How Wendy’s Rewards Stacks up against Chick-fil-A and McD’s
Wendy’s is known for its founder, Dave Thomas, his daughter Wendy (yes, that’s her in the logo), square hamburgers, Frosty’s, and a social media team that’s equal parts hysterical and savage. It has a cult following and die-hard fans, just like Chick-fil-A and McDonald’s.
In those reward program reviews, we gave CFA our highest rating, Very Rewarding, and McDonald’s a solid Rewarding. So, how does Wendy’s stack up? In our opinion, it lands right between the two. Not quite as strong as CFA, but it edges out McD’s in a few key areas.
Photocredit: Upsplash
How it works:
Wendy’s keeps it simple, and we like that. No tiers. No difficult process. Just order in the app, or scan a QR code at the restaurant, and earn points on all menu items.
· $1=10 points (10 cents=1 point)
· Earn for order ahead, drive-thru, or in-restaurant pick-up and delivery if through the Wendy’s app
· Extra deals/discounts as well as bonus point promos
· Points expire 1 year after posting
· Redeem points for menu items directly in the app
While Wendy’s doesn’t have as many in-app deals as McD’s, they seem more generous, such as straight $3 off any purchase of $15 or $5 off any purchase of $25.
Wendy’s Offers Page in-App
Not as many deals as McDonald’s, but they are a bit richer.
How you Redeem:
Wendy’s app is no-fuss, simple, and easy to navigate, and just as good as CFA’s. Just head to the Rewards Store, where items are shaded gray until you’ve earned enough points to claim them
What’s good about Wendy’s Rewards:
Rewards start at just 200 points (that’s $20 in spend), so you can earn a freebie after just 1–2 visits
You can redeem rewards for delivery, pick-up, or in-store orders
Reward options include a solid mix of breakfast items, sides, and sandwiches
What could be improved:
Only 27 items are currently available in the Rewards menu, which is about a third of Wendy’s full menu. Missing? Combos, some of their burgers and chicken sandwiches, baked potatoes, soft drinks, lemonades, and anything larger than a small Frosty.
A quarter of the reward options are for breakfast, which is… curious, considering that’s not their biggest draw.
No reward stacking. Only one reward per transaction. And without combo rewards, it’s impossible to get a full meal for free. (We dinged McD’s, Chipotle, and CAVA for this too.)
On the (small) plus side: rewards can stack with one discount per transaction.
What’s the Value:
(Note: by “return value” we mean how much are you save relative to how much you had to spend to earn it. For example, if you spent $100 to earn enough points to redeem $10, that’s a 10% return value).
For restaurant brands, we like to see a return value of 8% or higher. The good news is that Wendy’s return value is 9%-13% on average, which is excellent. And what’s even better is their more expensive items (like the Baconator) have the higher return values. So win here for Wendy’s!
CFA had return value averages of 7-9% while McD’s were over 10%. So this puts Wendy’s smack between the two brands.
(Disclaimer: Menu prices can vary among different Wendy’s restaurants. The prices we used are estimated based on what we are seeing in our home city of Boston and available internet information. So return value is approx).
| Reward Item | Points Required | Spending Required to Earn Points (Base Member) | Approx Menu Price | Return Value (Base) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small Frosty | 200 | $20 | $2.49 | 12% |
| 4 pc Nuggets | 200 | $20 | $2.69 | 13% |
| Sm. Breakfast Potatoes | 200 | $20 | $2.25 | 11% |
| Small Fry | 250 | $25 | $2.59 | 10% |
| Crispy Chicken Sandwich | 250 | $25 | $2.59 | 10% |
| Small Chili | 300 | $30 | $2.99 | 10% |
| Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger | 300 | $30 | $3.29 | 11% |
| 6 pc Nuggets | 300 | $30 | $3.89 | 13% |
| Lg Breakfast Potatoes | 300 | $30 | $3.89 | 13% |
| Double Stack | 350 | $35 | $3.99 | 11% |
| 4 pc French Toast Sticks | 350 | $35 | $3.19 | 9% |
| Lg Fries | 400 | $40 | $3.89 | 10% |
| Bacon/Sausage, Egg Biscuit | 400 | $40 | $3.89 | 10% |
| Honey Buddy Chicken Biscuit | 400 | $40 | $4.19 | 10% |
| Kids Meal | 400 | $40 | $4.69 | 12% |
| Bacon/Sausage, Egg English Muffin | 450 | $45 | $4.59 | 10% |
| Bacon/Sausage, Egg croissant | 500 | $50 | $5.19 | 10% |
| Cinnamon Pull Apart | 500 | $50 | $4.69 | 9% |
| Breakfast Baconator | 550 | $55 | $5.29 | 10% |
| Maple Bacon Chicken Croissant | 550 | $55 | $5.29 | 10% |
| 10 pc Nuggets | 600 | $60 | $5.29 | 9% |
| Dave's Single Cheeseburger | 600 | $60 | $6.29 | 10% |
| Classic or Spicy Chicken Sandwich | 600 | $60 | $6.69 | 11% |
| Dave's Double Cheeseburger | 700 | $70 | $6.89 | 10% |
| Son of a Baconator | 700 | $70 | $6.89 | 10% |
| Baconator | 800 | $80 | $8.59 | 11% |
| Salad | 800 | $80 | $8.59 | 11% |
🕵️♂️ THE Fine Print
Points expire 12 months after earning
(Better than McD’s 6 months, not as generous as CFA’s “as long as you’re active” policy)No earning or redeeming points through third-party delivery (like Uber Eats or DoorDash)
Max 1 reward per transaction
summary & verdict:
Wendy’s Rewards a great program we are giving our Rewarding rating. Simple with an excellent return value for your points of 10-13%. We wish the Reward menu was larger and that they allowed Reward stacking so you could redeem for a full meal. That would put it on par with Chick-fil-A.
Leave us a comment! Do you agree or disagree? Any further tips about Wendy’s Rewards?
