5 Reasons We’re So Excited About the MyMcDonald’s Rewards Program in the U.S.

by Alycia Mason, U.S. VP, Digital Customer Engagement & Media

It’s finally here – MyMcDonald’s Rewards* is now available to McDonald’s customers across the United States.

As someone who’s worked on our loyalty program for more than a year, I truly believe MyMcDonald’s Rewards is well worth the wait. We've created our first nationwide loyalty program that gives customers more of what they want (our delicious food) and is designed to make the jobs of our restaurant crew easier and more enjoyable. I believe MyMcDonald’s Rewards truly makes McDonald’s better for everyone, and I can’t wait for you to try it. 

Here’s what you should know about MyMcDonald’s Rewards in the U.S.:

1. It’s exactly what our customers have been craving. At McDonald’s, we’re lucky to have some of the most loyal fans in the world. Our customers deserve the best, so MyMcDonald’s Rewards isn’t just another restaurant loyalty program – it’s one that is just for them. With MyMcDonald’s Rewards, customers can earn points with every McDonald’s visit they make, whether they order through the mobile app, in the Drive Thru, at the front counter or at a kiosk. The points can be redeemed for a stellar selection of free menu items (I’m talking the items our customers told us they love the most). While I like to save my points for a Big Mac, I’ve also been known to redeem a fraction of my points for a delicious iced coffee. We saw in our test markets that our customers like to do this, too – sometimes they save their points for burgers or Frappes, other times they spend their points as soon as they hit their app. It’s good to know I’m not alone in wanting instant gratification!

What’s even better, the MyMcDonald’s Rewards program has been built into our existing McDonald’s mobile app, making it easy for our over 20 million active app users in the U.S. to simply open the app, sign up and start earning points. It’s really that simple! 

2. The restaurant crew love it. I've been spending time with restaurant crew in U.S. restaurants for the past six months, introducing them to MyMcDonald’s Rewards and hearing their thoughts about the program. One thing I heard consistently: MyMcDonald’s Rewards makes their jobs easier by making them more connected to their customers. The pride restaurant crew have in MyMcDonald's Rewards is fantastic to see – and I personally love that customers can be more easily greeted by name, whenever they visit a restaurant. We’re hearing positive feedback about this from customers and crew, too.

As the face of the program, it was important for us to make sure that crew felt confident in their understanding of MyMcDonald’s Rewards. That’s why crew are eligible to receive and redeem points, to better understand the loyalty process.

3. We worked hand-in-hand with Owner/Operators to bring this to life. We were very fortunate to work with more than 200 U.S. Owner/Operators to help make the MyMcDonald’s Rewards experience better for customers and crew. During our pilots, they helped us co-create solutions, fix small tech problems and understand how to best scale the program nationally. Without their partnership in developing, operationalizing and piloting MyMcDonald’s Rewards, it wouldn’t be the great loyalty program we’re so proud of today.

4. Our Global McFamily deserves a shout out. The U.S. is not the first McDonald’s market to introduce a loyalty program. As we developed our MyMcDonald’s Rewards program here, we had the benefit of learning so much from other markets – like France and Austria. Conversations with colleagues in our global markets influenced how we approached fostering a digitally-led culture throughout the U.S. System – and we learned a lot from their processes, which carried through to our launch in the States.

5. It’s just one part of our digital ambition. I always ask myself if what I’m working on is helping our restaurants meet customers where they’re at. We’ve been focused on growing our digital and technology capabilities for a while now, and the pandemic has emphasized the important role digital plays in providing fast, seamless experiences for our customers. The launch of MyMcDonald’s Rewards in the U.S. is just one piece of our broader MyMcDonald’s platform: a suite of digital solutions that makes customers’ experiences simpler, convenient and more personal. The power of this loyalty program is that it will help us bring the entire MyMcDonald’s platform to life in a meaningful way.

At McDonald’s, we are at our best when we can anticipate who our customer is - what they might order based on the time of day or day of the week - and we can serve them in a friendly, quality, consistent way. MyMcDonald’s Rewards – and the broader MyMcDonald’s platform – allows us to do this for more customers, every day, seamlessly. I can’t wait for everyone to see what we have in store.

The launch of MyMcDonald’s Rewards across the U.S. today is a testament to System collaboration at every level.  I’m proud of introducing this program to 14,000 restaurants nationwide mid-pandemic (and finding the time to drive my family cross-country to test the program in our pilot markets). It's been an adventure I wouldn’t trade for the world.

Loyalty is here.

*Program available only at participating McDonald’s in the local area. Refer to MyMcDonald's  Program Terms. Excludes delivery. Download and registration required.