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by Resto Guy
- May 5, 2025
In today’s economy, we all need to find creative ways to save and get more for every pound. Loyalty programs are a great place to start. With their rewards systems, freebies, and discounts, you can earn every time you spend. Nowadays, four in five adults in the UK are a member of at least one loyalty app. Whether it’s McDonald’s, Starbucks, or Cineplex, loyalty apps make it easy to earn and track your rewards on the go.
Earning Rewards is Easier than Ever with Restaurant Loyalty Apps
If there are two things that everyone loves, it’s a deal and a good meal. Restaurant loyalty programs allow you to do both at the same time. Every time you dine, you move one step closer to a sweet reward from your favourite spot.
Restaurants have offered loyalty programs for decades to market themselves and drum up business. Chances are, if you’re old enough to remember a time before mobile phones, you’ve carried around one or two paper stamp cards. Come to think of it, you’ve probably lost one or two stamp cards too. Misplacing a nearly full card is a very specific type of pain. You nearly had a free coffee or side!
Physical loyalty cards weren’t that much better. How many times have you peered into your wallet just to learn that you forgot your card on the kitchen counter or, even worse, that it has disappeared entirely into the ether?
Basically, it was a flawed and incredibly inconvenient system, at best.
Fortunately, we’re out of the dark ages now.
Loyalty apps have simplified and streamlined rewards programs. You always have your phone on you, so you can always earn points whenever you dine. Since these apps track your spending automatically, you can see exactly how many points you have, how close you are to your next reward, and what special offers are available. Between birthday freebies, bonus point events, and limited-time challenges, loyalty apps help you get more bang for every buck.
Plus, most restaurants also let you order takeaway or pickup through their apps. That way, you never have to worry about getting stuck in the dinner rush, and your points are always counted.
The UK’s Top Restaurant Loyalty Programs
Many of the UK’s biggest restaurant names offer fantastic rewards programs through their mobile apps. Make sure you download as many of these apps as you can so you can earn while you eat!
My McDonald’s Rewards
The My McDonald’s Rewards app is a must-have for every fast food lover. For every £1 you spend, you earn 100 points. Once you hit 1,500 points, you can redeem them for classic favourites like fries or a cheeseburger. Craving a Big Mac? Keep racking up the points and you’ll unlock large rewards just like that.
McDonald’s also has plenty of app-only deals, like 99p Big Macs, and limited-time challenges with big point rewards.
Nando’s Rewards
Collect Chillies through the Nando’s Rewards program and get free food, fast. Every day that you spend £7 or more (whether you’re eating in, collecting an order, or placing an order for delivery), you earn one Chilli. You get a reward whenever you hit three, six, and ten Chillies. Plus, you can use them when and where you want. It’s that easy!
Plus, you can add your Nando’s card to your mobile wallet. That’s one loyalty card that you will never lose.
Chick-fil-A® One
Chick-fil-A has recently launched in the UK – and they’ve brought their loyalty program with them. Chick-fil-A One members earn points with every (qualifying) order and can then use those points towards free rewards at their local restaurant. You’ll also be the first to learn about new menu items and other exclusive content.
The more orders you place, the better your membership gets. As you move through the tiers from Silver to Red and finally Signature status, you get even more added benefits.
Starbucks Rewards
Caffeine lovers and the Starbucks Rewards program go together like coffee and mugs. For starters, it allows you to skip the line whenever you’re craving your favourite beverage. Order in-app to breeze in and pick up at your selected Starbucks.
Using the Starbucks Rewards program, you collect Stars based on how much you spend. For every £1, you collect 10 Stars. Certain popular drinks (like filter coffee, hot teas, and signature americanos) or bakery items come with even more Stars per purchase. Once you reach Gold Level at 2500 Stars, you get extra shots of espresso and selected syrups and whipped cream – all on the house.
How to Earn Even More Rewards
Many other types of companies, from shopping chains to preferred pay-by-mobile gaming sites, have paid close attention to the restaurant biz and jumped on the loyalty program bandwagon themselves. Many major retailers and entertainment companies have their own loyalty programs, making it easy to earn rewards as you shop, play, and travel.
Odeon Cinema has their myLIMITLESS program, which lets you see as many movies as you like for just £17 per month (plus, 10% off and drink). Prefer Cineworld? They have unlimited membership groups too.
You can also level up your point-earning abilities by signing up for a multi-brand loyalty card, like Nectar. It has more than 500 big brand partners, so you can collect points practically whenever and wherever you shop simply by using their mobile app. Offers from Sainsbury’s, Argos, Esso, and British Airways are at your fingertips.
