A&W Rewards Menu & Prices: Best Value Items (2026)

🍔 A&W Rewards At-A-Glance

Program: A&W Rewards (free to join in the A&W app)
Earn Rate: 10 points per $1 spent (subtotal before tax)
Where It Works: A&W restaurants across Canada, by ordering in the app or scanning your QR code in the restaurant
Points Expiry: 12 months after you earn them
Reward Tiers: 300, 600, 900 and 1,500 points
Best Value: Regular A&W Root Beer (300 points), or the Mama Combo for a full meal (1,500 points)
Prices Checked: October 1, 2026 at 450 Robson Street, Vancouver (pickup)

I've tried most of the A&W menu over the years (the full list is at the bottom of this post). So when I opened the A&W app and saw 1,673 points sitting there, I got curious. Which A&W Rewards item is actually the best deal?

For the record, I don't build up my points by paying full price. Most of mine come from the A&W mailer coupons that land in our mailbox, which I use for discounted burgers and combos. The points quietly pile up in the background.

I went through the whole rewards menu, matched every item to its regular price, and did the math. Here's what I found.

The Short Answer: What's the Best Value on A&W Rewards?

The regular A&W Root Beer gives you the most value per point. It costs 300 points and is worth $3.19 on the regular menu, which works out to about 1.06¢ per point. If you want a proper meal with a side, the Mama Combo (a Mama Burger, Russet Thick-Cut Fries and an A&W Root Beer) is the easiest way to get a burger, a side and a drink in one redemption, at about 0.93¢ per point.

The weakest picks are the Teen Burger (about 0.33¢ per point) and the Buddy Burger (about 0.50¢ per point). They're two of the cheaper burgers on the menu, so you're spending a lot of points for not much food.

How A&W Rewards Works

Joining: It's free through the A&W app for anyone 13 and older.
Earning: You earn 10 points for every $1 spent on your order subtotal (before tax and after discounts). That works for app orders or when you scan your in-app QR code at the restaurant.
Delivery: Third-party delivery orders don't earn points.
Redeeming: Rewards come in four tiers (300, 600, 900 and 1,500 points), and you can redeem up to three reward items per order.
Expiry: Points expire 12 months after you earn them.

Here's a simple way to think about it. At 10 points per $1, earning 1,500 points means spending $150. A reward worth 1¢ per point gives you back roughly 10% of what you spent. Most of the useful A&W rewards land between 6% and 10%, while the weakest ones dip down to 3% to 5%.

A&W Rewards Menu With Prices and Value Per Point

To compare everything fairly, I used this formula: regular menu price ÷ points × 100 = cents per point. The list is sorted from best value to worst. The top three are highlighted.

1. Regular A&W Root Beer
300 points · $3.19 menu price · 1.06¢ per point (10.6% back)
2. Kids' Pack (chicken buddy burger or chicken strips)*
900 points · $8.87 menu price · 0.99¢ per point (9.9% back)
3. Mama Combo (burger, fries and root beer)
1,500 points · $13.89 menu price · 0.93¢ per point (9.3% back)
4. Mama Burger
900 points · $7.69 · 0.85¢ per point (8.5% back)
5. Hash Brown
300 points · $2.49 · 0.83¢ per point (8.3% back)
6. Small Coffee
300 points · $2.39 · 0.80¢ per point (8.0% back)
7. Russet Thick-Cut Fries
600 points · $4.49 · 0.75¢ per point (7.5% back)
8. Onion Rings
900 points · $6.19 · 0.69¢ per point (6.9% back)
9. Apple Turnover
300 points · $1.99 · 0.66¢ per point (6.6% back)
10. Chubby Chicken Burger
1,500 points · $8.99 · 0.60¢ per point (6.0% back)
11. Buddy Burger
600 points · $2.99 · 0.50¢ per point (5.0% back)
12. Teen Burger
1,500 points · $4.99 · 0.33¢ per point (3.3% back)

Prices are regular menu prices before tax, checked on October 1, 2026 at the 450 Robson Street location in Vancouver. Prices and availability can vary by restaurant. *The Kids' Pack reward lets you choose a Kids' Buddy Burger, Kids' Chicken Buddy Burger or Kids' Chicken Strips. The chicken versions are $8.87 on the regular menu. The Kids' Buddy Burger version is $7.37 (about 0.82¢ per point). The reward version lists fewer calories than the regular menu packs, so it may not include everything the regular pack does.

A few rewards didn't have a price I could compare. The Small Latte (600 points) and Small Fruit Smoothie (900 points) are only available at Brew Bar locations. The Classic Bacon & Eggs Combo (1,500 points) is a breakfast item and can only be redeemed until 11:00 AM.

Best Ways to Spend 1,500 Points

Since you can redeem up to three items per order, you don't have to use all 1,500 points on one thing. These are the combinations that gave me the most food for the points:

Kids' Pack + 2 regular root beers: about $15.25 of food (1.02¢ per point). It's the best raw value, but it's a kids' meal.
Mama Burger + 2 regular root beers: about $14.07 (0.94¢ per point).
Mama Combo: $13.89 (0.93¢ per point). This is the easiest way to get a burger, a side and a drink in one redemption.
Mama Burger + root beer + hash brown: about $13.37 (0.89¢ per point).
Mama Burger + Russet Thick-Cut Fries: about $12.18 (0.81¢ per point).

If you're sitting at around 1,800 points, you could redeem two Mama Burgers for about $15.38 of food (0.85¢ per point).

I've written about a few of these before if you want to see them: the Mama Burger, the Teen Burger, and the Onion Rings and Russet Thick-Cut Fries.

Tips to Get More Out of Your A&W Rewards Points

Skip the low-value redemptions. The Teen Burger and Buddy Burger give the least back per point, unless you really want one.
Use your points before they expire. They expire 12 months after you earn them, and a so-so redemption beats losing points.
Stack your rewards. You can redeem up to three items in one order, so a burger plus a couple of drinks or sides works well.
Pair your rewards with mailer coupons. This is how I earn most of my points. Points are earned on your subtotal after discounts, so a coupon order earns slightly fewer points than a full-price one, but you pay less up front. I'm happy with that trade.
Check your location first. Some rewards, like the Small Latte and Small Fruit Smoothie, are only at Brew Bar locations, and prices can differ between restaurants.

Is A&W Rewards Worth It?

It's not the most generous loyalty program out there. Most rewards give back about 6% to 10% of what you spent, and the best ones just barely clear 10%. But it's free to join, and if you're already grabbing a Mama Burger or Teen Burger regularly, the points add up quickly. Pick your redemptions carefully (root beer, Mama Burger and the Mama Combo) and you'll get noticeably more back for your points.

A&W Rewards FAQ

How many points do you earn at A&W?
You earn 10 points for every $1 spent on your order subtotal, before tax and after discounts.

Do A&W Rewards points expire?
Yes. Points expire 12 months after you earn them.

Can you earn A&W Rewards on delivery orders?
Not on third-party delivery orders. Order through the A&W app or scan your QR code in the restaurant instead.

How many rewards can you redeem per order?
Up to three reward items per order.

What's the best value reward at A&W?
The regular A&W Root Beer (300 points) has the highest value per point. For a full meal with a side, the Mama Combo (1,500 points) is the best pick.

That's my A&W Rewards breakdown for now! I'll probably cash in my 1,673 points on a Mama Combo and a spare root beer, and I'll report back on how it goes. Thanks so much for reading, and happy redeeming!

What's your favourite thing to redeem on A&W Rewards? Tell me in the comments, and let me know if you've found a better deal than the ones above.

Below is a list of menu items we've tried from A&W for future reference: