Picture a never-ending river of McNuggets, all for you. A vast lake of Shamrock shakes. A bottomless supply of Big Macs, Quarter Pounders and Egg McMuffins.
What’s that? Free McDonald’s for life, you say? Sign us up. Our arteries won’t mind, honest!
The fast-food giant just announced it’s making its fabled McGold Card the grand prize in its latest contest, meaning that you’ll have a shot at winning free Mickey D’s for the rest of your days. December will also bring plenty of meal deals like BOGO Big Macs.
Beginning Monday, Dec. 5, every time you order food in the McDonald’s app, you’ll be entered into a drawing. After Christmas, three randomly selected winners will each get a McGold Card. Each winner also gets three extra cards to hand out to friends and family.
Technically, “free McDonald’s for life” means you get two free meals a week for 50 years. Still, that’s a whole bunch of Happy Meals. We’re talking 5,200 trips to the Golden Arches.
The McGold Card is apparently something of an urban legend among followers of Ronald McDonald. A card that gets you free McDonald’s forever, woooaaahhh. Supposedly, big shots like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett each possess one of these cards.
“Our fans have been fascinated by the lore of the McGold Card and if it really exists,” said Tariq Hassan, McDonald’s chief marketing and customer experience officer.
(OK, fine, let’s assume that’s true.)
“Now we’ll make this McDonald’s legend a reality for our fans by giving them the ultimate holiday gift — a chance to win a card and then share access to it with three of their family or friends,” Hassan added.
Meal Deals and Merchandise
This new contest is centered around the McDonald’s app, which lets you order ahead and pay online. It also gives you access to exclusive deals and a rewards program.
Aside from the McGold Card drawing, McDonald’s is trying to lure customers to its app all through December with three weeks of food deals and exclusive merchandise.
The deals: They vary by day and include buy one, get one free Big Macs; free six-piece nuggets with a $1 purchase; and a 50-cent double cheeseburger. There’s a list of deals by date here.
The merch: These include a Chicken McNuggets Christmas stocking, an Egg McMuffin hoodie and a Hamburglar T-shirt. Mickey D’s says they’ll be available in “two exclusive merch drops on Dec. 7 and 14” as long as you make a $1 purchase.
Of course the grand prize in this online Big Mac attack is the McGold Card, which we think of as the biggest Happy Meal in the world. It means free McDonald’s twice a week for 50 years — of course, that’s assuming you’ll actually live for 50 years if you eat McDonald’s twice a week.
Supersize me, baby.
Mike Brassfield ([email protected]) is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder.
