Wendy’s is one of Canada’s largest fast food chains. And now they have their own rewards program with Wendy’s Rewards.
With Wendy’s Rewards, you’ll earn points on all your food purchases, which you can then turn into free food at Wendy’s restaurants.
So how does it work? And what can you get for free? Here’s our guide to the Wendy’s Rewards program.
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What is Wendy’s Rewards?
Wendy’s Rewards is a simple program. Spend money on food at Wendy’s, and earn points you can use towards free food. You earn 10 points for every $1 spent on the pre-tax amount (you won’t earn anything on those annoying sales taxes).
There are 2 instances where you won’t earn rewards on purchases, They are:
- purchasing gift cards, and
- ordering Wendy’s through a 3rd party (ie. Skip The Dishes or Uber Eats).
With these points, you can pay for the cost of many popular menu items.
What are Wendy’s Rewards points worth?
There’s no set value to what your Wendy’s Rewards are worth. The items that can be redeemed for have a set amount of points that are required.
And of course, pricing can also vary at your local store.
Our average value of 1 Wendy’s Rewards point is 1 cent, but your mileage may vary.
How to earn Wendy’s Rewards
The only way to earn Wendy’s rewards is by buying food in one of their restaurants.
You’ll earn 10 points for every $1 you spend – simple. You can order online through the Wendy’s app and pick it up, or just make an order in store.
If you order through the app, there’s nothing you have to do to get your rewards – you’ll automatically earn them.
If you order in store at the counter or pickup window, you’ll have to produce your QR code through the Wendy’s app to get your points. If you forgot to show it, or perhaps you were having technical difficulties and couldn’t open the app, you can submit a claim for your points using your receipt.
Best credit cards for restaurants
There’s another way to earn rewards on all your restaurant purchases – with a credit card. With the right credit card, you can earn tons of rewards points or cash back when eating out.
Here are our top choices. You can view more top credit cards for restaurants here.
| Credit Card | Welcome Bonus | Earn Rates | Annual Fee, Income Requirements | Apply Now |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Express Cobalt Card | Up to 15,000 bonus points (terms) | * 5 points per $1 spent on eligible groceries and restaurants * 3 points per $1 spent on eligible streaming services * 2 points per $1 spent on eligible gas, transit, and ride share purchases * 1 point per $1 spent on foreign currency purchases * 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases |
* $155.88 * None |
Apply Now |
| MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard |  $150 GC Boost + 30,000 bonus points (terms) |
* 5 points for every $1 spent on restaurants, groceries, and select recurring bills (up to $50,000 spent annually per category) * 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases |
* $120 * $80K personal/$150K household |
Apply Now |
| National Bank World Elite Mastercard | None | * 5 points per $1 spent on groceries and restaurants * 2 points per $1 spent on gas, electric vehicle charging, recurring bills, and travel booked through À La Carte Rewards * 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases |
* $150 * $80K personal/$150K household |
Apply Now |
| BMO eclipse Visa Infinite Card | $150 GeniusCash + Up to 70,000 bonus points, first year free (terms) |
* 5 BMO Rewards points for every $1 spent on dining, groceries, gas, and transit * 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases |
* $120 * $60K personal/$100K household |
Apply Now |
| Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card | $125 GeniusCash + 10% extra cash back for the first 2 months (terms) |
* 2% cash back on purchases in up to 3 Money-Back Categories * 0.5% cash back on all other purchases |
* $0 * $12K personal |
Apply Now |
Best credit card for restaurants
The best credit cards when it comes to earning rewards on food purchases is the American Express Cobalt Card.
It offers a combination of high rewards on purchases and a high value for your points.
First, here’s what you’ll earn for rewards on your purchases:
- 5 points per $1 spent on eligible groceries and restaurants
- 3 points per $1 spent on eligible streaming services
- 2 points per $1 spent on eligible gas, transit, and ride share purchases
- 1 point per $1 spent on foreign currency purchases
- 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases
Points-wise, that’s a lot of rewards on your food purchases. But those Amex Membership Rewards are coupled with a high point value of up to 2 cents each – with such a good conversion, you’re looking at a return of up to 2% on all your food purchases.
That’s a ton of rewards on restaurants and groceries, for an annual fee of $155.88.
Transfer points to Aeroplan and 7 other travel partners with Canada's #1 credit card.* Transfer points to Aeroplan and 7 other travel partners with Canada's #1 credit card.*
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Best Mastercard for restaurants
If you would prefer not to have an Amex, the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard offers plenty of rewards on a few different categories.
Here’s what you’ll earn:
- 5 points for every $1 spent on restaurants, groceries, and select recurring bills (up to $50,000 spent annually per category)
- 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases
On top of that, you’ll also receive a birthday bonus of 10% of the points you earned over the past year, up to a maximum bonus of 15,000 points.
That translates to a return of 0.05% on food purchases when you redeem your MBNA Rewards points for travel, for a $120 annual fee.
×4 Award winner 
GC: $125 + $25
4x Award winner
A top Mastercard with a unique travel perk
The National Bank World Elite Mastercard offers high rewards on purchases, and a unique perk to save on travel costs.
Here’s what you’ll earn for National Bank rewards on all your purchases:
- 5 points per $1 spent on groceries and restaurants
- 2 points per $1 spent on gas, electric vehicle charging, recurring bills, and travel booked through À La Carte Rewards
- 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases
Redeem for travel through National Bank and you’re getting a 1% return on your food purchases.
As for that unique perk? You can save $150 every year on these fees:
- checked baggage,
- airport parking,
- seat selection,
- airline seat upgrades, and
- airport lounge access.
Use the full amount and you’ve offset the $150.
Best Visa for restaurants
If you want a Visa, the BMO eclipse Visa Infinite Card is an excellent choice. As part of the BMO Rewards family, here’s what it earns on purchases:
- 5 BMO Rewards points for every $1 spent on dining, groceries, gas, and transit
- 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases
Each BMO Rewards point is worth 0.67 cents when redeemed for travel, giving your food purchases a return of 3.35%.
That’s not bad in terms of earn rates, but there is one other cool perk that makes this card stand out. On your card’s anniversary, you’ll get a $50 lifestyle credit, which automatically gets applied on your first purchase of more than that.
And if you add an authorized user, you’ll earn 10% bonus points. You’ll get all this for an annual fee of $120.
There's also our own kicker – $150 in GeniusCash from us when you get approved.
GC: $150
Best no fee cash back card for restaurants
There are also some excellent no fee credit cards you can look at – one of the best is the Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card.
You get to decide which categories you earn 2% cash back in. And one of those is restaurants, along with 9 others.
You get to pick 2 categories if your rewards get applied as a monthly statement credit. You can choose 3 if you get them deposited into a Tangerine Savings account. All other purchases earn 0.5% cash back.
Here is the full list of categories to choose from.
×1 Award winner GC: $125
1x Award winner
If you want a little more from your Tangerine Mastercard, there’s also the Tangerine World Mastercard, which has the exact same rewards, no annual fee, but also adds a couple of insurance coverages and has airport lounge access.
Both Tangerine Mastercards are offering $125 in GeniusCash.
GC: $125
Here are a couple of other no fee cards that provide high rewards at restaurants.
How to redeem Wendy’s Rewards
There’s only 1 way to redeem Wendy’s Rewards – by ordering food items.
You can use your points to pay for many items on the menu. There are a couple of rules. First, you can only order 1 free item at a time. Second, you can’t order an entire meal either.
Your points also expire. You’ll have 365 days to use them once they are earned.
Here are the items that can be redeemed for. This chart details how many points you need, what the item costs with tax, and what each point is worth.
Just note local pricing may vary from what I see, but this will still give an idea as to value and if there are better items to redeem then others.
| Reward | Points Required | Cost With Tax | Value Of 1 Point (Cents) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baconator | 1,300 | 10.05 | 0.77 |
| Breakfast Baconator Combo | 1,300 | 10.50 | 0.81 |
| Small Hot Coffee | 250 | 2.02 | 0.81 |
| 6 Pc Crispy Chicken Nugget | 450 | 3.72 | 0.83 |
| Double Jr Bacon Cheeseburger | 450 | 3.83 | 0.85 |
| Small Poutine | 450 | 3.83 | 0.85 |
| Chicken Strips | 850 | 7.90 | 0.93 |
| Small Chili | 350 | 3.27 | 0.93 |
| Small Frosty | 250 | 2.36 | 0.94 |
| Any Fresh-made Salad (Southwest Avocado, Taco, Grilled Caesar, Apple Pecan) | 1,300 | 12.42 | 0.96 |
| Any Small Croissant Combo | 850 | 8.35 | 0.98 |
| Any Kids’ Meal | 650 | 6.43 | 0.99 |
| Small Seasoned Potatoes | 250 | 2.47 | 0.99 |
| Small Fries | 250 | 2.47 | 0.99 |
| Bacon Deluxe (Single) | 850 | 8.46 | 1.00 |
| Small Frosty-ccino | 350 | 3.60 | 1.03 |
| Dave’s Double with Cheese | 850 | 8.80 | 1.04 |
| Jr Bacon Cheeseburger | 250 | 2.70 | 1.08 |
| Jr Cheeseburger Deluxe | 250 | 2.70 | 1.08 |
| Breakfast Baconator | 650 | 7.22 | 1.11 |
| Any Croissant Sandwich | 450 | 5.07 | 1.13 |
| Dave’s Single with Cheese | 650 | 7.67 | 1.18 |
| Son of Baconator | 650 | 7.79 | 1.20 |
| Any Chicken Sandwich ( Spicy, Grilled and Classic) | 650 | 7.90 | 1.22 |
| Any Biscuit Sandwich | 350 | 4.40 | 1.26 |
There’s a rough theme to earning free rewards. Basically, once you buy between 9 to 11 of 1 item, you’ll get the next one free.
Certain items definitely have better value than others. We give a value of 1 cent per point, but there are quite a few items have less value than that.
Our suggestion would be to stay away from these items:
- Bacanator,
- breakfast Baconator combo,
- hot coffee,
- 6 piece chicken nuggets,
- double Jr Bacon Cheeseburger, and
- small poutine.
One downside we see – you’re basically limited to small sizes when you redeem. Say you wanted a chili – you can only order a small for free since you can’t use your points to get a large.
But with that said, you can now earn free food at Wendy’s, which you couldn’t do before.
Wendy’s isn’t the only fast food chain with rewards, McDonald’s has their own program as well. Here’s how McDonald’s Rewards works.
Bottom line on Wendy’s Rewards
If you frequent Wendy’s on occasion, you can now earn points you can use towards free food and beverages at Wendy’s restaurants.
Have you started earning Wendy’s points? Gotten anything for free?
Let us know in the comments below.
FAQ
Does Wendy’s have a rewards program?
Wendy’s does have a rewards program. Launched in November 2022, you can earn points on all your food purchases which you can then use to get free food at Wendy’s restaurants.
How do you earn Wendy’s Rewards points?
At Wendy’s restaurants, you’ll earn 10 points per $1 spent pre-tax on all purchases. You don’t earn points when you buy gift cards, and you also won’t earn points if you order through a 3rd party delivery service like DoorDash, Uber Eats, or Skip The Dishes.
What can Wendy’s Rewards points be used for?
Wendy’s Rewards points can be used to purchase most items on the menu. For items with various sizes, you’ll be limited to getting a small. You also can’t use points to order most combo meals.
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