7 Unwritten Rules To Know Before Ordering Pizza Hut

Many pizza lovers feel that ordering from Pizza Hut is not only familiar; it's also deeply nostalgic. There was a time, after all, when Pizza Hut was the number one pizza chain in the world. Because of this, people may get stuck in the pattern of ordering the exact same way every time they go. But a few tricks of the trade shared by Pizza Hut employees and frequent customers may give your longtime order a little boost.

These unwritten rules aren't about changing your whole Pizza Hut experience, but about improving small parts of your visit. For instance, some tips focus on saving money by checking out Pizza Hut deals, while others focus on ordering flavor-enhancing ingredients that have been hiding on the menu in plain sight. These tips draw on Pizza Hut's own ordering information and promotions, along with recommendations and experiences shared by customers and employees online. Policies, menus, promotions, and available customizations can vary by location, so consider these less as true rules and more as helpful insider knowledge to keep in your back pocket the next time Pizza Hut is on the menu.

Ordering pizza, whether it's for a crowd or a small family, can add up fast. One of the most useful rules is to check the Pizza Hut Deals page whenever you're planning to place an order. While this may feel like an extra step, the restaurant rotates several deals and promotions, and one, or several, may apply to the food you plan to get. Throughout the year, you may see a promotion that gives you a $5 medium pizza with the purchase of a medium or large pie, or you might see discounted bundles of items.

A good tip is to check these deals first instead of adding coupons as an afterthought. If you build your order around the promotions that are currently running, you could save yourself some serious money. If you're feeding several people, a promotion on a second pizza could make more sense than loading every topping onto one pie. Deals can also vary by location, so double-check your local store. This process takes an extra minute, but that minute could mean big dollars saved.

Ordering one pizza does not mean you have to stick to one flavor. If you're ordering online and sharing a pie with people who have very different topping preferences, consider splitting the toppings between the two halves. Pizza Hut's online build-your-own ordering options allow you to customize the pie any way you want, no matter how strange the topping combo. Plus, while they might charge you for two toppings if you order this way in-store or over the phone, in most cases, you'll only be charged for one topping if you order using the mobile app.If unique pizza flavors are your specialty, this unwritten rule is definitely for you. 

This tip helps if you and a friend have opposite topping preferences, but it's also useful if you're curious about a topping and don't want to commit to it on the entire pie. Maybe your friend likes Hawaiian, and you like Meat Lovers, or you want to try out the popular Canadian-style pizza. Try it and love it for next time, or try it and dislike it, losing only half of your pizza instead of having the whole thing go to waste. You can use this tip on any size pizza, including the Personal Pan Pizzas.

If you've been ordering Pizza Hut for years, you may already know about Hut Dust, but plenty of customers don't realize they can ask about it. Hut Dust is a blend of cheeses and seasonings, including parmesan, Romano, parsley, garlic powder, and oregano. These flavors enhance the taste profile coming from the cheese, sauce, and toppings and give any pie a boost.

Hut Dust is similar to the Fairy Dust seasoning blend that Pizza Hut used in the '80s and '90s. Pizza Hut employees recommend putting it on every type of pie and have shared that it tastes great on breadsticks as well. Hut Dust can be the perfect finishing touch on an elaborate pie or give a basic pizza a much-needed upgrade. While Hut Dust is pretty widely available, there may be the odd location that doesn't carry it, but for the most part, your request for a bit of extra flavor should be granted.

As with many fast-casual dining establishments, if Pizza Hut is somewhere you dine even semi-regularly, it's worth checking out the chain's rewards program. Pizza Hut gives registered customers several ways to earn points on qualifying purchases, and these points help you work toward rewards like free meals and other discounts. Signing up for a membership is free, and once you're signed up, you'll earn 10 points for every dollar you spend at Pizza Hut.

If you're only ordering from Pizza Hut once or twice a year, this may feel like an unnecessary step for you, but if you're enjoying cheesy, saucy goodness any more frequently than that, it's worth taking a minute or two to go through the sign-up process. Make sure you're signed into the correct account before placing your order so you can maximize those points. The point numbers may seem small at first, but they add up. You may be enjoying a free pie before you know it.

Pizza is best when it arrives hot, but delivery introduces a problem every pizza eater understands: Time is not necessarily your friend. A pizza that was saucy and piping hot when it left the restaurant can taste noticeably drier by the time it reaches your table, especially with a thicker crust or a longer delivery trip. Thankfully, pizza connoisseurs have a solution: ordering extra sauce. Getting an extra cup of pizza sauce can not only revive your pizza after its long and arduous journey, but it can also guarantee that you're not biting into a bone-dry crust, which makes for a better dining experience for everyone.

This tip is also useful if you're ordering a thicker crust. Sometimes the crust-to-sauce ratio isn't to everyone's liking, and a bit of extra sauce to dip your crust into makes the pizza more customized. Adding a little something extra is as simple as looking through the customization options online to find the "extra sauce" button. Choose standard marinara or Pizza Hut's spicy marinara sauce and watch your dry crust woes disappear.

If the Pizza Hut you remember includes red cups, checkered tablecloths, and a well-stocked salad bar, you're remembering a version of the restaurant that may not reflect today's locations. Pizza Hut used to be known for its salad bar at dine-in locations, packed with veggies and other salad fixings, plus snacks and desserts. However, the restaurant experience has changed drastically through the years. Today, salad bars aren't standard, and availability depends on the location.

If you're specifically planning a visit to a Pizza Hut restaurant because you want a plate stacked high with salad before you enjoy your main meal, you should definitely check with your local chain, as the odds are pretty good that they no longer have the salad bar. Several locations may still have dine-in seating; many focus primarily on carryout and delivery.

Pizza Hut salad bars began disappearing in China after the chain announced a "one plate rule," and customers took it as a challenge. When people began stacking their plates high with an exuberant amount of food, Pizza Hut started closing the salad bars for good. This phenomenon spread stateside and, along with rising food costs and health concerns, salad bars were widely removed from the menu. However, there are rumors circulating that the beloved salad bars will return to restaurants once again. 

Pizza Hut's regular menu gives you plenty of ways to customize a pizza, but some longtime employees and customers know that the menu's limits are meant to be tested. Employees and customers alike have tried some pretty creative off-menu combinations. If you're an employee and there's no one around, it's pretty easy to find new combos. The real trick is finding these menu loopholes as a customer. But if you've got a little creativity and you're polite to the workers, you never know what you can get away with.

One well-known off-menu item involves ordering the BBQ Chicken pizza without the chicken, then ordering a serving of six boneless Honey BBQ chicken wings (Pizza Hut's best wing flavor, in our opinion). Chop up the wings and throw them on the pizza, and you've got a heavily upgraded pie. This doesn't mean there's a universal secret menu hiding behind the counter; an off-menu creation depends heavily on what ingredients a location has, what its kitchen can prepare, and whether the staff has the time and ability to accommodate the request.

To make a list of things that you can do to make your Pizza Hut ordering experience a bit better, I looked at a mix of official Pizza Hut information and customer experiences shared online. I used Pizza Hut's website and ordering materials to verify current information on deals, rewards, customization options, and ordering features, while social media posts, Reddit discussions, and other firsthand customer or employee conversations helped identify tricks and traditions that don't necessarily appear on the standard menu. Because promotions and experiences can differ by location, I made sure to mention that some of these tricks may not apply nationwide and to double-check online or in-store before trying a few of them.