Burger King, KFC and McDonald’s loyalty schemes: how easy is it to earn rewards?

Fast food giants Burger King, KFC and McDonald’s have all launched new or updated loyalty schemes.

The three chains join rivals Greggs and Subway – and all the major café brands – which already offer their own loyalty schemes. 

Here, Which? looks at how the new McDonald’s, KFC and Burger King rewards programs compare and what to watch out for.

How does McDonald's loyalty scheme work?

You can sign up for MyMcDonald’s Rewards via the McDonald’s app. 

You’ll earn 100 points for every £1 you spend, which you can then cash in for free items from the menu. 

Points will expire a year after you earn them. 

There are three tiers of rewards available. 

• 1,500 points (from spending £15) allows you to redeem either small fries, a mini McFlurry, a hash brown, a side salad, or make a £1.50 charity donation.
• 2,500 points (£25) will get you a double cheeseburger, vegetable deluxe, bacon mayo chicken burger, cheesy bacon flatbread, medium fries, or allow you to make a £2.50 charity donation.
• 4,000 points (£40) will unlock either six chicken McNuggets, a Big Mac, a McChicken sandwich, double sausage and egg McMuffin, a premium salad, or a £4 charity donation.

Find out more: don't let your loyalty go unrewarded. Check out other schemes you can join in our guide to loyalty cards compared.

What does the Burger King loyalty scheme offer?

You can sign up for the Burger King BK Rewards scheme online or via the app.

The Burger King point exchange rate is slightly different from McDonald's. You earn 10 points for every £1 spent, and there are more tiers to claim free items from. 

The points expiry window is also shorter. Your points will expire if you don't eat at Burger King for six months. 

As of 13 July when the restaurant’s webpage was updated, the six tiers were as below.

• 150 points (from spending £15) can get you regular fries,  a hamburger, a cheeseburger, or a Coca-Cola Zero medium drink.
• 250 points (£25) allows you to redeem six onion rings, six chicken nuggets, six chili cheese bites, or a double cheeseburger.
• 400 points (£40) will get you a Whopper, a Crispy Chicken, a bacon double cheeseburger, or a Chicken Royale.
• 600 points (£60) unlocks a double Whopper, a Roadhouse Crispy Chicken, or a bacon double XL.
• 700 points (£70) will get you a Whooper medium meal, a Crispy Chicken medium meal, a Chicken Royale medium meal, or a bacon double cheeseburger medium meal.
• 800 points (£80) allows you to redeem a bacon double XL medium meal or a double Whopper medium meal.

How the fast food loyalty schemes compare

In the table below you can see at a glance what rewards are unlocked based on your spending.

The key difference between the two burger chains’ schemes is that Burger King’s gives you the opportunity to earn entire free meals, while McDonald’s sticks with just individual items. 

There are a few differences in how much items are worth, too. While double cheeseburgers from both restaurants can be redeemed for £25-worth of points, you need to spend £40-worth to get six chicken nuggets at McDonald’s, but only £25 for the same item at Burger King. 

Overall though, you’ll need to be a pretty regular customer at either chain to earn any substantial reward any time soon. If you eat infrequently at either, it still could be worth signing up since the schemes are free to join. You’ll just have to ensure points don't expire before you can get your free fries.

• Find out more: premium beef burgers reviewed

KFC's new loyalty scheme explained

Not to miss out on the action, KFC is also debuting a new loyalty scheme this month. It's called KFC Rewards Arcade, and it replaces the old stamps-based loyalty scheme the chain had before. 

Rewards Arcade is unique among these schemes because it involves chance. If you spend over £3, you can use the app to play a game. If you win, you'll get a free menu item. 

Rewards include:

• Two wings
• Regular fries
• BBQ dipped bites
• Mini fillet burger
• Flamin' wrap
• Fillet burger
• Zinger burger
• Regular popcorn
• Six-piece original recipe bargain bucket
• Two pieces of original recipe chicken
• Three-piece boneless chicken with dip
• Mighty bucket for one 

What other fast food loyalty schemes are available?

They might be the latest, but these aren't the only loyalty schemes available from high street fast food chains. We've rounded up the others below.

Subway

With Subway Rewards you can earn 10 points for every £1 you spend. When redeeming them, 100 points will get you a free hot drink, and 200 points a free side. 

There are bigger rewards too with 500 points earning you a six-inch sub, salad, or flatbread, and 1,000 an entire footlong. 

Greggs

You can collect a stamp every time you order something at Greggs. There are different stamps for different categories: sandwiches, bakes, sweet treats and hot drinks.  When you collect nine stamps in one category, the tenth item will be free. 

High street cafés

All the major coffee shop chains, and many independent ones, have loyalty cards. Usually, these are similar to the Greggs model, where you earn a stamp for every drink you buy, with a free drink coming after a certain number. 

At Costa, it's one free drink after eight stamps. At Caffe Nero, it's after nine. 

Pret a Manger's Pret Perks scheme is now available to everyone - not just the chain's coffee subscribers. After 10 stamps, you get a free 'perk', which could be food or drink. 

• Find out more: best coffee machines in 2022