Review by J1 reporter Aubrey Decher

Starting at the beginning of May, Panera offered their sip club, a subscription that usually costs around $15 a month, for just $5. This subscription includes unlimited access to hot and iced coffees or teas, sodas, flavored lemonades, and so much more. With its new discount that is active for the next 5 months, I decided to try it to see if it is worth the price. 

I would consider myself an avid customer of Starbucks, Scooters, Dunkin’, Everbowl, and many other places that sell drinks. I average about $10-$30 a month on it, so I’m always looking for new ways to save money. 

Along with the unlimited drinks, the sip club also offers you exclusive and money-saving perks such as deals on food items, extra treats during your birthday week, $0 delivery fees, “Sip Club Saturday” (Offers for free or discounted items on select Saturdays), and much more. 

Panera makes it very easy to use your subscription in stores. I visited the location on 144th and Maple, about 17 minutes away from Marian, for my first use. I just had to walk into the store, type my number into a self-serve kiosk, then grab a cup from the drink station. The only cups available at this location were the regular size, but larges are available at some other locations. 

I had an iced coffee and added milk and vanilla syrup that were available for free at the drink station. In general, I enjoyed it and just with that one drink, almost already made up for most of the $5 that I spent for the month. 

My favorite drink that I’ve gotten is an iced and unsweetened pomegranate hibiscus tea. It’s super refreshing and almost more like flavored water than tea. It’s the perfect drink for summer and I was able to get in in a large size from the 180th location by Target.

You can also use your subscription by ordering in the drive-thru and can even pick up your mobile orders there. 

One thing that I don’t like about it is that it does not include the specialty drinks such as smoothies, bottled drinks, or lattes. And it also has a 2 hour block between when you can get drinks. 

Overall, I would recommend the subscription. It’s very useful for summer and will definitely save you money. For me, based on how much I spend on coffee in a month, it’s definitely worth $5, but not $15. The limited drink options leave me still going to other coffee shops. The opportunity for the deal ends in a few days, so I would recommend getting it while you still can.

image from panerabread.com