"Hi-Life" Discount Card?

wyndham

Saw this advertised in the Sunday Independent. You join this club, Hi-Life, and you get a card that entitles you to 2 meals for the price of one at 100s of different restaurants. Including starters/mains/desserts. The card costs €70 for the year. Just wondering does anybody have one of the cards/ any experience of this type of thing?

The website, www.hi-life.ie , doesn't give many specifics, other than a list of restaurants that accept the card. There are many big name restaurants all over Ireland listed. It doesn't detail what restrictions apply.

It was a 1/8 page ad in the Sindo, with the Sindo logo in the ad; "Sindo readers can get the card for €69.95, normal price €99.95".

MOH

Well for a start, the Sindo are lying through their teeth.

From the website you gave:
"An Ireland membership for 12 months costs just £49.95 (RRP £69.95) or €69.95", so there's no special discount for Sindo readers.

I had a similar card for one local restaurant when I lived in Amsterdam, paid about 40 quid for it, only went often enough to just about break even.

Ther's not that many restaurants lsited for Dublin, but if there are genuinely no restrictions then you'll easily make 70 quid back in 3 meals, so if you go out in town regularly it might be a good deal.

griffdaddy

There's loads of restaurants there for Dublin, about 53 altogether for Dublin City and County. Might have a look into one of those cards.

MOH

[idiot]Duh, I had clicked on the "Restaurants in Dublin" link and thought that was it for Ireland. Plus I failed to notice it was page 1 of 2, so there's 33 of those.[/idiot]

It does look good value. Sure just go to Shanahan's twice and the card's paid for itself!!

okidoki987

:eek:

Sure just go to Shanahan's twice and the card's paid for itself

But the rest of the meal including wine will cost you €500

They're were a few of these some years ago.
You won't like/go to all of the restaurants,
you only get 2/1 for the main course,
you pay up front so therefore need to go at least twice a year to break even,
you must remember to bring the card with you when you go out.

The Cowboy

Its 2 for 1 on all 3 courses.
You just pay for the more expensive of each starter, main, dessert.
You will remember ur card if its in your wallet

griffdaddy

'sorry baby you'll have to get this one, I left my Hi-Life card in my other pants!'

wyndham

The Cowboy wrote:

Its 2 for 1 on all 3 courses.
You just pay for the more expensive of each starter, main, dessert.
You will remember ur card if its in your wallet

You got one of them cowboy?

The Cowboy

Not yet.
I just emailed them about whether the 2 for 1 was on only one course or the entire meal and that was the answer.
Have also asked them about whether the card can be used by someone else if you give it to them or if you`re required to show ID at billtime.
And whether you can use it multiple times in the same restaurant, ie Shanahans x 10!!!
I will prob get one but will make up my mind for certain when they answer those two questions for me.
Oh, and iv also asked about their additional platinum deal to see which restaurants fall under that umbrella.
Will keep ye updated when i hear bk.

wyndham

The Cowboy wrote:

Not yet.
I just emailed them about whether the 2 for 1 was on only one course or the entire meal and that was the answer.
Have also asked them about whether the card can be used by someone else if you give it to them or if you`re required to show ID at billtime.
And whether you can use it multiple times in the same restaurant, ie Shanahans x 10!!!
I will prob get one but will make up my mind for certain when they answer those two questions for me.
Oh, and iv also asked about their additional platinum deal to see which restaurants fall under that umbrella.
Will keep ye updated when i hear bk.

Sweet.
It says "restrictions apply", but doesn't detail what type of restrictions.
I'd be afraid of getting it and finding out that it's only valid on Monday afternoons when there is a full moon.
Seems too good to be true tbh.

The Cowboy

Ok, they got bk to me today about the remaining questions i had.
1.The card is personalised(ie has your name on it) but you`re not asked for additional ID when you go to use it in a restaurant.(So you can loan it to people(for a fee of course ))
2.Theres no limit as to how many times you can use it in a particular restaurant.
3.There are no additional platinum collection restaurants in ireland, as the ireland card is only a new product.

Hope this helps make peoples minds up.
For me, it sounds great, so im def getting it, now.
For anyone in doubt the site says there is a moneyback guarantee etc.

sweetie

Maybe someone should check one of the restaurants mentioned to see if there are any ads for it there?

It would suit me as I eat in the porterhouse north and odessa quite a bit but I would be hoping that the list would expand a little too. Also I see gruel is on the list but the mermaid cafe is not. Are they not under the same ownership?

Is the Irish card accepted in Britain?

taung

I've used this Ezyliving card now for a few years and found it to be excellent. They have a bigger range of restaurants around Dublin (and not just city centre restaurants), it's cheaper and they have a few other non-food discounts thrown in as well, for good measure.

okidoki987

I tried the Ezyliving card some years ago and thought the choice of restaurants was limited enough.
After all most people would not go from Southside to Northside or vv for a meal just to save approx €20.
Don't forget for all these cards there is the initial charge which needs to be factored into your calculations.
So Hi-Life is €70 (assuming not members of the AA) so that's at least 4 trips to restaurants before you're break even.
Ezyliving is €35 and that's two trips.

wyndham

Anyone get this card yet? Cowboy?

fdevine

There was a company selling something like this before - door to door.

Despite the seemingly good discounts, nobody I know ever got the value out of a scheme like this.

Mikeyg1978

I've just got the hi-life card and used it for the first time last night in LaCaverna in temple bar. It was great - it saved me €30 on a 2 course meal. I got the cheapest starter and main course free.
There are plenty of restrictions though. Most restaurantes will not accept the card on fridays and saturdays so you will have to use it mid week and sundays. Also in most places you will have to book in advance and notify them u are a hi-life member.
In most places if both you and your dining partner have starter, main and desert you will get the cheapest of each course free. However, there are some restaurantes that only give one course free. When you join you receive a book which lists all the restaurantes that are signed up with hi-life and the restrictions that apply, so you will know the story before you go.
Also there is a clause which states that you may only be allowed to use the card once in each restaurant, however this is at the discretion of the restaurant. There is a code on the back of the dining card which they may mark to say you have already used it in their premises, however in most cases they do not do this - La Caverna did not mark my card.
All in all i think its a great deal although not as great as it first sounds. But if you eat out on a regular basis you will easily make your money back after 3 or 4 nights out. Its also quite good becuase you can use it in places like the Porterhouse and Appache Pizza so its not as if you have to eat at an expensive restaurant to get the benifit of it.
I definitely recommend it!

TCollins

okidoki987 wrote:

I tried the Ezyliving card some years ago and thought the choice of restaurants was limited enough.
After all most people would not go from Southside to Northside or vv for a meal just to save approx €20.
Don't forget for all these cards there is the initial charge which needs to be factored into your calculations.
So Hi-Life is €70 (assuming not members of the AA) so that's at least 4 trips to restaurants before you're break even.
Ezyliving is €35 and that's two trips.

Is this card cheaper if you are a member of the AA?
Do you have a link?

sue97

Hi,

I don't know if this works in the South but they are doing a two month free trial on the card.

A good way to see if you use it

https://www.secure-server-hosting.com/secutran/secureforms/SH202507/securejoinia.htm

Edited to include the link

werbone

I contacted them about restrictions at particular restaurants we would target with this card. They sent me an email directing me to www.hi-life.co.uk telling me to enter card number 1-1 and then you can search restaurants by town/Dublin postcode, and see all restrictions for each establishment. Turns out that Shanahan's, Poulot's and Brasserie 66 (where you would make money back very quickly) don't take it on Fri or Sat. This makes the card less attractive to us - when we eat out it's almost always on a Fri or Sat.

Hope this helps (my first post on boards.ie!)

TM

It does look good value. Sure just go to Shanahan's twice and the card's paid for itself!!

Is it not restricted to one visit per establishment and they mark your card once you visit?

wyndham

taung wrote:

I've used this Ezyliving card now for a few years and found it to be excellent. They have a bigger range of restaurants around Dublin (and not just city centre restaurants), it's cheaper and they have a few other non-food discounts thrown in as well, for good measure.

There was a guy on Joe Duffy yesterday who had been a user of this card for a couple of years. He renewed his subscription in April and the card/voucher book failed to arrive.( They charged his Laser card).

He has tried to contact the company by phone and at their offices in East Wall but they are disconnected, with no forwarding address, etc. He also had a go at ordering the card again through the website and it let him proceed to payment so it is looking dodgy.

Didn't catch all of the show but Joe and the crew are investigating.

ROVER

AFAIK there is a deal for Bank of Ireland staff for €49.95, ring 1800 635 096
and say you work for BOI.

member

The cheapest way of getting this card is using Tesco clubcard vouchers. The card is available on the Tesco deals programme (ask in any Tesco store for details ) YOu need 17.50 in clubcard vouchers for the card.

I have this card about six months now and it is excellent value. Even if you are not a tesco customer and have to pay the 70 euros, use it just three or four times you will have your money back.

There are some restrictions
1. You are only entitled to use your card once in any restaurant. Some restaurants insist on this restriction and stamp your card when you use it, others are happy to have you use it again at their restaurant.

2. Many of the restaurants do not take the card at peak times. This applies particulary to the better ones, where they can fill their tables with full paying customers at the weekends, bank holidays etc.
Your accompanying booklet gives details of any restrictions.

3. Most restaurants limit the number of cards a party of diners can use, so don't expect to have a huge party, all eating half price. its just not going to happen. Restaurants are there to make money.

There are lots of really nice restaurants in it. One good one in Howth even allows use at weekends but I usually use it on weekdays in restaurants that impose restrictions at weekends.

brosna

I also got a couple of these cards through Tesco Club Card Deals, which is by far the cheapest way of getting it.
It is good value if you remember to have it with you. However you will find that many restaurants will mark their number off the back of the card and this makes it single use only for that particular restaurant. Even TGI Friday's marked off the back of the card. One other thing to note in relation to this card is that some restaurants - TGI as an example again do not allow you to use it with any of their special offer menus.
However having said all of that, it is good value if you get around to enough of the restaurants and if you check out any restrictions in relation to number of courses, days you can use it, menus applicable, etc.

iba

Hi

I know this is an old thread but what has happenned www.hi-life.ie website?

Has it closed down?

Can you still use Hi-Life cards in Dublin?

Cheers

babymanval

iba wrote: »

Hi

I know this is an old thread but what has happenned www.hi-life.ie website?

Has it closed down?

Can you still use Hi-Life cards in Dublin?

Cheers

'Used mine on Thursday last in Hard Rock Café; I downloaded the app, must have been because the site was down for me too, I can't remember. I thought something was wrong when I couldn't scroll beyond the first seven - count em, seven - restaurant options (Apache pizza/Hard Rock Café included). Apparently the former participating restaurants have communally decided that the recession is over.


Midway through writing my scathing criticism above of the paltry list of eatery options these days, I decided to jump on to www.hi-life.co.uk and search Dublin places that way: http://www.hi-life.co.uk/Search.aspx?MyArea=dublin . It seems there is still a considerably larger number of options available. I don't know how current that list is; a call in advance is probably a must to make sure you're not wasting your time. Mine's good till Feb, will prob try squeeze a bit more value out of it before then.

Best purchase ever for couples etc. looking to eat on the cheap; however there were different types of hi-life card available last time I checked, one more expensive/less limited than the other.

Rigor Mortis

I had one for a few years. Stopped getting one when the recession kicked in. Found a lot of restauarants were doing better early bird offers which were exempt from the deal.

If the restaurants start upping their prices again this is deffo worth it.

sweetie

seen the group selling websites selling them for the guts of 30e earlier this year which I found quite ironic. I had it once and probably used it four times so it paid for itself.

dinneenp

interesting. did you try phoning them?should be able to find a phone number on the net.
I'm trying to decide between Taste card and hi-life, mainly for Milanos in Galway.

I've had one for the past couple years. We got them through work on discount so going out once paid for it, basically. If nothing else, going to TGI with it is always fun
There are a good few that aren't on it now or have moved onto the "platinum" card - maybe that's the one the sindo meant? It has more range I think

Mimikyu

This post has been deleted.

dinneenp

they're nornmally available at discount price.
http://www.hi-life.co.uk works.

sweetie

i found the best places to use it were galway (ard bia) and belfast (deans)
the dublin ones were always underwhelming

dinneenp

sweetie wrote: »

i found the best places to use it were galway (ard bia) and belfast (deans)
the dublin ones were always underwhelming

Didn't know it worked in Ard Bia! Cool

sweetie

dinneenp wrote: »

Didn't know it worked in Ard Bia! Cool

it mightn't anymore - 'twas a couple years ago.

iba

babymanval wrote: »

'Used mine on Thursday last in Hard Rock Café; I downloaded the app, must have been because the site was down for me too, I can't remember. I thought something was wrong when I couldn't scroll beyond the first seven - count em, seven - restaurant options (Apache pizza/Hard Rock Café included). Apparently the former participating restaurants have communally decided that the recession is over.


Midway through writing my scathing criticism above of the paltry list of eatery options these days, I decided to jump on to www.hi-life.co.uk and search Dublin places that way: http://www.hi-life.co.uk/Search.aspx?MyArea=dublin . It seems there is still a considerably larger number of options available. I don't know how current that list is; a call in advance is probably a must to make sure you're not wasting your time. Mine's good till Feb, will prob try squeeze a bit more value out of it before then.

Best purchase ever for couples etc. looking to eat on the cheap; however there were different types of hi-life card available last time I checked, one more expensive/less limited than the other.

Hi,

Thanks for your quick and detailed reply.

Yaeh, like you I found the UK site when I couldnt find the Irish one.

Ive had the card for a while, but never used, just found it in the back of a drawer and it dosent expire until June 2013 - got it from Meteor a few years back.

So went to the UK site and was able to activate it there.

A call in advance is as you say probably the best way to go.

Although I see that Gorment Burger dosent require any calls and Im in Temple Bar later and might well need a burger to help form a base for alchol going to be consumed

Regards

joxers25

i got one of these as a xmas pressie last year for my parents, they love it.

defo recommend it

dinneenp

Taste Card dicount code is CRACKER12. Get 1 year membership card for £29.99 instead of £79.99!
I know for Milanos anyway they have a better discount- 50% on most stuff (e.g.4 pizzas, get 2 free).