There’s only one thing that can put a smile on our faces during the weeks of grey skies and slushy sidewalks defined as March: it’s the best time of year to drink coffee. That’s right, the annual Roll Up the Rim contest by Tim Hortons is back starting March 11—but this year, there’s a twist.
The premise has always been pretty simple, no doubt one of the reasons it is loved by so many: buy a coffee, roll up the rim, find out if you win or lose. This year, Tims announced a new set of rules that make for a little more confusion and a lot less rolling.
New rules means new ways to roll
The 2020 contest will run for four weeks—that’s six weeks shorter than 2019—which means you’ll be chugging a lot more caffeine in a lot less time. For the first two weeks, you’ll be able to get a physical cup from the store just like every other year. And if you have a rewards card or the Tims app, and remember to scan it at check out, you’ll receive one additional digital roll up.
Now it starts getting tricky. After weeks one and two, Tims will no longer offer the physical cups to roll. All rolling will become digital for weeks three and four. All coffee purchased in-store will be served in a regular Tims cup and include only one digital roll if a rewards card or the app is scanned.
In an effort to be more sustainable, customers who choose to use a travel mug, something many likely forgo when it comes to winning free donuts, will be rewarded with three digital rolls—if you can keep up, that’s one more than someone who is choosing a single-use cup.
Confused? Thankfully trusty Tims made this little chart to help explain it:
| Contest Weeks | Buying a Hot Beverage | Rolls |
| Weeks 1 and 2 | Roll Up The Rim paper cup only | 1 roll (on cup) |
| Roll Up The Rim paper cup + Tim Hortons app | 2 rolls (cup + app) | |
| Weeks 3 and 4 | Regular paper cup + Tim Hortons app | 1 roll (on the app) |
| All 4 weeks | Reusable cup + Tim Hortons app | 3 rolls (on the app) |
Show me the money
The new rolling protocol might be a lot to wrap your head around, but luckily, the prizing is not. Similar to previous years, there will be millions of coffee and food items to be won. Some of the hot ticket items include electric and hybrid cars, 4K TVs, $1,000 prepaid cards, and AirMiles Reward Miles.
There is one more big difference when it comes to the game this year: the upsetting “Please Play Again” message will be nowhere in sight. Sadly that doesn’t mean everyone will be a winner. Players who roll up a physical rim and do not get a prize will see a message prompting them to use the Tim Hortons app the next time for a chance to win one of four $100,000 cash prizes. Those who roll up a non-winning digital rim will automatically be entered into the draw for the cash.
Good luck and get rolling!
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