McDonald’s Introduces Customer-Loyalty Program |

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said it is rolling out a loyalty program nationally next month, the latest restaurant chain to invest in rewards for repeat customers.

The program’s introduction on July 8 comes after the fast-food giant tested it in some U.S. markets. Users will receive points on qualifying purchases that can be traded for items like hash browns, McNuggets, a large frappe or a McChicken sandwich, the company said Tuesday.

MyMcDonald’s Rewards will be available through McDonald’s app at participating restaurants. Users will get 1,500 points automatically after their first order using the rewards program. The highest of the four-tier reward categories—at 6,000 points—translates into a Big Mac, a Quarter Pounder with cheese, a Happy Meal or a bacon, egg and cheese biscuit, the company said.

Other food-and-beverage chains are pursuing similar programs to try to promote loyalty and increase visits. Also on Tuesday,

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.

updated its rewards program, enabling members to exchange points for more than 15 options including free guacamole and drinks.

Starbucks Corp.

, which has long rewarded users who frequent its cafes, said its loyalty program aided its pandemic recovery. The coffee chain said it had about 23 million active U.S. members in the quarter that ended March 28, an 18% increase from last year.

Companies also are increasingly gravitating toward loyalty programs to gain access to more first-party data in the wake of Google and

Apple Inc.’s

moves allowing people to opt out of tracking.

For the quarter ended in March, McDonald’s said online and delivery sales—to which it gave priority during the pandemic—helped lift U.S. sales. Drive-through business and a focus on menu staples have also helped propel sales in the U.S., it said. The company posted sales of $5.1 billion for the quarter, up 9% from a year earlier and more than the first quarter of 2019.

Write to Dave Sebastian at dave.sebastian@wsj.com

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