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Tims Rewards is Tim Hortons' free loyalty program in Canada, awarding 10 points for every $1 CAD spent on eligible food and beverages. Members redeem points across seven reward tiers ranging from 300 to 1,800 points for free baked goods, brewed coffee, espresso drinks, breakfast sandwiches, and lunch wraps.
How Does the Tims Rewards Program Work in Canada?
The Tims Rewards program operates on a straightforward spend-based calculation across all participating Canadian restaurants. Customers earn rewards currency automatically whenever they purchase breakfast items, baked goods, hot beverages, or lunch platters.
Earning Rate: Points per Dollar Spent
Registered members earn exactly 10 points for every $1.00 CAD spent on eligible menu items before sales taxes and delivery service surcharges. For example, spending $4.50 on a breakfast sandwich adds 45 points to your account balance, while an $8.20 combo order awards 82 points.
Points are rounded to the nearest decimal fraction based on your pre-tax total. Charitable fundraising purchases—such as the annual Smile Cookie campaign—and retail gift card activations are excluded from points earning under franchise operating policies.
Digital App vs Physical Tims Rewards Cards
Members can participate through either the official Tim Hortons mobile app on iOS and Android or via a physical plastic loyalty card picked up in-store. The mobile app offers substantial advantages, including mobile order-ahead capability, access to weekly personalized discount offers, and participation in interactive events like Roll Up To Win.
While physical plastic cards can still be tapped at cash registers and drive-thru windows, they must be registered online at timhortons.ca to redeem points beyond basic classic donuts. Unregistered physical cards will accumulate points but cannot unlock higher-tier items until linked to an active digital account profile.
Tims Rewards Redemption Tiers: What Does Each Level Unlock?
Rather than requiring arbitrary status levels or annual qualification milestones, Tims Rewards uses a transparent, points-based redemption catalog divided into seven distinct reward levels.
300 Points Tier: Classic Donuts and Pastries
The 300 points tier represents the entry-level redemption benchmark, requiring a qualifying spend of $30.00 CAD to unlock.
Eligible items include any classic yeast or cake donut (such as Honey Dip, Boston Cream, or Apple Fritter), classic cookies, crispy breakfast hash browns, or a 4-pack of Timbits. This level delivers immediate gratification for casual morning patrons seeking a sweet accompaniment to their beverage.
400 Points Tier: Brewed Coffee and Hot Tea
At 400 points ($40.00 CAD spend), members unlock the most popular redemption category in the program: hot brewed coffee and specialty hot teas.
Crucially, this tier covers any size of Original Blend, Dark Roast, or Decaf brewed coffee—from Small up to Extra Large—as well as steeped tea and whole-leaf herbal specialty teas. It also includes select specialty baked items such as artisan muffins and plain bagels without cream cheese.
600 Points Tier: French Vanilla and Iced Coffee
Reaching 600 points ($60.00 CAD spend) opens up handcrafted cold drinks and sweetened cafe classics.
Members can redeem points at this tier for any size of regular iced coffee, hot French Vanilla cappuccino, English Toffee, hot chocolate, or a freshly toasted bagel served with plain or flavoured cream cheese spread. Crispy potato wedges from the lunch menu can also be claimed at this level.
800 Points Tier: Iced Capps, Lattes, and 10-Pack Timbits
The 800 points tier ($80.00 CAD spend) unlocks the brand's signature frozen beverages, handcrafted espresso creations, and larger bakery bundles.
Popular redemptions include any size of classic Iced Capp, hot or iced lattes, flat whites, Americanos, real fruit smoothies, and a complete 10-pack box of assorted Timbits. Because large specialty espresso drinks retail for $4.29 to $4.99 CAD, this tier offers outstanding economic return.
1,100 to 1,800 Points Tiers: Breakfast Sandwiches and Lunch Items
For substantial meal savings, members can bank their points for the highest four tiers:
- 1,100 Points: Classic breakfast sandwiches on an English muffin or homestyle biscuit (sausage, bacon, or egg and cheese), hot bowls of chili, and homestyle soups.
- 1,300 Points: Premium Farmer's Breakfast Wraps, lunch wraps (such as crispy chicken or slow-cooked steak), and loaded bowls.
- 1,800 Points: Loaded dinner boxes, specialty sandwich meal platters, and specialty seasonal beverage bundles.
Points Value Matrix: Which Free Items Give the Best Return?
Not all reward redemptions yield the same monetary value per point. By comparing the retail cash price in Canadian dollars against the points required, we calculate the exact "Cents Per Point" (CPP) efficiency for key menu items.
| Reward Item | Points Required | Typical Retail Price (CAD) | Value Per Point (Cents) | Value Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extra Large Brewed Coffee | 400 | $2.49 | 0.62¢ | Excellent |
| Large Iced Capp | 800 | $4.49 | 0.56¢ | Very Good |
| Large Latte (Espresso) | 800 | $4.29 | 0.54¢ | Very Good |
| Farmer's Breakfast Wrap | 1,300 | $6.49 | 0.50¢ | Good |
| 10-Pack Timbits Box | 800 | $3.49 | 0.44¢ | Average |
| Bacon Breakfast Sandwich | 1,100 | $4.79 | 0.44¢ | Average |
| Classic Glazed Donut | 300 | $1.59 | 0.53¢ | Good |
| Medium Brewed Coffee | 400 | $2.09 | 0.52¢ | Good |
| Hot Chocolate (Large) | 600 | $2.79 | 0.47¢ | Average |
| Hash Brown | 300 | $1.99 | 0.66¢ | Outstanding |
As demonstrated above, redeeming points for breakfast hash browns, Extra Large brewed coffee, and large specialty espresso drinks maximizes your financial return, frequently exceeding 0.60 cents per point.
Best Hacks to Maximize Your Tim Hortons Rewards Points
Savvy Canadian consumers utilize several built-in program mechanics to accelerate point accumulation and extract maximum value from their everyday coffee runs.
The "Always Order Extra Large" Free Drink Rule
Tim Hortons applies a flat point requirement to beverages regardless of cup volume. A Small brewed coffee costs 400 points ($1.89 retail value), while an Extra Large brewed coffee also costs 400 points ($2.49 retail value).
Whenever you redeem points for brewed coffee, steeped tea, or an Iced Capp, always select the largest size available. You will receive significantly more liquid volume and caffeine without expending a single additional loyalty point.
Monday Personalized Bonus Point Offers
Every Monday morning, the Tim Hortons mobile app refreshes with 3 to 5 personalized promotional offers tailored to your prior transaction history. These offers routinely feature bonuses such as "Earn 60 Bonus Points when purchasing two breakfast wraps" or "Earn 40 Bonus Points on any lunch combo."
Before placing your order at the counter or drive-thru, always open the app and tap "Activate" on your active offers. Unactivated offers will not trigger bonus points at the cash register.
Claiming Your Free Annual Birthday Reward
Registered members who input their date of birth in their account profile at least 7 days before their birthday receive an exclusive digital birthday offer.
This offer awards a free eligible beverage or breakfast sandwich on your special day. The coupon is automatically loaded into your app wallet and remains valid for redemption for several days surrounding your birthday.
Do Tims Rewards Points Expire? (Official Rules & Exceptions)
Under official program terms, Tims Rewards points expire exactly 12 months from the calendar date on which they were originally earned. For example, points accumulated on November 15, 2025, will expire on November 15, 2026, if left unused.
To protect your balance from expiring:
- Check Expiration Notices in the App: Navigate to the "Points History" screen in the app, which highlights points scheduled to expire within the next 30 to 60 days.
- Auto-Redeem Setting: You can configure the app to automatically apply your points to eligible items as soon as you reach a specified threshold (such as 400 points for coffee), ensuring points are spent continuously rather than left idle.
- Account Inactivity: If an account exhibits zero transaction activity for 12 consecutive months, the entire accumulated points balance is forfeited in accordance with Canadian loyalty regulations.
How to Link and Transfer Points Between Accounts
Family members and households frequently combine their purchasing power to unlock premium reward tiers faster. The Tim Hortons digital ecosystem facilitates point pooling through account linking features.
You can link multiple physical plastic cards to a single primary digital account, allowing spouses or teenagers to scan individual cards while routing all earned points to one master family balance. Additionally, the "Tims It Forward" feature allows users to digitally gift coffee or send accumulated points directly to a friend's phone number or email address through the app interface.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Tims Rewards points do you get per dollar spent?
Members earn 10 points for every $1 CAD spent on eligible food and beverage purchases before taxes. Qualifying totals are rounded to provide accurate point credits directly to your digital account balance.
How many points do you need for a free Tim Hortons coffee?
You need 400 points to redeem a free brewed coffee or hot steeped tea in any size. Because an Extra Large coffee costs the same 400 points as a Small, ordering the largest size delivers the highest value.
Do Tims Rewards points expire after one year?
Yes, Tims Rewards points expire 12 months after the date they were earned if they are not redeemed. You can monitor upcoming expiring points in the points history section of the mobile app.
What can you get with 300 Tims Rewards points?
With 300 points, you can claim a classic donut, specialty donut, classic cookie, breakfast hash brown, or a 4-pack of Timbits. This represents the lowest redemption tier in the loyalty program.
How many points do you need for an Iced Capp or Latte?
An Iced Capp, espresso latte, cappuccino, flat white, or real fruit smoothie requires 800 points. All sizes of classic Iced Capps qualify for redemption at the 800-point level.
Can you use Tims Rewards without a smartphone?
Yes, you can use a physical plastic Tims Rewards card picked up at any participating restaurant. However, you must register the card on timhortons.ca using a computer to redeem points for items beyond basic 300-point pastries.
How do you get a free birthday reward from Tim Hortons?
You must register your birth date in your mobile app account profile at least 7 days before your birthday. Tim Hortons will automatically deposit a free birthday reward coupon into your app offers on your special day.
Can you redeem multiple free items in a single order?
Yes, you can redeem multiple reward items in a single transaction if your points balance allows, provided you activate each item in the app prior to ordering. However, certain drive-thru registers may impose a brief 30-minute cooldown on repeat back-to-back redemptions.
Are purchases made with gift cards eligible to earn points?
Yes, when you pay for your food and drinks using a Tim Hortons gift card, you still earn the standard 10 points per dollar spent. However, the initial purchase or reloading of the gift card itself does not earn points.
What is the single best value redemption in Tims Rewards?
The Extra Large brewed coffee (400 points, yielding 0.62 cents per point) and breakfast hash browns (300 points, yielding 0.66 cents per point) offer the highest financial value per point redeemed.
This is an independent guide not affiliated with Tim Hortons or Restaurant Brands International. Loyalty rules and point redemption thresholds are subject to official franchise terms. See Sources.