When you are opening Pokemon booster packs, it is easy to rush past the stack of cards and ignore the little code card at the back, but that is where a lot of value hides if you want to buy cheap Pokemon TCG Pocket Items or just stretch your money a bit further. Those codes link your physical pulls to your digital collection, so you are basically getting a second shot at rewards for both Pokemon TCG Live and Pokemon TCG Pocket. For a while I tossed them into a drawer and forgot about them, then I realised I was walking away from useful booster packs, credits and items that can help you get online decks running faster.
McDonald's Hourglass promo for Pocket
Pokemon TCG Pocket players have something extra to watch for soon, and it is not another secret rare. From January 21, 2025, McDonald's is running a promo through the Happy Meal section of their app. Order through the app and they will send a gift code to your email, not in the paper bag, and that code gives you Hourglasses in Pocket instead of cards. Anyone who has sat there staring at the pack stamina timer knows how annoying it is to wait, so a few free Hourglasses just for grabbing food is actually decent. The only catch is you have to keep an eye on your inbox and make sure the mail does not get buried in spam before you can use it.
How to redeem codes for Pocket and Live
The part that confuses a lot of people is where to punch these codes in, because Pocket and Live do not work the same way. With Pokemon TCG Pocket, there is still no in‑app redeem box in the settings, so you can tap around the menus all day and you will not find it. Right now you have to go through the official website in your browser, log in there and redeem the code online, which feels a bit clunky but at least it gets the job done once you know where to go. Pokemon TCG Live is kinder: open the app, head to the shop tab and hit the redeem option, then just scan the QR code with your phone camera instead of typing the whole code, because one typo in that long string will drive you mad.
Getting value from code cards
Once you start scanning them in, the rewards show up pretty fast as booster packs, structure decks or bundles of cards that can be turned into credits. That is where the real perk is if you want to build a competitive list without buying endless paper product. Packs alone are a rough way to chase specific pieces for a meta deck, so a lot of players just grab digital codes or single cards from third‑party sellers when they know what they want to play. It is still worth redeeming the codes from the boosters you opened though, and you should keep the physical cards somewhere safe until you see everything show up in your in‑game inbox, just in case something glitches and you need to double‑check which ones you used.
Limits, budgets and extra help
There is one more detail that sneaks up on people who stockpile: some sets cap how many codes you can redeem on one account, often around 400, so hoarding a huge stack from a single expansion is not always smart if you will never be able to claim them all. A better plan is to spread your codes across different sets or share extras with friends who are just getting started, especially if you already have most of the staples you need. And if you are trying to move into ranked play quickly and do not want to sink weeks into grinding, you can mix the free codes with targeted purchases from sites like RSVSR, where players often pick up game currency or items when they want to shortcut the grind a bit without wasting money on random packs.
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