What Happened To Subway's $5 Footlong Deal?

Subway has a long history of offering customers deals and rewards, only to unceremoniously cancel them years later. After discontinuing its popular customer loyalty program in 2005, the famous sandwich chain brought it back in December 2025. Yet just two months later, it was announced that Subway's Sub Club rewards were changing, leaving customers fed up. The changes, which included the demise of free Footlong sub rewards, were made after franchisees complained about losing too much money due to the promotions. Unfortunately, former fans now say Subway is a sandwich chain that costs way too much money.

Another promotion that disappeared after complaints from franchisees was the $5 Footlong deal that Subway introduced in 2008. The idea was initially conceived in 2003 by franchisee Stuart Frankel, who operated multiple Subway stores in Florida. He started offering Footlongs for $1 cheaper — $5 instead of $6 — on Saturdays and Sundays. After seeing a significant increase in sales, he let his corporate representative know about the potential the campaign had for other franchisees. It wasn't until five years later, when the country was struggling through a recession, that Subway decided to implement the idea on a national level.

The $5 Footlong deal became popular immediately, thanks to an ubiquitous ad campaign featuring a catchy jingle and the fact that consumers needed money-saving deals due to the effects of the 2008 financial crisis. Yet despite the fact that the gimmick was incredibly successful for Subway and customers alike, bringing in billions of dollars in business, franchisees said they were struggling. In fact, they were so vocally opposed to the deal that they eventually managed to convince the corporate team to get rid of it altogether.

The initial success of the $5 Footlong promotion was astounding. In its first year, it brought in $3.8 billion in revenue and bumped Subway into the top 10 of American fast food restaurants. Stuart Frankel himself claimed that while his operational costs grew due to increased demand, the corresponding boost in overall sales and staff productivity made up for it. The promotion continued for years until it was discontinued in 2012 without explanation.

Yet, in a move that is unsurprising if you are familiar with some of the revealing facts about Subway's past, the deal was resurrected in 2017 at $4.99. This swiftly prompted franchisees to sign a petition urging Subway to eliminate the promotion, detailing a loss in sales and profits due to a combination of rotating national promotions and discounts. The petition was successful, and by 2018, Subway announced that it would be up to individual franchisees whether to honor the promotion. Shortly afterward, the deal was axed entirely. That is, until 2020. 

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a major decline in sales, and Subway franchisees wondered if it was time to revisit customer-friendly tactics. Subway announced a new version of the $5 Footlong, this time as a get two for $10 promotion designed to ease the pain of pandemic-related losses. However, despite its heavy promotion, featuring a brand new jingle sung by Charlie Puth, it only lasted two weeks. The third attempt to give the customers what they wanted marked the final death of Subway's iconic campaign. Now, even with the launch of Subway's first value menu, customers aren't sure the sandwich shop is worth the money.