Jack A. asks: Is it true that McDonalds gives out special cards that give you free food for the rest of your life? If so, how do I get one?
Like the American Express Centurion Card – a hyper-exclusive charge card only gifted to the wealthiest of individuals – there exists equivalently exclusive cards issued by both McDonald’s and Burger King granting the bearer unlimited free food for life from any establishment of the respective chain that issued them.
So who on Earth is lucky enough to own such a card and how would you possibly go about getting one yourself?Starting with McDonald’s- the company has given out cards, or at least pieces of paper, granting people free food ever since Raymond Kroc joined the McDonald’s brand in the 1950s. (See: Who is the McDonald in McDonald’s?) You see, in the earliest days of his leadership of the chain, Kroc would occasionally informally sign and gift Be Our Guest coupons to customers that were valid for a lifetime of free food (sometimes restricted to specific food items on the menu) from any McDonald’s restaurant in the world. As you might expect, as the chain rapidly grew, the value and utility of these coupons quickly skyrocketed.
According to Mitt Romney (yes, that Mitt Romney), his father was given such a coupon from Kroc after they worked together briefly in the restaurant chain’s early days. His particular coupon specifically granted the bearer with unlimited hamburgers, shakes, and French fries at any McDonald’s. McDonald’s themselves eventually confirmed the authenticity of Romney’s anecdote, but noted that they had no record of why exactly Kroc saw fit to give away a lifetime supply of those particular menu items to Romney’s father.
According to Romney, the coupon was printed on a piece of pink paper and it was always honored at every McDonald’s his father ever used it at, even though his dad told him that often nobody working at the restaurants had heard of such a thing previous to him presenting it.
Exactly how many of these coupons Kroc gave away and how many are still floating around today isn’t clear, as even McDonald’s archivists have admitted that they only know that Kroc would give them away as gifts to “various people over the years”.
In more modern times, the company has taken to handing out actual official gold cards to people that entitle them to free food. These cards may be limited to use in a single restaurant, a selection of restaurants owned by a specific franchise holder, or in some case good worldwide. They can be given away either by the franchise owner themselves or the company, with the lifespan of the cards anywhere from a year to a lifetime.
Notable people to hold (or have held) such a card include Charles Ramsey, who in 2013 famously ditched a half eaten Big Mac to help rescue three women who had for years been held captive and brutalized by one Ariel Castro, in a shockingly horrific case that came to be known as the Ariel Castro Kidnappings. The company, according to a spokeswoman, felt “compelled” to reward Ramsey after being flooded with recommendations from people that they should somehow acknowledge his heroics and the free advertising his viral interview that included mention of the Big Mac gave them. Ramsey’s gold card apparently granted him free food from local McDonald’s restaurants for a single year, with several restaurants in his home town of Ohio eventually offering to make it a lifetime pass.
A more famous holder of a lifetime card from McDonald’s is billionaire Warren Buffett, whose personal McDonald’s card grants him free McDonald’s anywhere in Omaha for the rest of his life. Buffett is so fond of the card that he claims it’s one of the few things he keeps in his wallet at all times and that “that’s why the Buffett family has Christmas dinner at McDonald’s”. The thrifty billionaire notes that the card is, practically speaking, nearly as good as one valid worldwide as he rarely leaves Omaha for extended periods. He also states he has a similar Johnny Rockets’ restaurant card that gives him and up to three guests the same perk, though he didn’t say whether this was for life.
According to Bill Gates, when Buffett does leave town and happens to eat at McDonald’s, he comes loaded with more everyday coupons. This little anecdote was revealed in the Bill and Melinda…
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