McDonald’s has confirmed a major rule change that could impact millions of UK diners. Many customers of the fast-food chain now use the McDonald’s app to order, make use of exclusive offers, check in at restaurants, and to amass loyalty points.
For each penny purchased at McDonald’s, app users get one MyMcDonald’s Rewards point. Get enough of these and you can use them to “buy” snacks, mains or drinks, or you can get McDonald’s to contribute to charity on your behalf.
For instance, 1,500 points could get you a medium soft drink, standard coffee, mini McFlurry, or small chips, among other options.
The more points you collect, the bigger the items you can get. Points sit in your account until you chose to redeem them, but this is about to change.
A McDonald’s alert reads: “We’re giving MyMcDonald’s Rewards a bit of a refresh. As part of the latest update, we’ll be changing how long your points are valid for.
“From 30 December 2025, all points will expire six full calendar months after they’re earned, instead of the current 12 months. This will apply to existing and future points, meaning any points earned before 30 June 2025 will automatically expire on 1st January 2026, unless you redeem them by then!”
The change has divided Reddit users, as one wrote: “6 months before the points expire? Incredibly stingy, and wasn’t even that generous to begin with.”
A second said: “Oh great more cuts”, though a third seemed less bothered, writinging: “Lol, about 30,000 points in free food coming my way in the next 3 months then.”
A fourth added: “My points never last more than 2 weeks so [shrug emoji]”.
It is estimated that some ten million people in the UK have downloaded the McDonald’s app, and could therefore be affected by this rule change.
