I received £10,000 after discovering a gold Ronald Card from McDonald’s – here is what I’m doing with the cash

A winner of one of ten £10,000 prizes available at McDonald’s via its trading cards promotion told This is Money she had ‘never won anything in her life’ until now. 

Nicoleta, 25, who lives in Kings Lynn, Norfolk, said she is a regular McDonald’s customer, eating there twice a month. 

The mother-of-one, who does not want her surname published and works as an auditor in food manufacturing, had seen an advert on the chain’s app about its Cards promotion and prize offerings. 

On selected meals, customers can receive a pack of four trading cards, offering free food all the way up to £10,000 prizes. 

‘I ordered the delivery via the McDonald’s app and it came from the restaurant at Campbells Meadow near where I live’, Nicoleta said.

‘I ordered the Big Mac cards meal and one Happy Meal for my son.’ 

On realising she had won one of only ten rare Ronald Card £10,000 prizes, Nicoleta said she ‘couldn’t believe it at first.’

Winner: Ronald Card winner Nicoleta told This is Money she had ‘never won anything in her life’ until now

She said: ‘I opened the packet while eating and thought I’d won free food or something, but when I read the back saying I had won £10,000, I thought I’d have to collect more to win the prize or that it must be a trick.

‘I’ve never ever in my life won something, maybe just a £5 on a lottery scratch card but £10,000 was something else. 

‘I didn’t actually believe it until I saw it in my bank. I’ve never considered myself a lucky person until this happened.’

Nicoleta said the money is heading straight into a trust fund she is building for her son. 

On a 10 year investing outlook for her son, with returns of 5 per cent, £10,000 would mean a total of £16,470 at the end of 10 years.

On a meatier 8 per cent return, it would be £22,196. If Nicoleta can add £50 a month over that 10 year outlook, total returns would reach £24,234 or £31,343 respectively.

McDonald’s told This is Money that, to date, six of the ten Ronald Cards had been claimed by customers. 

Aside from Nicoleta’s win in Norfolk, other locations where the Ronald Cards have been claimed include Manchester, Milton Keynes, Greater Manchester and Oxfordshire. 

While only 10 Ronald Cards are available in total, and four left to be claimed, plenty of McDonald’s customers are winning other prizes. 

Seventy-five customers have claimed a £1,000 cash prize, while 160 customers have won a free McDonald’s meal each week for a year, the fast-food chain said. 

A further 915 customers have claimed a £100 cash prize, while 3,689 have claimed a £50 cash prize. 

Last month, McDonald’s started dishing out themed trading cards when customers buy certain meal deals in Britain.  

The cards comes with a Big Mac, Double Big Mac, Double Big Mac with Bacon, nine McNuggets, nine Spicy McNuggets, or the McPlant, when served with a side and a drink.

Any meal in the deal purchased comes with a pack of four McDonald’s cards. There are 25 hand-illustrated cards in the range to be collected in total.

Twenty-four of the cards are split across four categories: Characters, Fans, Retro and Legendary, with the Legendary ones having holographic features.

Names of the cards range from Fry Girl to Gherkin Transfer and Can I Take Your Order? 

There is also the special Ronald chase card, making 25 in total. 

When diners get a character card, and there is one in every pack, they will earn a specific reward.

For instance, anyone who gets a Fry Girl Card can get free fries, while a Birdie card will get you a free single McMuffin.

If diners successfully collect a set of cards, and log them in the McDonald’s app, they will earn further rewards.

Card packs are being issued with selected meals until 27 April 2026, subject to availability and serving times.