National Cheeseburger Day is Sept. 18 — check out deals and freebies around Denver

Friday is National Cheeseburger Day, and if you play your cards right, you can eat your way across the Denver metro for roughly the cost of a parking meter. Here’s every deal we could verify for Friday, September 18, with a heavy lean toward spots you can actually find along Colorado Boulevard.

THE FREEBIES:

• McDonald’s: free Double Cheeseburger with a $1 minimum purchase in the app. One per customer.
• Burger King: free Bacon Cheeseburger with a $3+ purchase via the app (Royal Perks members). They’ve been running deals all week.
• Dairy Queen: free Single Original Cheeseburger Signature Stackburger with any app order of $1+. This one’s been live since Sept. 14 and ends Friday, so don’t sleep on it.

THE STEALS (UNDER $3):

• Smashburger: Any single Smash Burger for just $1 for loyalty members at participating locations. Order in-store, in the app, or via delivery. One per person. And yes, Smashburger was born right here in Denver, so this one counts double.
• Good Times: $2.99 Deluxe Cheeseburgers all day, in-restaurant or through the app. Colorado’s own Good Times is also running $1 fountain drinks of any size for the entire month of September, so grab one to wash it down.
• Sonic: $1.99 Jr. Double Cheeseburger.
• Wendy’s: $1.99 Dave’s Single via the Wendy’s app for Rewards members on Sept. 18.

THE DEALS:

• Buffalo Wild Wings: Buy one cheeseburger, get one free at participating locations. Can’t combine with other offers.
• Applebee’s: Classic Burger or Classic Cheeseburger plus fries for $8.99, dine-in, to-go or via the app.
• Shake Shack: $5 ShackBurger or Cheeseburger with any purchase. Use code BURGERDAY in the app, online or in-store.
• Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers: 50 percent off any Triple Steakburger (excluding Prime) from Sept. 18-20 via the Freddy’s Rewards app.
• Carl’s Jr.: Half-price burgers with the purchase of an ice cream shake through Sept. 18 (app only).
• Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar: The limited-time Jalapeño Business burger plus a classic side for $10, dine-in only. Denver locations in LoDo, Park Meadows and Aurora.
• Ruby Tuesday: $6.99 for a burger or sandwich with fries or tots.
• Wayback Burgers: $3.50 single cheeseburgers all day, in-store, online and via rewards.

THE FINE PRINT: Most of these deals require an app or loyalty account (which are all free to sign up for). Offers are at participating locations and can’t be combined with other discounts. The McDonald’s, Burger King, DQ, Smashburger and Freddy’s deals are all app-exclusive, so download now if you haven’t already.

The real move? Hit Good Times for a $2.99 Deluxe and a $1 drink at lunch, grab a $1 Smashburger mid-afternoon, and finish with a BOGO at Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner. Total damage: under $12 for three meals. Happy National Cheeseburger Day, Denver.