McDonald’s takes its loyalty scheme nationwide – and you can get a free Big Mac or nuggets

MCDONALD'S will extend its loyalty scheme across all its 1,300 UK outlets tomorrow.

This follows a pilot which saw the scheme - where customers can earn points and exchange them for free food including Big Macs and McNuggets - tested across 75 select restaurants.

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MyMcDonald's Rewards is available to all McDonald's app users and customers will be able to start earning and redeeming their points from Wednesday July 20.

Customers collecting points by buying food from the fast food chain, and exchanging these points for their fave meals.

There are 15 items you can get for free once you've earned enough points, including popular breakfast items and McFlurries.

But it means you have to part with your cash beforehand at the chain in order to rack up points.

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You will earn 100 points for every £1 you spend at the chain, and how many points you need to get something for free will depend on the item you want.

That makes each penny worth one point - but you can also exchange your points to make a donation to a charity.

You have to collect 1,500 points in order to bag these goodies:

• Small Fries
• Mini McFlurry
• Regular McCafé
• Hash Brown
• Side Salad
• £1.50 to donation to charity

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Bagging 2,500 points will get you one of the following:

• Double Cheeseburger
• Veggie Deluxe
• Bacon Mayo Chicken 
• Cheesy Bacon Flatbread
• Medium Fries
• £2.50 donation to charity

If you rack up 4,000 points, you can choose from the following:

• 6 Chicken McNuggets
• Big Mac
• McChicken Sandwich
• Double Sausage and Egg McMuffin
• Premium Salad
• £4.00 donation to charity

But there's a catch - you could end up spending up to £40 to get the items on the menu worth the most points.

To get the items on the menu worth 1,500 points, you would have to fork out £15 worth of food.

For treats worth 2,500 points you'd have to spend £25, and for grub worth 4,000 points you would have to part with £40.

How does it work?

To sign up to the loyalty scheme, you'll need to download the MyMcDonald's app which you can do for free via Google Play or the App Store.

If you order and pay through the MyMcDonald's app, your points will automatically be banked.

If you're not paying through the app, you can get a one-time code - available in the "code" section of your app - at the start of ordering your food in the restaurant or using the drive-thru.

Once you've racked up enough points, you can use your app to cash them in to get your food the next time you make a trip or order from the chain.

You can generate a code in the app, which you'll then need to enter at a kiosk or tell your server at the till or at the drive-thru counter when you are paying.

If you're ordering through the McDonald's app, select your treat from the rewards menu tab and add to your order, where a discount will be applied to your order automatically.

You'll be able to check your points balance at the "rewards and offers" tab in the app.

McDonald's hasn't said if there are any purchases you can't earn points on - and if this calculation will be done automatically.

While the loyalty scheme could help regulars save money over time - it does reward unhealthy eating, especially at a time when Britain is on track to become the fattest nation in Europe.

Which other fast-food restaurants have loyalty schemes?

McDonald's isn't the only chain offering a loyalty scheme to customers.

Burger King opened its own scheme this month which allows members to earn and redeem points on over 20 of the chains most popular menu items.

KFC has its own scheme where you can download its app and collect stamps to earn free food.

You have to spend £3 to collect one stamp, or you'll get two stamps if you spend £15 in a single transaction.

Once you rack up 11 stamps, you'll find a reward in the "My Rewards" section of the app to claim.

Pizza Hut also has one, called Hut Rewards - you earn "slices" and cash these in for a reward.

You earn one slice for every £10 you spend - 10 slices will get you a free large pizza.

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