The Taco Bell Subscription Service Nobody Asked For

You know how everyone just loves that everything is a subscription service these days? No? Just us? Really, we’re all fed up with paying monthly subscriptions for everything from movies to television to printer ink (yes, that’s a thing). But it’s not just media and tech that’s gone the subscription route. Food has been a major victim of this monthly scheme, mostly in the form of meal subscriptions like Hello Fresh and Factor, which send ingredients or entire meals to your door on a weekly or monthly basis. But one beloved fast food chain chose to cash in on the subscription trend in a way that’s so unique, we’ve got to hand it to them.

Videos by Sporked

Back in the early 2020s, Taco Bell unveiled something they called a Taco Lover’s Pass—and no, it wasn’t a delivery deal. The taco subscription (those are two words we didn’t think we’d ever hear together) didn’t last long, although it came and went a few times in the past few years.

What Exactly Was The Taco Lover’s Pass?

As is the case with most fast food deals, you could only get the Taco Lover’s Pass on the app. Fans paid a whopping $10 to redeem one taco a day for 30 consecutive days. So, in theory, it was a pretty decent deal, as long as you were cashing in on a taco every day or nearly every day. And it wasn’t just a plain old beef-and-cheese taco that you had to opt for; pass holders could choose from seven popular varieties, including the Spicy Potato Soft Taco, Doritos Locos Tacos, and the Doritos Locos Tacos Supreme. According to the Bell, the latter was the most frequently ordered using the pass. 

Was The Taco Lover’s Pass Worth It?   

Was this something Taco Bell needed to do? Probably not. Was it worth it for the restaurant’s fans? We imagine it had its perks. After all, if you’re the type to order a taco a day, or almost every day, you’d certainly be spending more than $10 on your Tex-Mex haul. But we have qualms with the Taco Lover’s Pass: Who wants to eat just one Taco Bell taco in one sitting? And who wants another subscription to tack onto their already pile of monthly payments, most of which they probably forget they have? This feels like it was one that most would pay for with enthusiasm and then immediately forget about two days later. We’re onto you, Taco Bell.

The chain offered the pass a couple different times over the past few years, and it’s unclear exactly how long they were available each time. All told, it feels like it was a way to get people in the door, where they were likely to order more than just their daily taco. After all, you need a Baja Blast to wash it down with, don’t you? And those Cinnabon Delights smell pretty tempting…