American Express and McDonald’s have announced a new partnership which will allow customers to spend their American Express Membership Rewards at McDonald’s. Starting today, some stores will have this functionality but it will be rolled to all US McDonald’s locations in December 2014.
American Express have also committed to making a donation of $1 to Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) for every purchase at McDonald’s that uses MR points as the payment method (up to a maximum of $500,000 in donations). Here is how consumers will be able to use their points at McDonald’s:
- Pay with an eligible American Express Card at the counter
- On the payment screen, see the option to use points, and the number of points needed for the order
- Press the green “Yes” button to use points for the order; receive an on-screen confirmation that points were used
The press release has not stated what rate points will be worth, but it’s believed that one point will be equal to one cent (e.g $1 will cost 100 points). This seems to be an ongoing push by American Express to change their perceived brand from being high end only to a more inclusive offering. The new everyday cards offered by American Express are also part of this push.
Earlier in the year American Express also announced a similar partnership with ride sharing service Uber. It’s interesting to note that with this McDonald’s partnership cardholders won’t earn at an additional rate at McDonald’s stores.
Anything that makes it easier for consumers to redeem their loyalty points should be viewed as a good thing. Most people reading this blog will get far more value out of trading their MR points for airline or hotel points but for consumers not wanting to bother with travel redemptions it’s always nice to have more options to cash out at a rate of 1 cent = 1 point.
Hat tip to Points, Miles & Martinis
You can also do this through the “statement credit” MR option in addition to paying at the store with oints.
For McDonalds charges on my Everyday card, I am able to redeem MR points at 1 cent per point.
For all other charges, I can redeem MR points for the standard 0.6 cents per point.