Is it cheeky to claim your free drink and not buy anything?

All of those friends are weird. Absolutely nothing wrong with claiming just ur free drink, if ur someone that doesn’t usually buy anything other than a drink, why should you on the occasion you collect ur free one?

I usually get a medium drink in Costa including for my free drink.
Most of the time they ask if I'd like a large drink instead!

Of course it’s not cheeky.

I always get a Frappe at costa too as my freebie as they’re expensive.

Today I went my local petrol station with my loyalty card. I did not need petrol however with every 6th carwash you get the next free so I claimed that, my 7th sandwich and 7th distilled drink all same. Had the sambo and drink while getting the car washed and did not spend a penny :)

I get a free drink at cafe nero every week with my vitality health insurance. I go in every week, get my free drink, and rarely do I buy anything else. The staff there are always happy to serve me, its a national chain, its not like I'm taking money from them!
Until now I never even considered that there was anything wrong with this.

exactly this! I assumed you meant a scenario like when a shop gives you a free drink if you download their app or something and was going to say even just claiming that and not getting anything else is absolutely fine, so taking advantage of an incentive you've earned by buying multiple versions of whatever they are selling is even more so!

Your friends are weird!

It’s never occurred to me not to just take my free drink. The staff have never batted an eyelid when I do it either. I’m more likely to buy a cake as well if I’m sitting in and the drink was free, but I wouldn’t feel bad if I didn’t.

I have an m&s credit card and pay off that is free hot drink vouchers in the m&s cafe, 8 per quarter, DH, ds and I have all been in together had two coffees and a hot chocolate and not paid just used the vouchers, that's what they are for!

This reminds me of another bonker thread from a few years ago where some posters felt that if you went into a coffee shop with a toddler you absolutely MUST buy them lunch or else you were contributing to the downturn of the country's economy.

It’s absolutely fine to just get the free drink. They wouldn’t have the stamp cards if they didn’t want people to use them.

This, that's the whole point of it, otherwise what's the point in having a stamp card?

Mortifying? In what way? Why would I care if someone in a cafe resents giving me a free drink I’ve earned by buying full price drinks previously?

It’s not free! You’ve paid a surcharge on every one of the cups of coffee you bought. It’s a bonus, keeps you coming back and coffee shop owners wouldn’t offer it if it didn’t make sense to them.

I’m one of those who just pops into Waitrose, gets the free coffee and leaves!

There is absolutely nothing embarrassing about that. Your friend has a very strange thought process about this.

No it's fine. Cafes are used to people coming in for one drink and no food, they wouldn't make the free drink things if they were that unhappy.

All three friends are being weird about it in increasingly levels of weirdness

It's completely normal to use the free drink you've worked up through stamps. Not even vaguely embarrassing, unreasonable or anything that requires any second thought.

Just did this in my local indie cafe. It didn't occur to me to order something else, but then again I almost always do order just a coffee in there, to take away.
I think it's right to say that you've 'paid' for it by being loyal enough to accrue enough points to earn it.

Not cheeky at all. I always 'upgrade' in the free drink. I usually just get a small drip coffee but on the free one I go for something fancy.

They literally want you to do this. And then to get 10 more drinks and do it again!

It's fine - that's literally what the stamp card is for!

You've already bought ten other things, you just didn't buy them on the same day that you're getting your freebie. I promise you it's fine.

It's no different from buying something in a supermarket or Boots with your clubcard points. It's a loyalty scheme.

I got my free birthday sweet treat at Greggs abd didn't buy a drink to go with it.

Nope not at all!

In fact this morning I used my free drink and sat down for an hour. They give them out as in incentive to use their business consistently and not to buy coffees elsewhere - you are doing THEM the favour with your business!

Of course not. The staff do not care either 😂

of course it's not unreasonable, your earned the free drink by buying a loyal customer to the cafe and I can guarantee the staff wouldn't bat an eyelid or give it a second thought. Your friends are being weird

Of course it’s ok. Your friends are weird, how do they manage with other non-events? 😅