Does McDonald's Really Have A Senior Discount?

One of the great advantages of getting older is taking advantage of senior discounts. While the whippersnappers among us are inventing ever more convoluted McDonald's hacks to get tasty food for less (like ordering a McDouble "Big Mac-style"), elders may be wondering if they can skip all the hacks and just ask for a senior discount. After all, who doesn't want to save a little money right now?

There's no official senior discount at McDonald's on a corporate level — but that doesn't necessarily mean one doesn't exist at your local Golden Arches. Of the tens of thousands of McDonald's locations in the world, the vast majority are franchise locations, which means it's the prerogative of the franchisee to determine if they want to offer specific promotions. Consequently, discounts for military members, teachers, first responders, and, yes, seniors, are up to the people running your local Mickey D's. The good news is that many franchises do, in fact, opt in to senior perks. The bad news is these discounts are often just special prices on drinks, which may or may not be what you're looking for.

If you make a daily ritual of hanging out in the dining room at McDonald's with your closest golden girls, a deal on morning coffee may be right up your alley. A discount on a "senior coffee" is a common one at McDonald's. Deals on fountain sodas may also be up for grabs, depending on your location. McDonald's Coke always tastes amazing, so this is nice.

Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be much of a precedent for franchisees offering senior discounts on meals or any other type of freebies or perks. The age for accessing the senior discount at McDonald's is, again, up to the folks running the location. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the minimum age ranges from 55 to 60.

Seniors may find they actually get better discounts on their meals at McDonald's by taking advantage of the chain's app. Not only does the app offer daily discounts and BOGO deals to the tech-savvy, but ordering through the app racks up points that you can redeem for free food. And "free" is a word that folks of all ages love to hear.