Tims Rewards vs MyMcDonald's Rewards: which returns more in Canada
Verified August 6, 2026Updated September 2, 2026CAD, before taxGuide
Both apps do the same thing: they track what you spend and hand back food. The only honest way to compare them is to ask what percentage of your money comes back, which means dividing the retail price of the free item by the dollars it took to earn it.
Do that with verified menu prices and the gap is not subtle. MyMcDonald's Rewards returns between 7.5% and 16.5%. Tims Rewards returns between 2.7% and 6.6%. McDonald's roughly doubles Tim Hortons at every comparable point on the menu.
Tim Hortons has one structural advantage worth knowing about, and it is not the return rate.
How the two currencies convert
The point values look wildly different and mean almost the same thing.
- Tims Rewards: 10 points per $1 spent before tax. A 400-point reward took $40 of spending. (A Tims Mastercard earns 15 points per dollar, which changes these figures in your favour and is not assumed below.)
- MyMcDonald's Rewards: 100 points per $1 spent before tax. A 2,000-point reward took $20 of spending.
So the formula for both is the same:
Effective return = retail value of the free item ÷ dollars spent to earn it
MyMcDonald's Rewards, by tier
Prices are from the verified McDonald's file on this site, which covers one Toronto restaurant.
| Tier | Points | Spend required | Item | Retail | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2,000 | $20.00 | Hash Brown | $3.29 | 16.5% |
| 1 | 2,000 | $20.00 | Premium Roast Coffee | $1.99 | 10.0% |
| 2 | 4,000 | $40.00 | Sausage McMuffin | $3.39 | 8.5% |
| 2 | 4,000 | $40.00 | World Famous Fries | $2.99 | 7.5% |
| 3 | 6,000 | $60.00 | Egg McMuffin | $5.99 | 10.0% |
| 5 | 14,000 | $140.00 | Double Quarter Pounder BLT Extra Value Meal | $19.59 | 14.0% |
| 5 | 14,000 | $140.00 | Quarter Pounder with Cheese Extra Value Meal | $15.59 | 11.1% |
| 5 | 14,000 | $140.00 | Big Mac Extra Value Meal | $14.79 | 10.6% |
| 5 | 14,000 | $140.00 | McChicken Extra Value Meal | $14.59 | 10.4% |
The hash brown is the standout, and it is standing next to the reason why. Both it and a Premium Roast Coffee sit in the same 2,000-point tier, cost the same $20 of spending, and are worth $3.29 and $1.99 respectively. Taking the coffee instead of the hash brown throws away $1.30 of a $3.29 reward, for the same $20 of spending.
The same thing happens at the top. Four Extra Value Meals share the 14,000-point tier at prices from $14.59 to $19.59. Choosing the Double Quarter Pounder BLT meal over the McChicken meal is worth $5.00 for the same points.
Tims Rewards, by tier
Prices are from the verified Tim Hortons and Tim Hortons breakfast files.
| Tier | Points | Spend required | Item | Retail | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 300 | 300 | $30.00 | Hashbrown | $1.99 | 6.6% |
| 300 | 300 | $30.00 | Chocolate Chip Cookie | $1.99 | 6.6% |
| 300 | 300 | $30.00 | Apple Fritter | $1.79 | 6.0% |
| 300 | 300 | $30.00 | Classic donut | $1.59 | 5.3% |
| 400 | 400 | $40.00 | Extra large Original Blend coffee | $2.35 | 5.9% |
| 400 | 400 | $40.00 | Medium Original Blend coffee | $1.83 | 4.6% |
| 400 | 400 | $40.00 | Small Original Blend coffee | $1.59 | 4.0% |
| 400 | 400 | $40.00 | Plain Bagel | $1.99 | 5.0% |
| 600 | 600 | $60.00 | Extra large French Vanilla | $3.29 | 5.5% |
| 800 | 800 | $80.00 | Large Iced Capp | $4.79 | 6.0% |
| 800 | 800 | $80.00 | Box of 10 Timbits | $3.29 | 4.1% |
| 1,100 | 1,100 | $110.00 | Farmer's Breakfast Sandwich | $5.49 | 5.0% |
| 1,100 | 1,100 | $110.00 | Simply Sausage Sandwich | $2.99 | 2.7% |
| 1,300 | 1,300 | $130.00 | Maple Brown Butter Scrambled Egg Loaded Box | $7.99 | 6.1% |
The rule that matters more than the app you pick
Look down either table and the same thing jumps out: the spread inside a tier is bigger than the spread between tiers.
At Tim Hortons, the 1,100-point tier holds both a $5.49 Farmer's Breakfast Sandwich and a $2.99 Simply Sausage Sandwich. Same points, same $110 of spending, and one is worth 84% more than the other. Redeem the cheap sandwich and you get the worst return in the entire programme, 2.7%, from a tier that can pay 5.0%.
And size is free. A 400-point coffee is 400 points whether it is a small or an extra large, so ordering the extra large lifts the return from 4.0% to 5.9%. That is a 48% improvement for saying one extra word at the till, and it costs nothing.
The same applies at McDonald's, where the Extra Value Meal tier ranges from $14.59 to $19.59 for identical points.
The practical instruction on both apps is the same: within whatever tier you have reached, redeem the most expensive thing you will actually eat.
Where Tim Hortons wins
Point lifespan. Tims Rewards points are valid for twelve months from the date they were earned. That suits an occasional customer who accumulates slowly and would lose a balance on a shorter clock.
A lower entry price. The Tims ladder starts at 300 points, which is $30 of spending. McDonald's starts at 2,000, which is $20 — close in dollars, but the Tims tier is reachable on genuinely small purchases, since a coffee habit at $1.83 a day gets there inside a month.
The Mastercard multiplier. Earning 15 points per dollar instead of 10 raises every Tims figure in the table above by half. At 15 points per dollar, the 300-point hashbrown needs $20 of spending rather than $30, which takes its return from 6.6% to 10.0% and puts it in McDonald's territory. That is a credit card decision rather than a coffee decision, but it is the one lever that closes the gap.
Frequently asked questions
Which fast food rewards app gives the best return in Canada?
MyMcDonald's Rewards, on the verified prices here. Its redemptions return between 7.5% and 16.5% of the money spent to earn them, against 2.7% to 6.6% at Tims Rewards.
What is the single best redemption on either app?
A McDonald's Hash Brown at 2,000 points. It costs $3.29 and takes $20 of spending to earn, a 16.5% return, which is more than double anything on the Tims ladder.
What is the worst redemption?
The Tim Hortons Simply Sausage Sandwich, at 2.7%. It sits at 1,100 points, the same tier as the $5.49 Farmer's Breakfast Sandwich, so redeeming it wastes almost half the tier's value.
Does the size of a drink change how many points it costs?
No, and that is the easiest money on either app. A Tim Hortons brewed coffee is 400 points at any size, so redeeming an extra large at $2.35 rather than a small at $1.59 raises the return from 4.0% to 5.9% for nothing.
Do Tims Rewards points expire?
Yes, twelve months after they are earned. Points earned on September 2, 2026 expire on September 2, 2027.
Does the Tims Mastercard change the maths?
Substantially. It earns 15 points per dollar instead of 10, which cuts the spending needed for any reward by a third and lifts every return figure in the Tims table by half.
Can you earn points on Uber Eats or DoorDash orders?
Loyalty earning through third-party delivery platforms is not something I have verified for either programme, so treat it as something to check in the app rather than assume. Third-party delivery also carries its own menu markup, covered in the delivery markup guide.
Methodology and disclaimer
Point earning rates and redemption tiers reflect the published Canadian terms of MyMcDonald's Rewards and Tims Rewards as of September 2026; both programmes revise their tiers, so confirm in the app before planning a redemption. Menu prices come from the verified files behind this site's McDonald's, McDonald's breakfast, Tim Hortons and Tim Hortons breakfast pages, recorded August 2026. The McDonald's file covers a single Toronto restaurant, and franchise pricing varies, so these returns are worked examples rather than national figures. Effective return is the item's retail price divided by the pre-tax spending required to earn the points, and excludes targeted bonus-point promotions.
Froqel is an independent price guide. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by McDonald's, Tim Hortons, or any restaurant chain named here. All trademarks belong to their respective owners.