McDonald’s launches buying and selling playing cards with chosen meals – and a few of the rarest are already listed on eBay for HUGE sums

McDonald’s has tapped into the surge of interest around trading cards and this week launched packets of their own designs with selected meals.

And already some of the fast-food chain’s cards are listed for sale on online marketplaces for more than £40 – and in some examples, north of £150.

On Tuesday, it 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 a special chase card, making 25 in total. The rarest and most sought-after card is the chase card, known as the Ronald Card. 

If a diner finds a Ronald Card in their meal deal, they will receive a £10,000 prize in cash. Only 10 Ronald Cards exist 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 from 17 March until 27 April 2026, subject to availability and serving times. 

And a selection of cards in the Legendary category at McDonald’s have already been listed on eBay for £40 or more, This is Money has discovered

One ‘McDonalds Cards Order 000 Legendary Card 04/24 NM/M VERY RARE Unredeemed’ is on sale for £52.70 via eBay, attracting 140 views today. 

Another ‘McDonald’s Legendary Order 000 Card’ is on sale for £42.10 on eBay, drawing in 163 views today. 

A seller on eBay is also vying to sell the ‘McDonald’s 2026 TCG Promo Card Multimixer (legendary rarity) London Card Show’ for £177.50, with a £3.94 delivery charge for sellers to fork out on top. 

It’s worth pointing out here that items can be listed for any price on eBay, and cards are only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

Currently, given the trading card launch is only a day old, it remains to be seen how much some of these legendary cards actually sell for on online platforms. 

McDonald’s has partnered with The Pokémon Company to give away collectable cards in the past, this new offering is the first iteration of a McDonald’s trading card game. 

Hannah Pain, marketing director at McDonald’s UK, said: ‘McDonald’s has a rich history of collecting and the more we dug into this, the more we found – from Coke glasses to character memorabilia. 

‘Fast forward to 2026, and our McDonald’s cards promotion is a total celebration of that. 

‘We’ve turned memories and iconic features of the brand into something really tangible – 24 unique cards that earn fans free food items, merch and cash.’

Trading cards, including Pokémon, sports cards and Disney are seeing a boom in interest in recent years.

Last month, US influencer Logan Paul sold a rare Pikachu card for nearly $16.5million – or £12million – after 41 days of furious bidding.

He snapped that card up for £3.8million in July 2021, a return of more than 200 per cent in under five years.