offer more creaminess and sweetness to your drink, transforming your typical coffee into a scrumptious dessert. 

Dunkin' has a few mainstay flavor swirls, including caramel, French vanilla, hazelnut, and mocha. Usually, there are even more seasonal varieties for swirls, like pumpkin for fall and peppermint for winter. Keep in mind that the flavor swirls do include dairy, and they add about 150 calories to your drink.

Flavor shots, on the other hand, only add up to 10 calories per drink. They're ideal for adding a subtle pop of flavor to your coffee while still keeping it light. Plus, you can combine it with alternative milk options like almond or oat milk for further customization. 

A regular Dunkin' latte and a Signature Latte have some similarities, but there are key differences that savvy Dunkin' customers should know to tailor their latte order to their tastebuds and wallet.

Both normal and Signature lattes start with the same base: a shot of espresso mixed with milk. Next, a regular latte will only have foam added on top, whereas a Signature latte will automatically have whipped cream, flavored drizzles, and toppings added on top of both hot and cold varieties. Regular lattes are customizable: you can mix and match flavor shots as well as alter the sweetness and the type of milk used for your drink. Signature lattes on the other hand, only come in specific flavors like toasted white chocolate, peppermint mocha, and churro, and the flavors often change seasonally. You can adjust the type of milk in a signature latte and you can also skip the toppings, but ultimately, regular lattes offer more customization options. 

The prices for Dunkin' lattes vary from location to location, but typically, a regular latte will be slightly cheaper than a Signature latte. Keep this in mind if you like to have more flavor options and don't care too much about all the extra decoration on the top of your latte.

It's all fun and games to play around with flavor combinations, but let's not forget why we drink coffee in the first place: to get caffeinated! Depending on your sensitivity to caffeine, you can adjust your Dunkin' coffee order to get just the right amount you need.

On average, a small, hot cup of coffee at Dunkin' has about 180 milligrams of caffeine, whereas an extra-large has about 330 milligrams of caffeine. Dunkin's iced coffee has slightly more caffeine, with a small one offering 198 milligrams and a large one having 398 milligrams of caffeine. If you're looking for an extra boost of energy, Dunkin' lets you add a shot of espresso to your drink order, adding about 118 extra milligrams of caffeine to your beverage. For example, you could add a shot to your chai latte to create a delicious dirty chai latte. 

On the other hand, if you're wary of drinking too much caffeine and getting the jitters, consider mixing regular and decaf for a slightly less potent coffee. 

Secret menus have shaken up the fast-food industry in recent years, and Dunkin' customers are no exception to this trend. If you've sampled all the classics and signature drinks that Dunkin' offers on its official menu, perhaps it's time to explore the adventurous world of the secret menu. 

Here at Tasting Table, we taste-tested the most popular Dunkin' secret menu items out there and found quite a few winners. At the top of our must-try list is the Snickerdoodle Frozen Coffee. To order it, start with a frozen coffee, ask for a cream base, and add three pumps of hazelnut, caramel, and French vanilla flavoring. For good measure, get some whipped cream on top, and you'll be surprised at how well-balanced this cookie-inspired treat is!

For an adventurous flavor pairing, try combining the caramel and coconut cream flavor shots, plus some creamer, to create the Caramel Coconut Creme Pie Iced Coffee. We found that the unconventional flavor combo worked astonishingly well as a complex and delicious coffee drink. 

There's no guarantee every Dunkin' location will make the same secret menu items, so keep an open mind when trying a new combination of flavors. The secret menu isn't an official Dunkin' creation, so the staff might not have heard of your drink combo before. It's best to stay patient when explaining your vision to fully realize your Dunkin' dreams!

When you have dietary restrictions, it's usually a pretty straightforward process to adjust your drink orders to align with your needs. Food, on the other hand, might require some more research to figure out what items on the Dunkin' menu are gluten-free, vegetarian, or vegan. 

For people with gluten intolerances, there are only two items on Dunkin's menu that are gluten-free: the Dunkin' Snackin' Bacon and hash browns. But exercise caution if you're highly sensitive to gluten, as there's a high potential for cross-contamination in Dunkin' — it is a donut shop, after all!

For vegetarians and vegans, the hash browns are also a fantastic option, seasoned with garlic powder, parsley, and onion powder. Dunkin's bagel selection and avocado toast are also tasty contenders that are considered vegan.

In recent years, Dunkin' has ventured beyond its two staples of coffee and donuts into the world of savory breakfast snacks and sandwiches. These sandwiches are just as customizable as their drinks — you can choose from bagels, English muffins, croissants, or sourdough bread as the base, which is then filled with eggs and cheese and topped with a protein of your choice. 

One bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich on a croissant equates to about 500 calories. For the most important meal of the day, however, you might require some more fuel in your breakfast. That's when we suggest upgrading your sandwich with extra items to create the ultimate breakfast sandwich. In particular, we're fans of the Snackin' Bacon, a sweet-and-savory addition to any breakfast pairing. Additionally, add more bacon, sausage, or turkey sausage on top for an extra protein boost. Looking for a bit more bulk in your sandwich? Add those fan-favorite hash browns right into your sandwich for a pop of flavor!

Dunkin's Meal Deal is a limited-time opportunity for truly sweet savings. It's a combo that includes all the Dunkin' classics to kickstart your day. For just $6, you can get a sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich, hash browns, and a medium hot or iced coffee. Note that these items aren't substitutable — it's a packaged deal — and that the offer might not be available at every Dunkin' location. 

If you're a frequent Dunkin' customer, you might have noticed that the Meal Deal has had some fluctuations recently. Initially launched in August 2024, the original Meal Deal had a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich. Then, in December 2024, Dunkin' abruptly shifted the Meal Deal offer to feature two Wake-Up wraps and a coffee for $5 instead. While it was slightly cheaper, fans were understandably upset over the omission of the delectable hash browns! As of February 2025, Dunkin' has brought back the $6 Meal Deal in celebration of their DunKings Super Bowl promotion, which includes hash browns. Be sure to take advantage of the cheap combo while you can.

It's not always about how you order at Dunkin'; sometimes, it's where you order that will make a difference in your receipt and your Dunkin' experience in general. Dunkin' is a franchise, meaning each location can set its own menu prices. This results in high-traffic Dunkin' locations, like ones in airports, malls, or on busy streets, to set higher prices to keep up with supply and demand. 

In fact, one Dunkin' fan made a whole website to compare the menu prices between Dunkin' locations within a certain mile radius to figure out the cheapest location in each city. You'd be surprised at just how much prices can vary from one town to the next, too! Just compare the price of a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich in a city like Harrisburg, PA, where the cheapest option is $4.99, versus a small town next door like Lewistown, where the same sandwich is 30 cents cheaper. It's certainly worthwhile to consider which Dunkin' locations in your area offer the best prices.