McDonald’s UK launched a brand new collectible trading card promotion on March 17, 2026. If you have visited a UK McDonald’s recently and found a pack of illustrated cards with your meal, this is your complete guide to what they are, how the game works, every prize you can win, and how to give yourself the best shot at finding the rare ones before the promotion ends.
Is the McDonald’s CARDS Promotion Still Running?
Card packs are available with qualifying meals until April 27, 2026, and all prizes must be claimed by May 11, 2026. If you are reading this before those dates, the game is still active and you can still collect and win. After April 27 you can no longer collect new packs, but you can still claim any prizes you already have until May 11.
This promotion is currently UK only. No US or Canadian version has been announced. We will update this page if McDonald’s confirms an international rollout.
What Is the McDonald’s CARDS Promotion?
McDonald’s UK spent two years developing this promotion, which transforms decades of brand history into a fully realised trading card system complete with rarity tiers and cash prizes. The campaign was created with agency Leo UK and positions McDonald’s inside collector culture rather than simply running a standard promotional game.
The basic idea is simple. You buy a qualifying CARDS Meal, receive a pack of four hand-illustrated cards, and enter the codes from each card into the McDonald’s app to collect sets and win prizes. Every single pack guarantees free food through the Character Card included in every pack.
There are 24 cards in total, split into four categories: Character, Fan, Retro, and Legendary. Legendary cards are holographic and the rarest to find.
How to Get McDonald’s Cards — What Meals Qualify
To get a pack of four cards, you need to purchase a qualifying CARDS Meal, which includes a choice of Big Mac, Double Big Mac, Double Big Mac with Bacon, 9 McNuggets, 9 Spicy McNuggets, or McPlant, served with a side and a drink.
Each qualifying meal comes with one pack of four cards automatically. You do not pay extra for the cards — they come with the meal.
A few things worth knowing before you order:
Card packs are distributed while stocks last at each restaurant. Popular locations can run out, particularly on busy weekends. If your local McDonald’s has run out, try a different location or check the McDonald’s app for stock information.
The maximum number of codes you can enter per day is 16 per McDonald’s app account. Keep this in mind if you plan to collect multiple packs in a single day.
All 24 McDonald’s Cards — Full List by Category
Every card in the CARDS promotion has been hand-illustrated from scratch. Here are all 24 cards across the four categories:
Character Cards (one guaranteed in every pack, comes with free food) These cards each include a code to redeem a specific free menu item. Examples include Grimace, which gets you a free Medium Soft Drink or Medium Milkshake, and Phil A. O’Fish, which gets you a free Filet-O-Fish or 4 Chicken McNuggets.
Fan Cards These celebrate McDonald’s fan culture and iconic moments. Cards in this category include Fry Scoop, Gherkin Transfer, Milkshake Dip, Molten Apple Pie, Special Sauce, and Big Mac Jingle.
Retro Cards These look back at McDonald’s history and classic items. Retro cards include Straw Dispenser, Can I Take Your Order?, Apple Pie Tree, McDonald’s Multimixer, Coin Spin, Cheeseburger Chair, McDonald’s Pizza, and Location #1.
Legendary Cards (holographic, rarest to find) These are the hardest cards to pull from a pack. Legendary cards include Golden Arches, Hamburglar, Birdie the Early Bird, McNugget Buddies, Speedee, McDonaldland, and Fry Girl.
The Ronald Card — The Ultimate Chase Card There are only 10 Ronald Cards in existence across the entire promotion. Each one is worth £10,000. It is the rarest card in the set and the one every collector is hunting for.
All McDonald’s CARDS Prizes — Complete Prize List
Free Food — Every Pack
Every pack of four cards includes one Character Card that guarantees a free food item. You do not need to collect a set or enter a code for a special prize to claim this — it is a guaranteed reward just for buying a CARDS Meal.
Collect to Win Sets — Complete These for Bigger Prizes
There are six collect-to-win sets, each requiring four specific cards to complete:
Set 1: Hamburglar, Fry Scoop, Straw Dispenser and Order 000 Prize: Free Medium Meal (1,000,000 prizes available)
Set 2: Birdie the Early Bird, Can I Take Your Order?, Apple Pie Tree and McDonald’s Multimixer Prize: McDonald’s CARDS T-shirt (40,000 prizes available)
Set 3: Grimace, Gherkin Transfer, Coin Spin and McDonaldland Prize: £50 Cash (50,000 prizes available)
Set 4: McNugget Buddies, Milkshake Dip, Cheeseburger Chair and Speedee Prize: £100 Cash (10,000 prizes available)
Set 5: Phil A. O’Fish, Molten Apple Pie, Big Mac Jingle and Location #1 Prize: Free Medium Meal every week for a year (2,000 prizes available)
Set 6: Fry Girl, Special Sauce, McDonald’s Pizza and Golden Arches Prize: £1,000 Cash (700 prizes available)
The Ronald Card: 10 exist. Each one wins £10,000 outright with no set to complete.
How to Claim Your McDonald’s CARDS Prizes
Step 1 — Download and register in the McDonald’s app
You need the McDonald’s UK app to enter card codes and claim prizes. Download it from the App Store or Google Play and register for an account before you start collecting. Cards entered without a registered account may not count.
Step 2 — Enter the code from each card
Every card has a unique code printed on the back. Open the CARDS section of the McDonald’s app, tap to enter a code, and the card is added to your digital collection. Players are encouraged to enter the code on the back of each card into the McDonald’s app, where they can win prizes by completing sets in-app.
Step 3 — Claim your Character Card free food
Character Cards have a second code where customers can redeem their free food item in the restaurant, at the drive-thru, or via the McDonald’s app. Use this code separately from the collection code.
Step 4 — Complete sets to claim prizes
Once your app shows a complete set, follow the claim instructions in the app. Cash prizes and vouchers are sent digitally. Act before May 11, 2026 because prizes lapse after that date with no extensions.
Tips for Collecting McDonald’s Cards
Enter every code the same day you get the cards
Do not leave codes sitting in a pile to enter later. Entering codes immediately keeps your collection organised and means you can spot quickly which cards you still need to complete a set.
Focus on Set 5 and Set 6 first
Set 5 wins you a free meal every week for a year and Set 6 wins £1,000 cash. These are the two most valuable collect-to-win prizes by far. If you are going to prioritise hunting specific cards, focus your efforts on completing these two sets before the others.
Share duplicates with friends and family
You will almost certainly pull duplicate cards before completing any set. Sharing duplicates with trusted people and having them share theirs back with you doubles your effective collection without spending more money. Just make sure you agree on prize-sharing arrangements before you start.
Check the app daily for any bonus opportunities
The maximum daily entry is 16 codes per account. If you are collecting seriously, plan your visits across several days rather than trying to enter everything at once.
Do not throw away cards before the promotion ends
Even if a card looks like a duplicate, keep it until after May 11. You may need it for a trade or it could complete a set for someone else in your household.
What Makes the McDonald’s CARDS Promotion Different
Most McDonald’s promotions are straightforward peel-and-win games. The CARDS promotion takes a different approach by building a genuine collector experience around McDonald’s own history and characters.
McDonald’s partnered with ACE Grading, allowing fans to professionally grade and seal their cards — the same way serious collectors grade sports cards and trading card game cards. This gives the cards genuine collectible value beyond the promotion itself, particularly for the rarer holographic Legendary cards and the Ronald Card.
McDonald’s marketing director Hannah Pain described the promotion as a long-term platform, saying she has ambitions to bring it back for many more years, similar to how Monopoly has run for two decades in the UK. That means if you collect cards now, they may carry value in future editions of the promotion.
McDonald’s CARDS 2026 — Quick Reference
| Detail | Information |
| Promotion name | McDonald’s CARDS |
| Available in | UK only (as of April 2026) |
| Cards available from | March 17, 2026 |
| Last day to collect | April 27, 2026 |
| Prize claim deadline | May 11, 2026 |
| Total cards in set | 24 plus the Ronald Card |
| Cards per pack | 4 (including one Character Card) |
| Qualifying meals | Big Mac, Double Big Mac, McNuggets, McPlant with side and drink |
| Top prize | Ronald Card — £10,000 (10 available) |
| Daily code entry limit | 16 codes per app account |
| Minimum age | 18 years old |
| Official site | cards.mcdonalds.co.uk |
BiteStaff.com is an independent fan site and is not affiliated with McDonald’s Corporation. For official rules, prize details, and terms and conditions, visit cards.mcdonalds.co.uk and mcdrules.co.uk.