This is an independent informational guide, not affiliated with Tim Hortons. It explains how the official balance check works. Never enter a gift card number or PIN on any website other than the official Tim Hortons pages named here, and never on this site: we do not collect card details and no real balance checker will ever ask you to share them in an email or a comment.
Checked: October 2026. The Tims Gift Card, the card long known as the Tim Card, is a reloadable prepaid card sold in physical and digital form. This guide pulls together the answers from Tim Hortons’ own help centre: every official way to check a balance, the reload limits, the registration step that protects your money if the card goes missing, and the rules on expiry, fees and using the card in the United States.
How to check your balance
| Method | How it works |
|---|---|
| Tim Hortons app | Add the card to your account, then tap Scan and the Payment methods icon at the top right. The balance sits under Saved payment methods |
| By phone | Call 1-866-TIMCARD (1-866-846-2273) and follow the prompts |
| Official website | Use the card tools at timhortons.ca/tim-card with the card number and PIN |
| In a restaurant | Ask at the front counter. The balance also shows on the card reader during a purchase, and staff can print a receipt showing the updated balance |
The PIN hides under the scratch-off panel on the back of a physical card, and you need it for the online features: registering the card, checking the balance online and transferring a balance. If the panel is already scratched when a card reaches you, or there is no PIN, contact Tim Hortons Guest Care before relying on those features. A digital card arrives by email with its number and PIN shown.
Buying one
Cards are sold at participating Tim Hortons restaurants and at authorized retailers across Canada and the US, and both physical and digital cards are sold online through the official website. The official online gift card channel sells set amounts from $10 to $100, and amounts loaded in the app start at $5. However the card is bought, one ceiling governs it: the balance on a Tims Gift Card can never exceed $100.
Reloading: the limits that catch people out
| Rule | Detail |
|---|---|
| Minimum add | $5 each time you add funds, in the app or online |
| Maximum balance | $100 at any given time. With $80 on the card you cannot add $40, but you can add $20 |
| Credit card cap | No more than $50 added to the in-app balance per week from a single credit card. It is an anti-fraud limit, not a fault |
| Where to reload | In the app, on the official website, or at a participating restaurant |
| Auto-reload | Available for physical and digital cards, set up on the gift card website or by phone |
Register the card: the one step that protects the balance
Registration is free and it is the dividing line if a card is lost or stolen. Register a physical card on the gift card website the official pages link to, and two things change. First, protection: if a registered card goes missing, call 1-866-TIMCARD straight away, and once Tim Hortons verifies the card number and recent activity they can freeze the card and transfer the remaining balance. An unregistered card gets none of that; its remaining balance cannot be replaced, even if you report the loss. Second, convenience: a registered card can be reloaded by credit card online, and you can view recent activity on it.
Combining cards and the app
You can hold one Tims Gift Card in the app, but you can transfer other cards’ balances onto it, which is how you combine several small cards into one spendable balance. The $100 ceiling applies to the combined card, so if a transfer would take you over $100 it will not go through until you have spent some of the balance down. Once a card lives in the app it also pays for mobile orders and delivery orders placed through the app, not just orders at the counter.
Spending it
In a restaurant the card swipes or scans like any payment card, and the amount comes off with the new balance shown on the reader. Set as the payment method for Scan and Pay, spending from the card earns Tims Rewards points at 10 points per $1 spent; buying a card or reloading one earns nothing. The card works at participating restaurants in both Canada and the US, with the amount converted into the local currency, which makes a Canadian card genuinely useful on a US road trip. Two limits worth knowing: the card cannot be used to buy another gift card, and the TimShop merchandise store does not accept Tims Gift Cards.
The rules in one place
The card does not expire. No fees are charged on it, not for buying, reloading or spending, and there are no dormancy fees. That matches the law in Ontario and most other provinces, which bans expiry dates on single-retailer gift cards like this one. The card is not redeemable for cash except where the law requires it, in which case the cash-out is handled at a participating restaurant.
Frequently asked questions
How do I check my Tim Hortons gift card balance without the app?
Call 1-866-TIMCARD (1-866-846-2273), use the card tools at timhortons.ca/tim-card with the card number and PIN, or ask at the front counter of any participating restaurant.
Does the Tims Gift Card expire?
No. Tim Hortons states the card does not expire, and no fees are charged on it either.
I lost my gift card. Is the money gone?
It depends on one thing: registration. A registered card’s remaining balance can be frozen and transferred if you call 1-866-TIMCARD and verify the card. An unregistered card’s balance cannot be replaced. Registering a card the day you get it is the cheapest insurance on this page.
Why can I only add $50 a week?
The $50 figure is a weekly cap on amounts added to the in-app balance from a single credit card, an anti-fraud measure. It is per credit card, and in-restaurant reloads are a separate route.
Can I use a Canadian gift card in the United States?
Yes. The card works at participating restaurants in both countries, and the purchase amount is converted into the local currency.
Can I combine two gift cards?
Yes, by transferring balances onto the one card held in your app. The combined balance cannot exceed $100.
One place the card does not work deserves its own warning: the official store. TimShop and Tims at Home covers the merchandise range and why gift cards are refused there.
Found a different price at your local Tim Hortons? Prices on this page are checked against published menu listings, but individual restaurants set their own prices and amounts change. Send the item, the price you paid and the city to contact@timsmenuprices.com and we will recheck it. How we work is set out in our Editorial Policy.
Pair it with the rest of the visit: the full menu, the Seasonal page for the gifting season line-up, and Tim Hortons Hours before you set out.