Anyone who has been chasing cardboard for a while knows the physical packs are only half the story now, because every wrapper you rip can turn into digital value as well, especially when you are hunting down that perfect Items card Pokemon setup in your online collection. Those little slips with the long codes are not just throwaway extras; they are keys that unlock booster packs, theme decks and random cosmetics inside Pokemon TCG Live, basically letting you stretch each purchase a bit further if you are playing on a budget.

McDonald's collab and TCG Pocket rewards

There is also this pretty wild crossover happening with Pokemon TCG Pocket and McDonald's that is worth flagging up if you like squeezing every promo you can from daily life. From around 21 January 2025, people ordering a Happy Meal through the official McDonald's app have been getting these private gift codes sent by email, and instead of giving you cards they drop Hourglasses into your TCG Pocket account. That means faster openings and progress without waiting around for timers to tick down, and because the codes live in your inbox rather than on a greasy paper slip, it is way easier to keep track of them and redeem a bunch at once.

Ways to grab extra codes

Most players run into codes first through physical products, since every booster pack and most precon decks ship with one tucked in the wrapper, but once you start paying attention you realise there are a few extra streams. Official newsletters drop codes now and then, and big livestreams sometimes flash them on screen for the quickest people in chat. You do have to be fast with those, because there is always someone ready to type them in before you blink. On Pokemon TCG Live itself, the whole redeem process is pretty painless: open the Shop tab, hit Redeem, point your phone camera at the QR code and you are done, which beats trying to type a 12‑character string on a tiny touchscreen. If you are already logged into your Pokemon Trainer Club account, you can also redeem through the website instead, which some people prefer if they are sitting at a desk.

Redeeming for TCG Pocket and code limits

Things feel a bit different on Pokemon TCG Pocket, and that trips up a lot of new players because the app does not have a big obvious "enter code here" button hiding in the menus. Right now you have to head over to the official site and punch in your gifts there, then jump back into the app to see the Hourglasses and any other rewards land in your account. It is not hard once you know the route, just one extra hoop to jump through. One thing heavy grinders should keep in mind is that there seems to be a cap, roughly 400 booster codes per expansion; once you go past that, the game starts converting extra codes into in‑game currency instead of more packs, which is great if you want resources but a bit of a let‑down if you were expecting another crack at a chase card.

Building decks without relying fully on luck

For anyone trying to stay competitive or just finish off a favourite deck, these codes are a huge part of how you cut down on pure RNG and make real progress. You can still open packs for the rush, but you also have the option to buy specific digital codes or individual cards from trusted marketplaces, then use that stash to patch the missing playsets in your list. Some players even treat codes like a separate currency they trade around the community. If you want to push things further, services like RSVSR make it easier to grab game currency and items directly instead of waiting on slow drip rewards, so you can focus on testing, tweaking your list and actually playing more games, not endlessly grinding for that last copy of a key card.