McDonald's extends $5 Meal Deal, stays aggressive with promotions

Fans of McDonald' s $5 meal are rejoicing after the fast food brand announced that they would be extending the incredible deal through December at most of the U.S.-based stores .

McDonald's introduced the deal in June after a disappointing first quarter that saw fewer U.S. visits and lower spending per order particularly from customers earning less than $45,000 per year.

The $5 Meal Deal includes a McDouble burger or McChicken sandwich, small fries, a four-piece Chicken McNuggets and a small drink. According to the Associated Press, this is the second time McDonald's has extended the deal, which was originally only to last a month.

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In a statement on Thursday, McDonald's U.S. President Joe Erlinger said: "Together with our franchisees, we're committed to keeping our prices as affordable as possible." He added: "The extension of the $5 Meal Deal, and the other offerings we're announcing for our fall line-up, are just a few of the ways we're working hard to offer great meals at a fair price."

Many fans of McDonald's were loving the news. Several took to X to express their feelings.

"Definitely buying this," one person

. Another

: "That’s a really good deal!"

Other users weren't quite as impressed.

"I remember when I could get a Big Mac, medium fries, and a medium soft drink for $2.99 every day. I'm not impressed," One X user

. A second person

that in California , they are forced to pay $6 for the same meal.

"Not here @McDonalds , the price with the McDouble is $6.00 now, and has been that way starting one week after the announcement of the “value meal," a third person

.

Rivals such as Burger King and Taco Bell have quickly followed in McDonlad's footsteps and launched their own value meal. McDonald's said it will also offer other deals this fall, including free medium fries every Friday with a $1 minimum purchase and $1 10-piece Chicken McNuggets between Nov. 4 and Dec. 2.

Burger King recently extended its deal through October. Wendy's, which already offered a $5 meal deal, started throwing in a free Frosty in June is now offering a $5 meal deal targeted at college football fans, with no delivery fees every Saturday this fall.

According to the outlet, the deals are having the intended effect as many U.S. stores are seeing an increase in foot traffic. Visits to McDonald's rose 2.5% in June after the $5 meal deal was introduced and have remained elevated ever since.

Taco Bell has stated that it saw a 12.3% increase in visits the week of July 29 when it offered free drinks to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its Baja Blast.

Fast food chains are not the only stores attempting to hop on the value meal bandwagon. Earlier this week, Domino's Pizza announced a month-long deal that will let customers upgrade one medium pizza to a large for free if they buy two medium pizzas for $6.99 each.

Olive Garden recently announced that its Never-Ending Pasta Bowl special - which includes soup or salad, breadsticks and pasta for $13.99 - will run through November 17, 2024.