Free Rides
Life hacks, loopholes, shortcuts, tricks to help things go more your way: regardless of what you call them, you’re probably pretty excited when you find one that works. No matter the place or setting where we figure out loopholes, we are thrilled to save time, money, or even save face.
Who doesn’t want things to be easier? Some people figured out a shortcut at work that changed their lives, and they just couldn’t keep that excitement to themselves! They took to the internet to share the crazy loopholes that have massively improved their lives every day when they go to work.
Have you figured out any life hacks that get you through the work day? Maybe you can take inspiration from these stories and reconsider your own work strategies!
Unlimited Data
In Sydney, Australia, we have the Opal card system for public transport. You load up the card with money and tap it when you get on and off public transport. That was brought in after people exploited the previous rule. After 8 trips, all trips were free. So people would ride the buses to and from stops, and after a few hours of venturing the city and tapping, they then had the rest of their weekly travel FOR FREE.
The news did a piece of everyone doing it. Unfortunately that strategy has now been nixed, but I can see why. Reddit User: wolverine-claws
Free Frequent Flyer Miles
I used to work in a call center doing tech support for a dial-up ISP. The 10-hour plan was $9.99 and then there were various tiers, including an unlimited plan for $50 or something like that. I ended up moving to a different city and called up the call center to set up the internet, and I asked for the 10-hour plan.
The guy (who didn’t know I used to work there) tried to talk me into a bigger plan, but I stuck with the 10-hour plan. Why? Because the company had no system for monitoring usage. Reddit User: OccasionallyWright
No Points on Your License
When the U.S. government issued the Sacajawea dollar coin, they wanted to get them into circulation as quickly as possible so they’d catch on. They had a thing where you could order them and have them shipped to you for free. People realized you could pay for the coins using one of those credit cards that give you frequent flier miles as a reward.
So you order $1000 of coins, put it on the card, get the coins, deposit them into your bank, pay off the credit card and get points. Reddit User: kernco
More Than One Burrito
NY State had a glitch in their motor vehicle system for a while. I used to work there. If you got a moving violation, you would plead guilty and overpay it by $5. They would send you back a check for $5, but you wouldn’t cash it. They would not apply points to your license until the case was fully adjudicated.
If you waited until a year passed, and then cashed it, those points would roll off, so you would never actually have any points showing on your license. Reddit User: cad908
Late Policies
The company cafeteria had an option to order a half burrito. However, the cost of two half burritos was less than the cost of one full burrito. On top of that, the chef would make a half burrito by cutting a new tortilla in “half” and generally gave a healthier portion than just a half.
Thus, ordering 2 half burritos was equivalent to about one and a half full burritos and cost less than a full burrito. I think there’s a similar thing like this that you can do at Chipotle. Reddit User: [redacted]
Hawaiian Shirts
A kid from my high school was about 30 seconds late to class, and the teacher refused to mark him “present” and made him go sign in as “late” at the office. In protest, he went and ate a sit-down breakfast and showed back up with about 5 minutes left of class with his late slip.
Later on, I worked at a job that had a 1-minute late policy that basically said 1 minute late or 2 hours late, you are just as late. I stopped for breakfast and just hung out before going in super late. Reddit User: brass_bouy
Half-Priced Microwave
Not very impressive, but at my high school, we had to wear a buttondown and a tie to class every day. One of the kids realized that they never specified what kind of buttondown it had to be, so he wore a Hawaiian shirt to class with a tie. Technically it met the dress code, so it stuck.
Pretty soon most of the school started wearing Hawaiian shirts with ties to class. They changed the rule to ban Hawaiian shirts a week later. Reddit User: alasga
The Pepsi Jet
My microwave stopped turning on, so I went to Best Buy to get a new one. I tried the old one in another outlet and it came back to life, so I reinstalled it. Returned the new microwave to Best Buy. I went back home to see that the old microwave had now died again (for good) and then just drove right back to Best Buy.
I bought the brand new microwave I just returned as an “open box item” for half price. Probably a fluke, but it was a rare instance of “the system” working in my favor. Reddit USer: Ghostfeeder
Vacuums for Plane Tickets
In 1996, Pepsi ran a promotion where you could collect points by buying Pepsi products. The more points you got, the more stuff you could get. The biggest prize was a jet for 7 million points. One guy found that you could buy points for $0.10. That means to get 7 million points you’d have to pay $700,000. The going cost for a Harrier at the time was about $20 million or so.
So, one guy raised the money, bought the points, and demanded the jet. When Pepsi refused, he sued them. He lost, but it was a good try. Reddit User: [redacted]
Extended Deadline
There was a promotion a bunch of years back where Hoover included a plane ticket in their products. People could buy a vacuum that was like $109 and get a $600 plane ticket for it. Hoover ended up having to have people work crazy overtime to fulfill the demand for the cheapest model, and eventually, they stopped honoring the promotion.
This caused the people who hadn’t collected on it yet to sue them. The company made 30 million from the promotion and lost 50 million in plane tickets and legal fees. Reddit User: UYScutiPuffJr
Free Applications
While I was at university, my department at one point switched from requiring students to hand in physical copies of assignments to digital submissions. Apparently, a few people on another course had some problems with the procedure on deadline day, so the department sent us a note saying that to cover for that, anyone who submitted incorrectly on deadline day would have their individual deadline extended by 12 hours.
Cue a load of students deliberately submitting unfinished assignments incorrectly so they could get the extra time, of course. Reddit User: JFVarlet
Guitar Hero Contest
Applying for graduate schools, all the apps cost money to submit ($50+ each usually), but you can often get them waived if you’re a member of certain organizations/groups (stuff like honors societies, career development organizations for underrepresented minorities, etc.). I found out that just being an APPLICANT (which was free) for one of those groups counted for the fee waiver.
I got application fees waived for over half of the schools I applied to, even after being rejected from that program. Graduate school is too expensive to prematurely shell out money for. Reddit User: turq8
Arcade Trick
One time, the local mall was having a Guitar Hero contest. Whoever got the most points on a song throughout the whole day won tickets to see Stone Temple Pilots. What they didn’t know was that their contest was fatally flawed to anyone that actually knew the game. Take, for example, if you play a song on expert, like Cherub Rock.
If you hit most of the notes, you will naturally get a higher score than if you hit every note in a song like Mississippi Queen just because there are way more notes in the song, so that’s what I did. Reddit User: Joed112784
Switch to Sweaters
Little community center/arcade where I used to live as a kid had an air hockey table in the back room. Somebody figured out that if you jimmy the coin slot in just the right way, you could get an extra 3-4 games out of one quarter until the thing was fully pressed in and you’d have to put in a new one.
The employees didn’t really care because what money we did have was typically spent at the snack bar, so they made money off us anyway. Reddit User: Greyzun
Useful High School Math
Went to a private school where the teachers were real power-hungry; you could get in trouble for having your shirt untucked. I ran through the school handbook and it said sweaters with the school emblem could be worn at any time, so I bought one that was 3 sizes too big and wore it constantly.
It went down to almost my knees, and I would happily announce that I wasn’t even wearing the uniform shirt, let alone tucking it in. Half the school switched to sweaters after that. Reddit User: demonardvark
Unopened Air Mattress
In my junior year, I was barely passing pre-calculus, so I was looking for a way to get out of taking calculus while still making it look like I took four years of math, which my advisor insisted was something I needed to do for college. So I went through the course list and found out accounting was technically classified as a math class, rather than an elective.
I took accounting 1 as my math my senior year, and I actually learned things I would use, like how to write a check and balance a budget. Reddit User: SingProud28
Open-Note Tests
Most stores have a policy against returning air mattresses because people often buy them for a weekend and return them when they don’t need them anymore. I was one of these people. At the service counter, I was told all of this and that they would not refund my money because the box was open. The most they could do is exchange it for a new one, which I did.
After a quick 360 at the counter, I returned my unopened air mattress and got my money back. They couldn’t really argue with that one. Reddit User: [redacted]
Young Horse Girl Figures It Out
The school had a policy that if you missed a test, you had to go to the library to complete it upon return. The proctor in the library was usually a sub who didn’t care or wasn’t organized enough to know which tests were open book, open note, etc. I was awful at math and lazy, so I skipped the test and took it the next day open book in the library.
I could not believe I was the only one exploiting this loophole. That or everyone was being quiet about it to not tip off admin. Reddit User: llamafriendly
Not in the Fridge
When I was 10-11ish, I really loved My Little Pony. And there was an app on the app store for Equestria Girls, where you did quests and stuff. Well, to complete the quests, you often needed help from MLP characters. The way that you got their help was either by scanning a doll or using gems. I had no Equestria Girls dolls, so this really sucked for me.
Until I thought, “Hang on, what’s stopping people from just going to the store and scanning dolls?” It ended up working. Reddit User: samsdhmgb
Toaster
One time when I lived in the barracks, the rule was you could only have a 6 pack of beer, a bottle of wine, or a 750ml bottle of liquor in your refrigerator. A guy down the hall kept a 30 pack in his room, and when they came by to do inspections one day, they tried to get him in trouble about it.
However, the beers were just in his room and not in his refrigerator. We received an updated SOP shortly after that to remove that loophole. Reddit User: sundayultimate
Parking Passes
My math teacher in seventh grade told us that if we put “toaster” as an answer anywhere in our work, she would count it right. She said it so quietly that only a few people could hear. I had forgotten about it until finals that year, and I had no idea what six of the answers were, so I put toaster, and she gave me the full credit for all six.
I have no clue why she did that. She wrote that she had never graded one where someone had actually used that answer. Reddit User: liveylion
No Consent to Take Blood
When I was in college, a parking sticker to park your car on campus was something like $250 a semester. Senior year, we were sick of this, so I bought one, stuck it on my car, and then we took a high-resolution photo of it. We edited the photo on a laptop and sent it to a sticker making company.
They printed a sheet of those for like 8 bucks. We got a couple of pages of stickers and gave them out to our trusted friends. Reddit User: Ticonderoga10-11
Free McDonald’s
I read in a book of curious legal cases about a drunk driving incident (I think in the States). The arresting officers had taken the driver’s blood as evidence, but no other evidence. When the prosecution attempted to present this evidence, the defense successfully argued that if the defendant had been drunk then he would have been unable to consent to the blood test, meaning the evidence was obtained illegally.
The defense won. I wish I could remember the book. Not necessarily a workplace hack, unless you’re a lawyer. Reddit User: BezoutsDilemma
Graduate Degree Without Undergrad
A few summers ago, I was working on a construction site near a McDonald’s, and we would go there semi-regularly for lunch. This was the same year that Mcdonald’s started mobile ordering. Now, the owner of the local franchise is cheap and never participates in any promotional pricing. At the time, he was abstaining from the 2 for $2 and 2 for $5 menus.
Unfortunately for him, whoever set up the mobile ordering menu didn’t properly turn off the promotional items for this particular restaurant. Rather than removing them from the menu, they set the price to $0. Reddit User: beerigation
Casino Loopholes
There are some graduate schools that don’t require a bachelors’s to apply, just a fulfillment of prereqs. We paid $6k for my husband to take the prereqs he needed, then applied to all the graduate schools that didn’t require a BA. My husband’s first and only degree is a doctorate. Also, some schools will consider work experience as a fulfillment of prereqs. My bro just finished his master’s and never did undergrad.
I think the whole reason they don’t really tell anyone this is a money gimmick is because why would anyone shell out that undergrad money? Reddit User: leechladyland
College in High School
An ex of mine worked for a resort while we were together that sold coupons worth $25 of gambling credit at a casino a few towns over. The coupons were sold for less than $25 and were eligible for her considerable employee discount. We were pretty broke, but we scratched together enough for her to buy a few every week for a few weeks.
We’d hit the casino and immediately cash out, netting us around $100 profit after gas and food. She then took the $100 and spent it on more coupons. Reddit User: DNS_Kain_003
I Was Waiting for the Donuts!
Back in the ’90s/early ’00s, my high school had a policy that they would pay for any classes they didn’t offer that a student wished to take at the local community college, and it would count for high school and college credits. First year of college done before I graduated. My BS overall cost way less, and I was able to work full time while at university.
Plus the perk of a college schedule being much shorter than high school, so several weeks, I didn’t have to go to either. Reddit User: michuru809
No Shipping Fee
You may not work a 9-5 type job that’s strict on the hours, but let me tell you about a loophole that saved me from getting fired well over 10 times in the 3 years I worked there. If you’re running late, buy donuts. It’s that simple. It even works if you’re 3 hours late.
Supposed to be there at 7:30, wake up at 10:00? Swing by the donut place, 2 dozen donuts, $15, show up, charismatically present the donuts, explaining you waited in line at the donut shop! Reddit User: Fearless_Ingenuity
Medical Insurance
I was in charge of ordering like 20k worth of parts. However, there was a 1k shipping fee. I found out after sitting there for like 20 minutes thinking about how to get around the shipping fee that they only charged for shipping to somewhere, not shipping from somewhere. With that knowledge, I changed the location on the computer.
I saved my company a thousand dollars of unnecessary fees, and my boss was impressed that I figured out that I could do that. Reddit User: SkippyDingleCha1k
You Can Use an Index Card
I work at a doctor’s office, and insurance companies are a pain to deal with. One company refused to add us to their network of providers because they were “closed to new providers.” Honestly, I can’t imagine working for insurance companies. They’re so difficult. So, we charge the patients directly and submit the bills to the insurance provider (as out-of-network), who then reimburses the patient.
The kicker? We charge less than what the insurance pays out. Patients make a profit off of visiting our office! Reddit User: ahhklacipous
Same Price, Bigger Buy
A school loophole that worked for me: my teacher said that we could only use a 3X5 index card for taking notes. I used 2 different color pens so whenever I needed to read the notes, I’d take a binder folder and read it. For example: if you have a pink and green pen, use a pink binder folder to cancel out the pink, and boom you can read the green.
And the same works the other way around. She also just thought it was clever, so I earned some brownie points for that. Reddit User: Michael2847
Not Parents Yet
My local grocery store offers online ordering/curbside pickup. If something you order is out of stock, they will pick either a different brand or a larger size, but they won’t change the amount you are charged. If I feel like taking advantage of this loophole, I’ll wait until the last day of the weekly specials to do my grocery shopping.
That way all of the specials are out of stock and I’ll end up getting a bigger size or the name brand for the same price as the special they were offering on the store brand. Reddit User: DeidreSpencer
Free Coffee
My girlfriend and I were buying a house, and we were told that because she was pregnant and we would be parents in 3 months that we classified as parents and common law, so we would have to pay an expensive land transfer tax. On a side note, kind of awful to soon to be parents considering how expensive it is. I made a point saying we were not parents yet.
Their lawyers checked it out. I saved lots of money not paying land transfer tax. Not parents yet, not common law. Reddit User: WarSolar
Just Grilling
My local 7-eleven would do a free coffee promotion where if you purchased something, you would get a free coffee coupon. My grandma found out that buying the cheapest item in the store would still get you a coupon and that you could get multiple for buying certain items. She would give them to everyone.
She bought the cheapest item that would get you multiple coupons, and even though the coupons are expired now, we still have a stack of them about two inches high. Reddit User: Lycantrio
Clear Gatorade
My college town had an ordinance that you couldn’t have a fire in your yard unless you were cooking on it. So grills were fine. I didn’t know if roasting marshmallows was. One party got out of hand, and they dragged their couch into the yard and set it on fire. When the cops and fire department showed up, they were about to issue a citation when ol’ Crazy Tom ran out the front door.
He was brandishing some frozen hamburgers on a stick. The cops just shook their heads, knowing they’d been beaten. Reddit User: satoshipepemoto
Quality Chicken, Quality Price
When I was a kid in the mid/late ’90s, Gatorade ran a cap contest where you could win prizes and free Gatorade. The problem was that one of the flavors at the time was nearly as clear as water, so you could just turn the bottles upside down and see if it was a winner or not.
I was pretty tired of that flavor, but I don’t think I paid for a drink for a solid year; football through baseball season, I was hydrated and full of electrolytes. Reddit User: Mmmmaplesyrup
Drop/Add Method
Popeyes will sell you 22 pieces of chicken for $22.99 if you ask. I love Popeyes, but I hate how expensive they usually are. It used to be a permanent promo they had for years, but it has been removed from their website for a couple of years now. This is in stark contrast to their overpriced family meals.
In that case, a measly 16 piece meal will cost you $40. I’ve only done this through the drive-thru, so I have no idea if it works for walk-ins. Reddit User: sithknight1
All You Can Eat Buffet
My dad went to Rutgers back in the day before course registration was done online. When a class he needed got full, he would have a buddy drop the class. The thing is, they never checked to see if the student dropping the class was even in that class. So his friend would drop the class he’s not even in, which would create an “open spot” for my dad to join.
He said it worked every year, and he and his friends always had the classes they needed. They called it the “drop/add method.” Reddit User: MightBeAMango
Cici’s Pizza used to have a promotion on the back of their receipts where you could bring back your receipt within 7 days and get an all-you-can-eat buffet for $2.99. When you went back to claim your $2.99 buffet, your new receipt would have the exact same deal on it.
During this promotion, I also happened to work a remote IT job, so I’d head to my local Cici’s in the mornings and work my full day there, eating on pizza all day long for just $2.99, about 3-5 days a week. Reddit User: dale3h