Bitcoin Pizza Day! I want to buy!

[DannyHamilton]

I tend to avoid this "Bitcoin Discussion" subforum most of the time because it seems like a huge percent of the posts and replies in here are a waste of time such as:

• AI generated nonsense
• Signature Ad spam
• Fear mongers spreading FUD
• Crystal ball price predictions

However, I don't see a better sub-forum to post my question, so we'll give it a try with self-moderation turned on, and we'll see how it goes.

In light of today being Bitcoin Pizza Day, I'd like to make a purchase of some product somewhere today and pay with Bitcoin. It would be GREAT if there were an easy way to buy a pizza for dinner tonight and pay with Bitcoin, but I'm not holding out hope for that.

My questions are:

1. Supposedly, Bitcoin can be used at menufy.com for SOME restaurants. Does anybody know how I can get a list of which menufy restaurants I can pay with Bitcoin?

2. I've tried looking at coinmap.org to find somewhere local that I can spend Bitcoin, but the results there seem very outdated.  Most of the places I've found on there no longer seem to accept Bitcoin. Can you recommend any websites or apps you find most reliable for finding local brick-and-mortar places to spend Bitcoin?

3. It seems that some of the best places to spend Bitcoin in the past (Expedia, Overstock, etc) are no longer accepting Bitcoin.  What are some of the most mainstream product and service providers in the U.S. that accept Bitcoin payments right now?

I appreciate well thought out and verified responses.  I'll simply remove any spam, false information, or repeats of any replies.

[DannyHamilton]

Some great options suggested so far:

• Electronics: https://www.newegg.com/
• Movie Theaters: https://www.amctheatres.com/
• Map of Brick&Mortar Locations: https://btcmap.org/
• Travel: https://www.cheapair.com/
• Precious Metals: https://www.apmex.com/

[RickDeckard]

1. Supposedly, Bitcoin can be used at menufy.com for SOME restaurants. Does anybody know how I can get a list of which menufy restaurants I can pay with Bitcoin?

I've given a quick look and it seems that you aren't able to filter locations by payment type. I wasn't expecting this considering that the business is running for quite some time and I am sure that these kind of filtering options - payment type supported - are something that has to be sought by their clients. Even though they state that their customers can accept multiple cryptocurrencies[1] you are left in the void as to how to do that (BitPay is the payment gateway[2]). I guess that you just have to be lucky in having a restaurant that you intend to buy and (hopefully) it accepts bitcoin as a payment.

2. I've tried looking at coinmap.org to find somewhere local that I can spend Bitcoin, but the results there seem very outdated.  Most of the places I've found on there no longer seem to accept Bitcoin. Can you recommend any websites or apps you find most reliable for finding local brick-and-mortar places to spend Bitcoin?

One website that I see pop up every now and then is btcmap[3] which is community driven - and open source - listing a lot of services that - supposedly - accept bitcoin as a payment. Since this is a community effort some places may not have been recently updated but is better than nothing. You can filter by "Others" (which may include brick-and-mortar stores) and "Restaurants" to see if there is something of use near your location.

3. It seems that some of the best places to spend Bitcoin in the past (Expedia, Overstock, etc) are no longer accepting Bitcoin.  What are some of the most mainstream product and service providers in the U.S. that accept Bitcoin payments right now?

Well mainstream is a pretty encompassing word, and perhaps I'm starting with a bad one, but I do know that you can use bitcoin in AMC Theatres[4], Newegg[5] and Chipotle[6]. I tested all of these - minus Chipotle - and they offer bitcoin as a payment (mostly using BitPay) in the checkout page.
[1]https://restaurant.menufy.com/article/cryptocurrency-payments
[2]https://restaurant.menufy.com/article/2018/order-food-with-bitcoin-and-bitcoin-cash
[3]https://btcmap.org/
[4]https://www.amctheatres.com/
[5]https://www.newegg.com/
[6]https://newsroom.chipotle.com/2022-07-25-CHIPOTLE-ENCOURAGES-FANS-TO-BUY-THE-DIP-WITH-NEW-200,000-CRYPTO-GAME-AND-1-CENT-GUAC-FOR-NATIONAL-AVOCADO-DAY

[odolvlobo]

3. It seems that some of the best places to spend Bitcoin in the past (Expedia, Overstock, etc) are no longer accepting Bitcoin.  What are some of the most mainstream product and service providers in the U.S. that accept Bitcoin payments right now?

I use the travel agency cheapair.com for plane tickets and hotel rooms because you can pay with bitcoins.

I used to buy gold with bitcoins at apmex.com but they use Bitpay, which now has a really annoying KYC process.

[DannyHamilton]

Does anybody know how I can get a list of which menufy restaurants I can pay with Bitcoin?

I've given a quick look and it seems that you aren't able to filter locations by payment type. I wasn't expecting this considering that the business is running for quite some time and I am sure that these kind of filtering options - payment type supported - are something that has to be sought by their clients. Even though they state that their customers can accept multiple cryptocurrencies[1] you are left in the void as to how to do that (BitPay is the payment gateway[2]). I guess that you just have to be lucky in having a restaurant that you intend to buy and (hopefully) it accepts bitcoin as a payment.

That's what I found as well. Very frustrating. I'll try sending a message to their support staff and see if they can provide a current list.

Can you recommend any websites or apps you find most reliable for finding local brick-and-mortar places to spend Bitcoin?

One website that I see pop up every now and then is btcmap[3] which is community driven - and open source - listing a lot of services that - supposedly - accept bitcoin as a payment. Since this is a community effort some places may not have been recently updated but is better than nothing. You can filter by "Others" (which may include brick-and-mortar stores) and "Restaurants" to see if there is something of use near your location.

Thanks. I'll check it out. If it's a community effort, then perhaps I'll be able to remove the local sites that I know are no longer accepting Bitcoin so that that it will be a more useful tool.

What are some of the most mainstream product and service providers in the U.S. that accept Bitcoin payments right now?

Well mainstream is a pretty encompassing word

It is. I chose it intentionally.

I do know that you can use bitcoin in AMC Theatres[4], Newegg[5] and Chipotle[6]. I tested all of these - minus Chipotle - and they offer bitcoin as a payment (mostly using BitPay) in the checkout page.

This is GREAT. Thanks. I'll add these to the top of the thread once I've verified them myself.

I use the travel agency cheapair.com for plane tickets and hotel rooms because you can pay with bitcoins.

I used to buy gold with bitcoins at apmex.com but they use Bitpay, which now has a really annoying KYC process.

More good suggestions. Thanks again.  I'll check these out and then add them to the top of the thread.

[NotATether]

Some great options suggested so far:

• Movie Theaters: https://www.amctheatres.com/

Pardon me but why is AMC on this list? I can only find gift cards on their website and those can be purchased officially using Google pay or credit/debit and Paypal.

Is it because you can buy them on a platform like Coinsbee?

I guess if you are open to listing sites for which it is easy to pay for stuff on their platform using gift cards too? Because I can name a couple off the top of my head if that's the case (Apple being the first one).

[RickDeckard]

I use the travel agency cheapair.com for plane tickets and hotel rooms because you can pay with bitcoins.

I used to buy gold with bitcoins at apmex.com but they use Bitpay, which now has a really annoying KYC process.

More good suggestions. Thanks again.  I'll check these out and then add them to the top of the thread.

Disclaimer - BitPay doesn't have a good history of being privacy friendly (in fact it ends up being quite the opposite[1]). If you surprass this, then I you can use this[2] directory that lists businesses that run BitPay payment gateway and if you choose the option "Pay Direct" you'll supposedly get a list of businesses that accept bitcoin (amongst others).

Pardon me but why is AMC on this list? I can only find gift cards on their website and those can be purchased officially using Google pay or credit/debit and Paypal.
(...)

When I suggested AMC Theaters I simulated that I was purchasing some tickets and in the final checkout page - where you select the payment type - you were able to select BitPay as a payment option. I assumed Danny wasn't looking for the options of "buy gift cards with bitcoin", hence why I only suggested businesses that you can spend bitcoin directly. Perhaps you checked AMC (streaming platform) and not AMC Theaters)?

@Danny: Besides using BitPay directory[2] you can also use BTCPay directory[3] to see more services that accept bitcoin. I prefer to use this payment gateway because it is far more privacy oriented than BitPay (can be self-hosted and is open sourced).
[1]https://debitpay.directory/anti-bitcoin/
[2]https://bitpay.com/directory/
[3]https://directory.btcpayserver.org/

[DannyHamilton]

Pardon me but why is AMC on this list?

I guess if you are open to listing sites for which it is easy to pay for stuff on their platform using gift cards too?

For this discussion, I am not.

Disclaimer - BitPay doesn't have a good history of being privacy-friendly (in fact it ends up being quite the opposite[1]).

Thanks for the information. I certainly understand that many people use Bitcoin for its ability to provide more privacy than other forms of digital payment. That isn't a concern for this discussion though. Many people are willing to give up some privacy. Perhaps I should add a column to the list indicating it BitPay payment gateway for those that would prefer to avoid it.

[RickDeckard]

Two more suggestions that you may find use for:

• Gaming: IndieGala
• Domain Registrar: NameCheap

[DannyHamilton]

Two more suggestions that you may find use for:

• Gaming: IndieGala
• Domain Registrar: NameCheap

Thanks. I'll verify these a bit later this evening and update the list at the top of the thread.