Marketing

Burger King is giving out cryptocurrency to loyalty members

The burger chain will give out mostly dogecoin, but some etherium or even bitcoin, to BK Royal Perks members who spend $5 or more.
Burger King bitcoin
Image courtesy of Burger King

Burger King’s hopes to lure customers to its loyalty program with a little crypto.

The burger chain plans to give out cryptocurrency to members of its Royal Perks loyalty program who spend $5 on the app, website or in the store between now and Nov. 21.

Most of the cryptocurrency being given out will be in dogecoin, worth about 27 cents according to the website Coin Market Cap. But a few customers will get cryptocurrency that is far more valuable, including a full etherium, which is worth about $4,300, or Bitcoin, currently valued at about $61,000.

Burger King is working with the investment app Robinhood Crypto on the giveaway.

The burger chain will give away a total of 20 bitcoin, 200 etherium and 2 million dogecoin.

Burger King debuted its new loyalty program earlier this year, offering rewards points to customers based on their purchases that they can exchange for burgers, sandwiches or drinks.

Companies have been pushing hard to get members to sign up, because they can market directly to those customers while getting more information on their habits. As such, many chains have used promotions, including free food or other items, to encourage membership.

But few, if any, have used cryptocurrency as an incentive. Cryptocurrency is digital currency that, for the most part, is used as an investment based on speculation that it will one day become legal tender.

That said, earlier this year Starbucks integrated bitcoin with its Starbucks Rewards loyalty program, meaning customers can load their cryptocurrency onto the app and convert it into U.S. dollars that can be spent at the chain’s locations.

Customers hoping to get some crypto from Burger King have to become BK Royal Perks members, make a $5 purchase on the app, website or using the “My Code” function at the restaurants, then wait for an email with their prize code. They then redeem that prize using a Robinhood Crypto account.

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