Martin Lewis has issued a warning to McDonald’s customers urging them to use up any loyalty points they have before the middle of March.
The Money Saving Expert founder returned to his live ITV1 show on Tuesday, January 27 with another batch of fresh fiscal advice covering everything from cheap-as-chips car insurance to just cheap chips.
On the programme, Martin warned McDonald’s customers that the fast food giant is making a big change to its Reward points scheme from March 17.
It means that the amount of points you need to earn to get various free rewards is going to be increased significantly, so it’s best to spend them before the costs change.
Martin Lewis said: “Have you got McDonald’s points on your app? If you do, use them by March 17 because it’s milkshaking up its app loyalty scheme, so you need more points for the same item.
“Small fries currently need 1,500 points, well from March 17 you need 2,000 points so that’s a £20 spend to get them.
“A Big Mac you currently need to redeem 5,500 points, you’ll need 6,500 points.”
McDonald’s explains how the app works. It says: “MyMcDonald’s Rewards is the McDonald’s UK customer loyalty scheme, exclusively available with the McDonald’s app. With MyMcDonald’s Rewards you earn one point for every penny you spend and unlock free rewards. Alternatively, if you don’t fancy one of our food or drink products, you can even donate your rewards points to one of our partner charities.
“Download and sign into the McDonald’s app and make sure you have opted into MyMcDonald’s Rewards.
“Earning points is easy, you will earn points on all menu items you buy using the McDonald’s app at participating restaurants across kiosk, drive-thru, McDelivery, via the McDonald’s app and front counter. You can earn one point for every penny you spend across our menu items. The more points you have the better the rewards!”
The change to prices comes after another change made at the start of January, which sees loyalty points given a much shorter expiration date.
McDonald’s told customers: “From 1st January 2026, the MyMcDonald’s Rewards programme is changing — all points will expire six months after they’re earned (instead of 12). This means points earned before 30th June 2025 will expire on 1st January 2026. So be sure to redeem in time!”
The Martin Lewis Money Show Live episode from January 27 is still available to watch via ITVX.
