Tims Rewards Guide 2026 – Points Values, Tiers & App Tips

Tims Rewards is free, it’s on your phone, and if you buy Tim Hortons more than twice a month, you’re leaving money on the table by not using it. That’s the short version.

The long version is messier — because the internet’s Tims Rewards guides are full of stale and wrong claims. Two of the biggest guides state the wrong expiry rule. Three still recommend the Tims Mastercard, which ended October 1, 2026. One says Roll Up 2026 had no physical cups (false — the cups came back). So this guide does what the others don’t: current 2026 mechanics, the real per-point math, the traps, and every claim tagged by confidence.

How Tims Rewards actually works

The program is simple at its core: 10 points for every $1 you spend before tax, with a $0.10 minimum. The rounding is done per ten cents — $2.85 earns 29 points, $2.43 earns 24 (that’s from the official TimShop terms, not a guess). Points post within about 24 hours.

How you earn matters more than the rate:

• Scan before you pay. Open the app (or tap your Tims Card) and scan before the transaction. Points attach at the moment of purchase — receipts can’t be credited after the fact. Forgot to scan? Your only recourse is contacting support with the receipt.
• Order in the app, earn automatically. Mobile orders attach points with no scanning needed.
• Registered card required to redeem. An unlinked physical card earns points but can’t spend them until you link it in the app.
• No points on: gift card purchases or reloads, taxes, and delivery tips.
• Third-party delivery earns nothing. Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Skip orders earn zero Tims points and run their own pricing. The in-app Tims Delivery does earn points — and charges in-restaurant prices.

The 7 reward tiers

Redemption is item-based, not cash — you trade points for specific menu items at fixed tiers. All sizes cost the same points, which is the single most important sentence in this guide: always redeem the largest size.

What a point is actually worth

No competitor computes this against current prices, so here it is. A Tims point is worth roughly 0.34 to 0.66 cents depending on what you redeem it for. Since you earn 10 points per dollar, that’s an effective 3.4% to 6.6% back on your spending.

The best redemptions (highest cents per point):

• Hash brown at 300 points — ~0.66¢/pt, the best in the program
• XL tea or XL brewed coffee at 400 points — ~0.65¢/pt (this is why “always redeem the largest size” matters)
• XL French vanilla at 600 points — ~0.60¢/pt

The traps (worst cents per point):

• Espresso/latte drinks at 800 points — ~0.44¢/pt. A latte is the worst way to spend points in the entire program. Pay cash for lattes, always.
• Breakfast sandwich at 1,100 points — ~0.39–0.45¢/pt. Fine as food, bad as a points play.

The $40 coffee rule: a 400-point brewed coffee requires $40 in spending (400 ÷ 10 points per dollar). The old visit-based program gave you a free coffee for about $3.50 in spending — and rival QSR programs hand you one at roughly $20. Tims is the stingiest major coffee program in Canada on the headline redemption. The program is still worth using (it’s free money), but go in with open eyes.

Rough annual math for a regular: $50/month, scanning every time, is 6,000 points a year — about 15 free coffees, or $30–50 in value. Activate the personalized offers and always redeem large sizes, and that pushes toward $50–80.

The redemption rules that trip people up

These are scattered across competitor pages and never assembled in one place. Here they are:

• Redemption is app-only. The cashier cannot redeem points for you — you trigger it in the app, then scan.
• One item per transaction. Want two free items? That’s two separate transactions.
• 30-minute gap between redemption transactions.
• One offer or redemption per transaction. Two personalized offers need two orders.
• Activate offers BEFORE ordering. Personalized offers are built from your purchase history and must be tapped active before you pay — they don’t apply retroactively.
• No pooling. Points can’t be transferred or combined between accounts.

Expiry: the rule two big guides get wrong

Here’s a contradiction nobody has called out. Two major guides claim your points’ expiry clock resets with account activity — buy something and the countdown restarts. That’s wrong.

The official terms: points expire 12 months after the month you earned them, and nothing resets the clock. Earn points on November 15, 2024, and they expire December 1, 2025 — whether you buy coffee every day or never come back. Check what’s expiring in the app under Rewards → History → Expiring points.

Birthday and welcome offers

Birthday: add your date of birth at least 7 days before your birthday, and have scanned at least once in the previous 12 months. The offer appears 2 days before your birthday at 8am. What’s in it varies by account — reports range from Timbits/donut to a free drink or breakfast sandwich. (That’s from the official help articles; the exact item is the one gray area.)

Welcome: new accounts reportedly get a free medium hot espresso drink in the first week — single-source, treat as gray until you see it in your own app.

The Tims app: what it actually does

• Scan & Pay — pay, earn, and redeem in one scan. This is the whole program in one gesture.
• Mobile order ahead — pickup at counter or drive-thru, dine-in, or delivery. Note: some locations (airports, hospitals, campuses) let you scan but don’t take app orders.
• Personalized offers — weekly deals built from your purchase history. Must be activated before ordering. Because they’re per-account, any site publishing “this week’s Tims deals” as universal is guessing.
• Favourites and one-tap reorder — save your customized orders (handy for the secret menu builds).
• Tims Card management — balances, top-ups, merging cards.
• Contests — Roll Up To Win and the NHL Hockey Challenge live in the app.
• Canada ≠ US app. They’re separate listings — wrong region, wrong menu and offers.

One more thing the app doesn’t do: coupons. There are no Tims coupon codes in Canada — the app and its personalized offers are the discount program. Any site selling you “Tim Hortons promo codes” is selling you nothing.

Devaluation history: how we got here

The Mastercard is dead — update your bookmarks

The Tims Rewards Mastercard (15 points per $1 at Tims, 5 on groceries/gas/transit) ended October 1, 2026, per Neo Financial. Points already earned stay redeemable in the app; the card simply stops earning. Three major guides still recommend it as a live card — if you’re reading this after October 2026, any “get the Tims Mastercard” advice is stale.

Triangle × Tims: the new stacking play

Since September 2026, you can link Triangle (Canadian Tire) and Tims Rewards for up to 5% back in CT Money: 2% base for linking, +2% paying with a Triangle credit card, +1% when the Triangle card is your Scan & Pay method. Exclusions apply — catering, Smile Cookies, bottled drinks, specialty items, merchandise, and often hospital/airport/university locations. CT Money redeems at Canadian Tire banners, not at Tims. It’s the best earn accelerator left standing after the Mastercard’s death.

Roll Up To Win 2026: the one correction

The 40th-anniversary Roll Up ran February 23 – March 22, 2026, as a hybrid: physical rim rolls returned (they came back in 2025) alongside digital rolls in the app — 30M+ prizes including 8M+ donuts and 17M+ coffees. One major guide’s FAQ still claims 2026 was “all fully digital, no physical cups.” It wasn’t. App orders doubled the digital roll; reusable cups earned a bonus roll.

The personalized offers game

The weekly personalized offers are where the real money is — often better than the base earn rate. They’re built from your purchase history (buy a lot of iced capps, get iced capp offers), they must be activated in the app before you order, and they’re one per transaction. The routine that maximizes them: open the app once a week, activate everything, and plan your visits around the offers rather than the other way around. Because they’re per-account, treat any site’s “this week’s Tims offers” list as entertainment — yours will differ.

Is Tims Rewards worth it?

Yes, with open eyes. It’s free, it’s 3.4–6.6% back if you redeem sensibly, and the app ordering alone is worth the install. It’s not worth it if you visit less than twice a month (your points will expire before they matter) or if you’re chasing the headline free coffee — $40 in spending per coffee is the worst ratio among major Canadian QSR programs. Use it for the 300–400 point tiers, pay cash for lattes, activate your offers, and link Triangle while you’re at it.

One last honesty note: loyalty programs are designed to change your behavior, not reward it. The points nudge you toward the drive-thru instead of the competitor across the street — that’s the business model, and the February 2023 devaluation ($3.50 → $40 per free coffee) is the receipt. Use the program; don’t let the program use you.

Frequently asked questions

How much are Tims Rewards points worth?

Roughly 0.34 to 0.66 cents each, depending on what you redeem for — which works out to 3.4%–6.6% back on spending. Hash browns (300 pts) and XL coffees/teas (400 pts) are the best value; espresso drinks at 800 points are the worst.

How many points for a free coffee at Tim Hortons?

400 points for a brewed coffee or tea — any size, so always redeem the XL. That takes $40 in spending at 10 points per dollar.

Do Tims Rewards points expire?

Yes — 12 months after the month you earned them. Buying more does not reset the clock, despite what two major guides claim. Check Rewards → History → Expiring points in the app.

Can I redeem Tims Rewards at the counter?

No — redemption is app-only. The cashier can’t do it for you. You trigger the redemption in the app, then scan.

Why didn’t I get points for my order?

The usual reasons: you scanned after paying (points attach at transaction time), you ordered through Uber Eats/DoorDash/Skip (zero points), or it was a gift card purchase/reload (excluded). Receipts can’t be credited after the fact — contact support with the receipt.

What happened to the Tims Mastercard?

The program ended October 1, 2026 (Neo Financial). Existing points remain redeemable in the app; the card no longer earns. Guides still recommending it are out of date.

Can I share or transfer Tims Rewards points?

No — points can’t be pooled or transferred between accounts.

Do I get points for catering orders?

Qualifying catering purchases earn Tims points (one source) — but note the Triangle linked program explicitly excludes catering from CT Money. The two programs have different rules.

Is there a Tims Rewards program in the US?

Yes, with the same 10 points per dollar — but far fewer locations, and the Canadian and US apps are separate listings. Don’t cross the border expecting your offers to follow you.

What’s the best Tims Rewards redemption?

A hash brown at 300 points (~0.66¢ per point) or an XL brewed coffee/tea at 400 points. The 300–400 point tiers are the sweet spot; the 800-point espresso tier is the trap.