As if fast food wasn’t already cheap, delicious and fattening enough, lucky for you we’ve compiled a list of essential hacks that will make your purchases cheaper, more delicious and more life-threatening than ever.

Here are 15 fast food hacks that you can use to get more for less.

15. Customise your burger, get it fresh

If you want your McDonald’s or BK burger patty fresh off the rack, then ask to have that meat sandwich customised. You’ll get a newly made sandwich with freshly grilled meat rather than a pre-made one.

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14. Starbucks will give you as much filtered water as you want for free

In the UK, licensed establishments by law must provide tap water for free, though some charge for the privilege of using a glass. Ask for a cup of water at Starbucks, and they’ll give you filtered ice water for free.

13. Lose the ice, double the drink

If you want to get more out of your fast food refreshment, just ask for less ice – you’ll get the cup filled to the brim minus the ice that usually takes up so much space. Starbucks was recently sued for $5 million simply for including too much ice in its drinks.

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12. There are secret menu items at every fast food chain

Fast food deliciousness extends beyond the set menu. There are secret menu items you can order that differ depending on the location. The McDonald’s Land, Sea and Air Burger – containing two burger patties, a Fillet-O-Fish and a McChicken – is a popular one.

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11. The freshest food is available at the busiest hours

The time to get the best fast food is when the food is circulating at its fastest. Hitting up McDonald’s at 9pm for stale burgers is no good when you can get the freshest stuff at rush times, typically around noon and 6pm.

10. The Subway ‘old cut’ will hold your sandwich filling in place

One frustration you’ll face at Subway is the hastily-placed toppings spilling out the sides as you eat. Ask for the sandwich sliced in the ‘old cut’ style – where the sub is cut through in a V shape – and your filling will hold firmly in place.

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9. Free McDonald’s tap waters could bring you rewards in Monopoly Win season

If you want to maximise your chances of winning whenever the McDonald’s Monopoly Win promotion appears, don’t just keep buying meals for more stickers. Ask for large tap waters to go with your purchase – there won’t be any standard large cups available, so the cups will bear (free) Monopoly Win stickers.

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8. You can get a ‘poor man’s’ Big Mac for less

Want a Big Mac for less? Try ‘hacking the menu’ by asking for a double cheeseburger, only with Big Mac Sauce and extra lettuce rather than ketchup and mustard. This will halve the price of what you normally pay for a regular Mac.

7. Hungry House taste tests will get you a 20% discount

At Hungry House, the online takeaway and fast food delivery service, taste test offers will grant you a 20% discount for first orders at certain restaurants. Check what’s going cheap in your local area.

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6. Fresh fries are just a request away

Especially if you’re turning up at quiet hours, fast food chips can be by turns soggy and overcooked. There are two ways to get around this: either ask for fries without salt, which will require a whole new batch to be cooked up, or – much simpler – just ask politely for a fresh batch of fries, and the staff will oblige.

5. Get a real egg in your McDonald’s breakfast

The folded, omelette-like McDonald’s eggs are fast becoming the standard for McDonald’s breakfasts, but they’re not the only option. Ask for a round egg instead of the pre-scrambled stuff, and you’ll get a freshly cooked egg on your McMuffin.

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4. Order Domino’s delivery, get a free taxi ride home

 

It sounds too good to be true, but according to social media you can genuinely combine that end-of-sesh hankering for pizza with a free taxi ride home. Just rock up at a Domino’s delivery, order it to your address and offer to show the driver the way…with yourself in the back seat.

3. Apple pie McFlurries are real

You might have heard of this mythological beast before, only to assume it was just a tantalising urban legend. But no, the McDonald’s apple pie McFlurry is very real, a combination of a Maccy’s apple pie and McFlurry ice cream. Just ask and you shall receive.

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2. Get more sauce for your buck by fanning the sauce pots out

Fast food sauce pots (suggestions welcome for what else we’re supposed to call them) aren’t designed like that just for fun. If you fan them out, as opposed to just using them in their smaller state like most people do, you can save yourself repeated trips to the dispensary by filling your pot up to the max.

1. Customise Domino’s for cheaper pizzas

Sometimes making the food your way at Domino’s reaps more rewards than just ordering from the set menu. For example, rather than buy a large Pepperoni Passion at £18.99, you can build your own large custom pizza with cheese, tomato and pepperoni for £3.50 less.