Burger King Royal Perks: Best Values, Free Fries, And More

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From its 70+ redeemable menu items to its generous offers and awesome promos, Burger King Royal Perks is one Whopper of a customer rewards program.

Royal Perks officially launched in September 2021, amid a slew of other fast-food chains either revamping or launching their own loyalty strategies.

The new program may not offer the best cash back rates on purchases, but it nails virtually everything else, highlighted by its weekly free french fries offer.

Let’s take a deeper look at Royal Perks, including a step-by-step guide on getting started, how to use your points most effectively, and whether it’s better than the rewards program offered by its fierce rival McDonald’s.

How to become a Burger King Royal Perks member

Royal Perks is a free rewards program, which can be accessed from either desktop or mobile.

Burger King Royal Perks App

To get started, go to either BK.com or search for the Burger King app, available for both iOS and Android mobile devices. Next:

  1. Click/tap “Sign Up” in the upper right-hand corner
  2. Enter your first name and email address, and agree to the terms
  3. Click/tap on the little hamburger menu (top-left), and select “Please verify your email.”
  4. Once that’s done, we recommend going to “Account Info,” and at least entering your birthday, so that you can receive special birthday offers.

From the detective’s desk: While you never technically have to download the Burger King mobile app, you’ll want it handy if you want to earn loyalty points on in-person purchases.

You may also want to add your payment info at this time. This is especially recommended if you’re going to place mobile orders. The app accepts credit/debit cards, Google Pay (Android only), and Apple Pay (iOS only). Members can also transfer gift card (Crown Card) balances to the app.

That’s it. Welcome aboard.

How do Burger King Royal Perks work?

Royal Perks is a straightforward rewards program that offers members several ways to earn free or discounted burgers, french fries, sweets, and much more.

The program is completely free to join, and once you create an account, you’re automatically enrolled.

Royal Perks Burger King Benefits

Earning Crowns

It pays to be a loyal customer at Burger King. As a Royal Perks member, every time you make an eligible purchase, you will receive a number of Crowns, which can later be redeemed for free food.

Crowns are awarded at a rate of 10 Crowns per $1 spent on menu items, after discounts, and before tax. The only purchases that aren’t eligible are Crown Gift Cards and voided or refunded purchases.

If you place an order for pickup, drive-thru, or delivery through the BK app, your Crowns will automatically be applied to your account. Burger King says that it may take up to 48 hours for your Crowns to show up, but we find that the turnaround time is much faster.

Members can also earn Crowns on in-person transactions. To receive credit:

  1. Open up the BK app at the point of purchase.
  2. Go to “My Code” located on the bottom menu bar.
  3. Present the six-digit code to the cashier.

Unlike other fast-food loyalty programs, Burger King Royal Perks doesn’t make use of QR codes. This is a double-edged sword. Presenting a QR code is faster, but manually inputted codes are more reliable.

Redeeming Crowns

Once you’ve accumulated at least 250 points, you can start redeeming them. Burger King offers a massive list of redemption items, currently totaling over 70. That’s more than any other comparable loyalty program.

Everything from breakfast sandwiches, burgers, fries, treats, beverages, sides, and chicken sandwiches can be purchased using Crowns.

Redeeming Royal Perks
Two fries cheeseburgers and fries? Don’t mind if I do.

The one notable exception is that you cannot redeem Crowns for combo meals. This is par for the course among fast-food loyalty apps, but it’s still a bummer since you end up paying more for individual items than you would a combo.

To redeem items simply open the app and go to “Rewards”. Choose the item that you desire, and select whether you want to redeem it as part of a mobile order, or in-person.

If you’re redeeming it at a restaurant, then you’ll need to show the cashier your 6-digit code, just like you would when earning Crowns.

Combining Royal Perks offers and redemptions

Some loyalty programs are strict about how many free menu items and offers you can redeem at once. Thankfully, Burger King takes a more lenient approach.

Royal Perks allows members to spend their Crowns how they want, and when they want. If you want to stack several rewards at once, you can. You can even combine rewards with offers, but you are limited to only one offer per transaction.

Royal Perks has six rewards tiers: 250, 400, 550, 750, 1000, and 1400+. At the lower tiers, you’ll mostly find sides and value menu items, with the higher tiers showcasing premier sandwiches like the Double Whopper, Impossible Whopper, and the Fully Loaded Croissan’wich.

Burger King Royal Perks offers

Members of Royal Perks also receive an abundance of generous offers. The deals begin as soon as you register, as new members currently get an extra 250 Crowns on their first purchase.

That’s enough for a cheeseburger, value french fries, chicken jr, or a sausage biscuit.

Burger King usually runs over a dozen promos at any given time. You’ll find deals like:

  • BOGO: Buy one sandwich, get one free
  • Bonus Points: Get 50-100 bonus points on your next purchase(s)
  • Discounted combo meals: Sometimes the whole meal will be discounted, other times the discount will be applied to just a sandwich and fries.
  • Whopper Wednesdays: Snag a Whopper or Impossible Whopper for just $3
  • $5 snack boxes: Includes a cheeseburger, 8pc nugget, small fries, and a small drink
  • Family bundles: Have a lot of mouths to feed? Get significant discounts on large purchases.

Burger King Royal Perks Deals

To redeem an offer, just tap on the “Offers” icon, select the one you want and either apply it to your mobile order or in-restaurant purchase. If you select a second offer, it will override the first, so make sure to select the deal that you’re really craving.

Royal Perks: Free fries every week

Burger King also runs special limited-time promotions. These change somewhat frequently and tend to offer extraordinary value.

Right now, members can claim free fries weekly with any purchase. As long as the subtotal is at least $0.01, a small, medium or large fries can be yours.

Around us, a large fries runs about $4. Not a bad freebie if you’re already planning on eating at BK anyway.

Royal Perks Free Any Size Fries

This offer is good once per week until the end of 2022, at which time we’re expecting it to be replaced with another flame-broiled deal.

The free fries can be redeemed online or in person, but they’re not valid on delivery orders. Sadly, residents of Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. territories are also ineligible.

Royal Perks birthday rewards

With most loyalty programs, you’re lucky to get a free cookie on your birthday. Burger King one-ups the competition, by offering members double points throughout their entire birthday month.

Now, if you rarely visit Burger King, this offer falls a bit flat. However, frequent fliers will get a ton of extra mileage out of their rewards.

As we’ll soon see, Crowns work out to about a 4-9% return on investment, depending on the menu item you redeem them for. During your birthday month, you’ll get an 8-18% kickback. That’s pretty juicy.

Free daily upsizing

Another big benefit of Royal Perks is its free upsizing promo. Once per day, members can upsize a small or medium fries, hash browns, fountain drink, or regular/iced coffee for free. If you like to go large, this is the promo for you.

Unfortunately, you cannot upsize rewards items, only items that you actually purchase. Also, your Crown earnings will be based on the price of the original item, not the upsized one. These are small nitpicks for what is otherwise an awesome perk.

Burger King Royal Perks: Best values

Whopper and Double Whopper

The value of your Crowns depends on how you use them. The cash back rates are all over the place, with some redemptions offering a far better rate than others.

Take a look at this sortable table of all 71 items in the “Rewards” section to get an idea:

Burger King Royal Perks rewards: Cash back (%)

ItemPrice (May Vary)Rewards Points CostCash back (%)
Cheeseburger$1.792507.16%
Value French Fries$1.592506.36%
Sausage Biscuit$1.892507.56%
Burrito Jr.$1.892507.56%
Chicken Jr.$1.792507.16%
4pc Nuggets$1.392505.56%
3pc French Toast$1.492505.96%
Hamburger$1.692506.76%
Small Hash Browns$1.692506.76%
Small Hot Coffee$1.392505.56%
Small Vanilla Iced Coffee$2.192508.76%
Small Frozen Fanta Wild Cherry$1.002504.00%
Small Frozen Coke$1.002504.00%
4pc Jalapeno Cheddar Bites$1.692506.76%
Value Onion Rings$1.892507.56%
Soft Serve Cone$1.692506.76%
Soft Serve Cup$1.692506.76%
Value Soft Drinks$1.492505.96%
Capri Sun Apple Juice$2.192508.76%
Bacon Cheeseburger$2.294005.73%
Double Cheeseburger$2.594006.48%
Small Fries$3.194007.98%
5pc French Toast$4.0940010.23%
Medium Hash Browns$2.794006.98%
Hersey's Sundae Pie$2.594006.48%
Small Soft Drinks$2.994007.48%
Large Coffee$2.694006.73%
Medium Coffee$2.294005.73%
Medium Vanilla Iced Coffee$2.494006.23%
8pc Jalapeno Cheddar Bites$3.194007.98%
Fat Free Milk$1.994004.98%
Mozzarella Sticks 4pc$1.694004.23%
Small Onion Rings$3.194007.98%
Simply Orange Juice$2.194005.48%
Whopper Jr.$3.794009.48%
8pc Nuggets$1.994004.98%
Egg & Cheese Biscuit$4.895508.89%
Double Bacon Cheeseburger$3.295505.98%
Egg & Cheese Croissan'wich$4.895508.89%
Medium French Fries$3.495506.35%
Large Hashbrowns$3.295505.98%
Large Vanilla Iced Coffee$2.895505.25%
Large French Fries$4.095507.44%
Large Onion Rings$4.095507.44%
Medium Onion Rings$3.495506.35%
Pancake Platter$2.195503.98%
Whopper Jr. W/ Cheese$4.095507.44%
Medium Soft Drinks$3.395506.16%
Large Soft Drinks$3.695506.71%
Sausage, Egg & Cheese Biscuit$4.897506.52%
9pc Chicken Fries$5.697507.59%
Bacon, Egg & Cheese Croissan'wich$4.897506.52%
Ham, Egg & Cheese Croissan'wich$4.897506.52%
Sausage, Egg & Cheese Croissan'wich$4.897506.52%
8pc Mozzarella Sticks$4.197505.59%
Chocolate Shake$3.897505.19%
Oreo Cookie Shake$3.997505.32%
Vanilla Shake$3.697504.92%
Whopper$6.697508.92%
Ch'King$5.697507.59%
Spicy Ch'King$5.697507.59%
Big Fish$5.9910005.99%
Egg Normous Burrito$8.9910008.99%
Double Sausage, Egg & Cheese Croissan'wich$8.8910008.89%
Fully Loaded Croissan'wich$6.8910006.89%
Impossible Whopper$7.6910007.69%
Original Chicken Sandwich$6.8910006.89%
Whopper W/ Cheese$7.3910007.39%
Bacon King$8.1914005.85%
Double Whopper W/ Cheese$8.2914005.92%
Double Whopper$7.6914005.49%

From this data, we were able to make a few important observations. Just keep in mind that prices may be different in your area, so not everyone’s data will look the same:

  • The average cash back rate across all menu items is 6.71%. The best rewards tier to redeem from is the 1,000 Crowns tier, at 7.53% cash back. The worst is the 1,400 tier (5.75%).
  • The best sandwiches to spend your Crowns on are the Whopper Jr. (9.48%) and the Whopper (8.92%). You just can’t beat traditional.
  • Breakfast lovers are best off redeeming Crowns for an Egg Normous Burrito, Egg & Cheese Biscuit, Egg & Cheese Croissan’wich, or Double Sausage, Egg & Cheese Croissan’wich. All return nearly 9% cash back.
  • Medium fries can be redeemed for the same number of Crowns as large fries (400). Get the large and share them with a loved one. Or better yet, just claim the free weekly fries.

The top five best values are:

  1. 5pc French Toast* (10.23%)
  2. Whopper Jr. (9.48%)
  3. Egg Normous Burrito (8.99%)
  4. Whopper (8.92%)
  5. Egg & Cheese Biscuit (8.89%)

*The 5pc French Toast doesn’t really provide the best value, because it costs more than double the 3pc (At least in our area). The high price artificially inflates the cash back rate, which should be closer to 6-7%.

And here’s a list of menu items that provide the worst value:

  1. Pancake Platter (3.98%)
  2. Small Frozen Cone (4.00%)
  3. Small Frozen Fanta Wild Cherry (4.00%)
  4. Mozzarella Sticks 4pc (4.23%)
  5. Vanilla Shake (4.98%)

Other solid redemptions include Small Fries or Onion Rings (7.98%), an Impossible Whopper (7.69%), and a regular or spicy Ch’King (7.59%).

Burger King Royal Perks FAQ

What’s better? Royal Perks or McDonald’s Rewards?

Both rewards programs are excellent with few flaws. McDonald’s Rewards is the clear winner when it comes to point redemption values. Depending on the item you redeem points for, you’ll receive a 7 – 19% return on your investment. That blows away Burger King, which offers users an average of under 7%.

However, Burger King has a lot more rewards items to choose from, over 70 compared to just 16.

Turning to deals, McDonald’s weekly offers also provide a smidge more value than Burger King’s, but the latter’s free upsizing and free fries promos bridge the gap.

If McDonald’s Rewards allowed members to redeem more than one item per visit, we’d give them the edge, but they don’t and Royal Perks does. Call this one a tie.

Is Burger King Royal Perks free?

Yes. Royal Perks is 100% free to join and enjoy.

Do Royal Perks Crowns ever expire?

Crowns expire after 180 days of inactivity, but as long as you make at least one eligible purchase during that time, the expiration period will reset.

Can you earn Burger King Crowns on deliveries?

As long as you place an order through the BK app or on BK.com, you will receive Crowns on deliveries.

However, if you order BK directly from third-party delivery services like DoorDash and Uber Eats, you will not receive Crowns.

Sometimes, it’ll still be worth using these services for BK deliveries, particularly if you’re a DashPass or Uber One member, and there’s some sort of promotion running.

Just remember, that no matter how you have BK delivered, you will pay upcharges.

How do you use a Crown Gift Card on the BK app?

Customers are free to link their gift cards to their Royal Perks app. To do this:

  1. Open up the BK app, and go to the main menu
  2. Select “Payment Methods”
  3. Select “Add a Crown Card”
  4. Enter the Crown Card number, and tap “Save & Continue”

All funds will be transferred to your BK app balance, and you will earn Crowns on mobile orders paid with your Crown Card.

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