McDonald’s McCafé: Budget Coffee With a Rewards Scheme Worth Knowing About
With the price of coffee ever on the rise, finding a good deal and making the most of loyalty schemes is always worth doing. But what if you could grab a cheaper cup of coffee whilst still benefiting from a rewards programme? This is where, for me, McDonald’s comes in.
How Does the Price Compare?
Before I jump straight into the reward scheme, let’s take a quick look at the price comparison, because it really is quite striking.
A regular latte at McDonald’s will set you back around £2.29, whereas a regular latte at Caffè Nero will typically cost you somewhere in the region of £3.15 to £3.75, a saving of over £1 per cup. And if you’re a daily coffee drinker, that adds up fast over the course of a month.
Now, I will call that out for what it is. The quality of the drink at Nero is, in my opinion, far superior. It’s made by hand, and if you’re sitting in then you get a much nicer experience. I’m actually writing this article sitting in a leather chair at a Caffè Nero local to me! But that doesn’t mean McDonald’s doesn’t have its place, and I’ll come on to that.
When Does McDonald’s Coffee Make Sense?
I do still visit McDonald’s for a coffee, only I tend to use it when I’m on the move. A quick coffee for the commute, a quick afternoon pick me up between meetings, or grabbing one on a long drive via the drive-through. For that kind of visit, it’s a great shout. Consistent, quick, and easy on the wallet.
The McDonald’s Rewards Scheme
The old stamp-based McCafé scheme, where you’d collect stamps for hot drinks and get a free one after a set number, came to an end in October 2022. In its place came a points-based system across all purchases, which is actually a better deal if, like me, you sometimes end up there for food as well as coffee.
You earn 100 points for every £1 you spend, and one thing I particularly like about this is that the points are calculated on the pence rather than just the full pound spent. A few schemes round down to the nearest pound, which always feels like a bit of a cost-saving exercise on their part, that 99p being just one short of an extra point. McDonald’s avoids that frustration.
Once you’ve built up your points, you can exchange them via the app for items off the menu. As the focus of this article is coffee, I’ll keep things coffee-centric, though it’s worth noting you can also redeem points for food. Here’s what’s on offer in the points store for drinks:
2,000 points (equivalent to £20 spend)
Regular Espresso, Regular Americano or Regular McCafé Tea.
3,500 points (equivalent to £35 spend)
Any McCafé Hot Drink, including a latte or cappuccino.
5,000 points (equivalent to £50 spend)
Caramel Iced Frappé.
In general, this means you’ll likely earn a free hot drink after around five or six visits, depending on what you normally spend, which is a reasonable return.
The Verdict
All in all, I find the McDonald’s reward scheme a solid if unspectacular offering. The coffee itself isn’t going to rival your favourite independent café, and the ambience when sitting in is, let’s be honest, not exactly a Caffè Nero leather chair experience. But it is consistent, good value, and very easy to access, especially via the drive-through, which puts it in a category of its own on that front.
As with all reward schemes, the golden rule applies: don’t buy more than you normally would just to chase the points, as that will always cost you more in the long run.
Worth having the app though? Absolutely.
