Like the McDonald’s McRib, Taco Bell’s Nacho Fries come and go from the menu with regularity and frequency. As of this moment, the Nacho Fries are back again, initially accompanied by a new vegan cheese sauce, but the limited-time-only sauce is now gone. Fast food is fleeting.
There had been speculation that the fries would be added to the menu permanently at some point, but that hasn’t happened yet. Still, Taco Bell seemingly wants us to keep the Nacho Fries top of mind, because their current run is going to stick around for a while: The brand has just announced a new promotion that’ll let you eat Nacho Fries to your heart’s content. For a whole month.
Taco Bell’s Nacho Fries Lover’s Pass, explained
Taco Bell’s newly announced Nacho Fries Lover’s Pass can be purchased anytime between November 14 and December 4. It costs $10 and is exclusively available on the Taco Bell mobile app. The pass is immediately active once you buy it and can be used for 30 days.
If you recall Taco Bell’s $10 Taco Lover’s Pass in 2022, which entitled the pass holder to one free taco per day for 30 days, this is pretty much the same concept. That one-time fee of $10 allows you to redeem a regular-sized order of Nacho Fries once per day for a whole month.
The promotion is, as Taco Bell puts it, reflective of the brand’s “unwavering commitment to providing exceptional convenience and a range of options.”
How to use Taco Bell’s Nacho Fries Lover’s Pass
Deals like the Nacho Fries Lover’s Pass aren’t worth it if you can’t get your money’s worth, so let’s talk about breaking even—that is, how many days you’d have to redeem your pass within the month to offset the $10 cost.
The Taco Bell nearest my home charges $2.49 for an order of regular-size Nacho Fries a la carte. If we round that up to an even $2.50, that means I’d have to eat Nacho Fries on four different days during the 30-day period to hit the $10 break-even point. After four orders, the Nacho Fries Lover’s Pass now saves you $2.50 per order.
So, you’d have to order Nacho Fries roughly once a week for a month to get to $10. If you’re a regular Taco Bell customer, that might be worth it, especially if you don’t get tired of ordering the same thing every time; for many people, four to five Taco Bell trips in one month is much more often than they typically visit.
Personally, I think the previous Taco Lover’s Pass was much more appealing, since you could order from a variety of tacos, as opposed to the same old Nacho Fries over and over. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy my fries, but I get easily bored when eating the same thing repeatedly, so this one’s not for me. Additionally, because tacos function more like an entree, a free item that’s foundational to the meal is a little more exciting than a free side—and since tacos are a little more expensive than Nacho Fries when ordered a la carte, they offset the cost of the pass a little faster, too.
Here’s another downside to the Nacho Fries Lover’s Pass: It doesn’t cover the new limited-time Grilled Cheese Nacho Fries, which hit Taco Bell on November 16. These are seasoned fries topped with a blend of grilled mozzarella, Monterey pepper jack, and cheddar cheese, offering a lacy crunch—then the pile is topped with steak, nacho cheese, and chipotle sauce. There’s a spicy option which adds pickled jalapeños as well. An order of these Grilled Cheese Nacho Fries will go for $4.99, but aren’t available as part of the Nacho Fries Lover’s Pass.
So, what do you think? Are you enough of a Nacho Fries super fan to purchase a pass, or will you opt to wait for the next promotion? As I mentioned, I’ll be skipping this one, but if it were McDonald’s doing this, I just might change my tune.