McDonald’s customers have been issued an important alert this week – and they need to act before March 17 to avoid missing rewards that could save them money
McDonald’s customers have been urged to take action this week in order to save money.
Fast food fans must redeem their Rewards points before March 17, when it’s believed big changes to the loyalty scheme will come into effect and lower their value. Save the Students warned its TikTok followers: “Your points will suddenly be worth way less.”
Currently, for every penny spent on eligible products at participating restaurants, customers receive one point, which can be redeemed once they reach the first tier threshold of 1,500 points – having spent £15.
This total can be traded for soft drinks, McCafé hot drinks, McFlurries, fries hash browns and side salads. Other items can be redeemed once customers reach further tiers of 2,500, 4,000 and 5,500 points having spent £25, £40 and £55 respectively.
The changes coincide with the launch of McDonald’s latest menu update, which includes 10 new items such as the Double Big Mac with Bacon, Spicy McNuggets and Easter-themed Cadbury Mini Eggs McFlurry.
“From March 17, bottom tier items will cost you 500 points more than they do at the moment and every other tier is going up by a thousand meaning you will need to spend between £5 and £10 extra just to unlock the same freebies,” Save the Students explained.
As such reaching the first tier will require 2,000 points and a £20 spend, with tiers thereafter coming in at 3,500 points (£35), 5,000 (£50) and 6,500 (£65).
Save the Students closed by summarising: “In other words, if you have some points on the McDonald’s app and you want to claim a free Big Mac, do it now before it costs you an extra tenner.”
And this was echoed by Money Saving Expert, which added: “You’ll need 500 MORE points – or to spend £5 more – to claim the cheapest food and drink ‘freebies’ under McDonald’s loyalty scheme from Tuesday 17 March. For higher value freebies, you’ll need 1,000 MORE points – meaning spending £10 more. If you have a stash of points, consider redeeming them now to maximise what you get.”
The following menu items can be redeemed under each tier:
Tier 1
- Hash brown
- Medium soft drink
- Mini McFlurry
- Regular McCafé drink
- Side salad
- Small fries
Tier 2
- Apple pie
- Cheeseburger
- Cheesy Bacon Flatbread
- Four Chicken McNuggets
- Mayo Chicken
- Medium fries
- Regular McFlurry
- Vegetable Deluxe
Tier 3
- Chicken salad
- Double Cheeseburger
- Filet-O-Fish
- McChicken sandwich
- Medium milkshake
- Sausage & Egg McMuffin
- Six Chicken McNuggets
Tier 4
- Big Mac
- Double Filet-O-Fish
- Double Sausage & Egg McMuffin
- McCrispy
- McPlant
- McSpicy
- Nine Chicken McNuggets
While the changes are yet to be publicised by McDonald’s, the company’s website states: “From 17th March 2026, MyMcDonald’s Rewards is getting an update – including fresh new rewards and some changes to how many points are needed to redeem.”
McDonald’s has been invited to respond.