Sometimes when truck drivers have to take a payload into a new state or route, they need help finding the kind of food or services they want. So while we’ve featured some apps that many larger fuel stop chains provide, we thought we would investigate some free apps that allow travelers to find great deals on meals, groceries, tools and other things they may need.
Some of these have coupons you can print out, some have bar codes that you can show vendors directly from your phone and some just function based on your location.
But as we said, all of them are free and very handy. We’ll try and post links to both the Android apps and the iPhone mobile apps.
Groupon – Probably the undisputed king of daily deals, Groupon brings you unbeatable deals with discounts of 50–90% off the best stuff to do, see, eat, and buy in more than 500 cities around the globe. All you need to start is a credit card or bank account, then wait for the deal that looks great and buy it.
Deals you buy are instantly good and you can present most of them to vendors without printing it out on paper. Find great deals on food, hotels, automotive supplies and more.
Groupon Android app. Groupon iPhone app.
Living Social – Groupon may be the king of coupon apps, but Living Social runs a close second. This sharp mobile app can be customized to give you great deals for things you want, but won’t annoy you with things you don’t need. Get the inside scoop on the best shopping, restaurants, activities and more while traveling. All their deals are picked by local experts so you’re sure to get the great secrets of cities you visit.
- Daily Deals – a great local deal, every day.
- Instant – location-based deals to use in real time.
- Escapes – unique vacation packages across town or across the globe.
- Families – family-friendly activities and services in your area.
Living Social for Android. Living Social for iPhone.
Google Offers – Google is the master of local search, so it should come as no surprise that their local coupon app is robust with great offers. Google Offers has partnered with dozens of deal sites and thousands of local businesses to bring you great offers across many categories. While this app may not offer as many local deals as others, they’re adding all the time, and many offers based around chain franchises can be used at other locations.
Google Offers is a “No Print” app. All you have to do is show the merchant your bought the deal on your phone screen and done! It’s also synched with Google Maps, so you can see exactly where you need to go to redeem an offer.
Google Offers for Android. Google Offers for iPhone.
Dining Deals: Food Coupons – Maybe your work day doesn’t allow for much else than a quick meal instead of a whole host of other categories like the other mobile apps offer. We get it. Dining Deals gets it too. All food, no fuss.
What do we like about this mobile app? Simple Organization: you can sort your deals by brand (e.g. T.G.I. Friday’s, Chili’s, etc), newest arrivals, Hottest deals and deals you have liked before that have renewed.
Dining Deals for Android. No iPhone app currently offered.
What are some of the restaurants that offer daily deals in this app?
- Olive Garden
- Denny’s
- Pizza Hut
- Black Angus Steakhouse
- Red Lobster
- Quiznos
- and many more!
Deal News – This one is more merchandise focused than the others. But Deal News runs coupons for tons of chains across America and online sellers too.
You can get anything from meal deals, to electronics, tools, DVDs, shoes and much more.
The Deal News app lets you browse over 100 deals a day from over 2000 online retailers like WalMart, Target, Kohl’s, Home Depot, Ace Hardware and many more.
Deal News app for Android. Deal News app for iPhones.