Subway will sell 50% discounts for its footlong sandwiches to app users — and they could sell out within hours

• Subway is bringing back its Footlong Pass subscription program.
• Subscribers get 50% off footlong subs. Last year, the company sold 10,000 passes in six hours.

Subway's app downloads are exploding. And, they're about to surge even more as the chain plans to bring back its wildly popular $15 Footlong Pass deal.

The pass, valid once daily during April, allows customers to receive 50% off a footlong sandwich. Subway rewards members can buy a pass starting March 21 at 8 a.m. Eastern through the chain's website or app, the chain announced Friday.

In August, when Subway debuted the subscription program for the first time, the chain sold 10,000 passes in six hours. Expecting high demand again, Subway is offering 250,000 passes exclusively for members of its loyalty program, Subway MyWay Rewards.

"The first 10,000 passes sold out in a matter of hours, and while we have 250,000 available this time around, we expect them to go very quickly," Barb Millette, senior director of loyalty and gift cards, said in a statement.

Still, there's a catch.

Only participating franchise locations will accept the pass. Subway declined to disclose how many restaurants are accepting the pass. Subway franchise owners routinely balk at the chain's discounting programs, with some refusing to accept coupons.

The Footlong Pass program's revival comes as Subway has spent nearly two years revamping its menu. Since 2021, the chain has added new sauces, breads, and proteins. Last year, it also introduced a dozen "chef-created" sandwiches, where customers order by name and number instead of building their own sub. The Subway Series was billed as the chain's "most significant menu update" in its 60-year history.

This year, the chain is rolling out deli meat slicers to restaurants across the US as part of its menu revamp.

One million Subway app downloads in a month

According to app intelligence firm Apptopia, Subway's menu overhaul, and recent promotions are causing a surge in app downloads.

In February, Subway's app was the third-most downloaded fast-food app in the US, logging 1 million downloads, Apptopia said in an article published in QSR Magazine. McDonald's (3.2 million downloads) and Starbucks (1.3 million downloads) came in at No. 1 and 2 for the month, respectively.

Though it didn't come close to beating McDonald's or Starbucks, Subway's ranking was the highest on Apptopia's fast-food tracking chart since June 2021.

"Subway's new menu has been giving it a higher level of daily downloads, but it also promoted a BOGO deal in early February that was only available through the mobile app," Adam Blacker, vice president of Insights at Apptopia, wrote.

Are you a Subway franchisee or development agent with insight to share? Got a tip? Contact this reporter via email at nluna@insider.com.