Overview
You can use your Mac Express meal plan to pay for purchases at all Hospitality Services locations. Not only do you have access to a wide variety of food choices on campus, you can also enjoy dining out at one of our local participating off-campus vendors.
Understanding Where to Use Your Balances
Residence Meal Plan (Basic) |
Flex | |
---|---|---|
Sales tax savings | Yes | No |
On-campus dining | Yes | Yes |
Off-campus dining | No | Yes |
On-campus printing | No | Yes |
On-campus vending | No | Yes |
Campus Store (in person) | No | Yes |
DBAC purchases | No | Yes |
MEAL PLAN ACCOUNT
Once the meal plan is setup, the account holder may access their meal plan information directly by visiting the secure MacCard Account management website where you will be able to:
- Check your account balance(s)
- Review transaction history
- Deactivate or reactivate your card
- Add funds using Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, Visa Debit, or Debit MasterCard
You can also learn more about depositing.

Residence Meal Plans 2025 – 2026
Expandable List
Think of your Meal Plan as a two-bucket system:
- The BASIC Bucket
- This is the spending portion of your meal plan.
- Every time you purchase food at a Hospitality Services location, money is deducted from this bucket.
- It carries forward if unused, but it’s best to use as much as possible in your first year to make the most of your plan.
- The Overhead Bucket
- This covers operating costs for dining halls and other food services.
- You never see or spend directly from this bucket, but with every meal purchase, 50% of the price comes from your BASIC bucket and 50% from this Overhead bucket.
- Any unused funds in this bucket do not carry forward and are non-refundable.
Maximize Your Meal Plan Value
- Track your spending: Monitor your balance and cross-reference our budget planner below to ensure you’re on pace to use your funds.
- Plan your meals: Take advantage of dining hall offerings and meal variety.
- Use it everyday: The more you use your plan, the more value you get from the included overhead bucket.
Terms and Conditions
- The Residence Meal Plan is an integral component of living in any of the McMaster University residences and all students living in residence must purchase a mandatory meal plan – there are no exemptions.
- Students living in traditional residence must select one of the Traditional meal plans. Students living in apartment-style residence (Bates and Mary E. Keyes) must select one of either the Traditional, or Apartment-Style meal plans. If you select an Apartment-Style meal plan and you receive a room in traditional residence, your meal plan will be changed to the corresponding size meal plan from the Traditional meal plan group.
- Students who do not make a selection will be allocated a ‘C’ level Meal Plan from the applicable mandatory group. Set up of the Residence Meal Plan account is automatically considered an acceptance of all the terms and conditions of the Residence Meal Plan Policy.
- Once you select and purchase a residence meal plan, there is no cancellation as long as you are still living in any McMaster University residence.
- Any student with special dietary needs due to serious illness (e.g. celiac disease, anaphylactic allergies) must contact Hospitality Services for confirmation that his/her needs can be met before making a decision on applying for McMaster Residence. Meal plan exemptions are rare and considered only under exceptional circumstances. Each request is assessed individually, taking into account logistical and capacity constraints as well as the student’s needs. Dietary restrictions/allergies alone do not guarantee exemption; however, accommodations and alternative options can be explored in consultation with our Dietitian. Requests for meal plan exemptions require an accompanying note from a medical physician or religious leader outlining the functional limitations affecting the student’s dietary restrictions, including a detailed list of foods that cannot be consumed.
- Residence Meal Plans are specifically designed for your personal use only. Residence students are given a tax-exempt status on the Basic portion of the Residence Meal Plan. Under government tax regulations, food purchases made at Hospitality Services campus locations from the Basic portion of the Residence Meal Plan will be considered tax-exempt purchases. Sharing or misuse of your meal plan will be considered fraudulent.
- To purchase confectionary (e.g. chocolate, chips, candy), non-food items (e.g. books, McMaster clothing, photocopies etc.) or to make purchases at Off-Campus Restaurant Partner locations, you must purchase FLEX funds from the MacCard Office. FLEX funds are in addition to your meal plan and are fully refundable at any time.
- The cost of each Residence Meal Plan includes a $50 fixed, non-refundable administration charge and a non-refundable capital improvement charge that is deducted from the Basic meal account at the beginning of the academic year in the amount of $185 for both Traditional and Apartment-Style meal plans.
- The Basic meal account consists of an overhead portion to cover the costs of operating the residence dining halls. The non-refundable, non-prorated overhead portion of 50% of your Basic meal account will automatically be set aside at the beginning of the school year; however, with every food purchase made at Hospitality Services locations, 50% of the price will be taken from your Basic account and 50% will be taken from the overhead account in order for you to receive the full value of your meal plan. Any remaining overhead funds are non-refundable and will not carry forward at the end of the Winter term.
- The Basic funds of the Residence Meal Plans are non-taxable as per the Canada Revenue Agency guidelines. Accordingly, in order to maintain that tax exempt status, the Basic account is mandatory and non-refundable under McMaster University Residence Meal Plan Policy (except on a prorated basis upon withdrawal from residence, subject to a withdrawal fee of $50). Any unused Basic meal account funds, not including the overhead portion, will be carried forward at the end of the Winter term and will remain non-taxable and will expire at the end of enrollment at McMaster University.
- You may add funds when the BASIC account is exhausted and you still want to benefit from the non-taxable purchases at the Hospitality Services dining locations on campus. Unused funds that are added on are carried forward at the end of the Winter term or can be refunded upon a written request to the Mac Express Centre.
Two types of meal plans exist. Traditional (Trad) Meal Plans are available to all residences. Apartment (Apt) Meal Plans are only available for apartment-style residences (Bates and Mary E Keyes).
TRADITIONAL MEAL PLANS (Available to All Residence Students)
MEAL PLANS OPTIONS | BASIC Account | Fixed Cost | TOTAL COST Full Academic Year |
TOTAL COST Co-op/Exchange (4 Months) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Trad A | $6,355 | $235 | $6,590 | $3,295.00 |
Trad B | $6,555 | $235 | $6,790 | $3,395.00 |
Trad C | $6,755 | $235 | $6,990 | $3,495.00 |
Trad D | $6,965 | $235 | $7,200 | $3,600.00 |
APARTMENT MEAL PLANS (Available to Bates and Mary E. Keyes Residence Students Only)
MEAL PLANS OPTIONS | BASIC Account | Fixed Cost | TOTAL COST Full Academic Year |
TOTAL COST Co-op/Exchange (4 Months) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Apt A | $3,705 | $235 | $3,940 | $1,970.00 |
Apt B | $3,915 | $235 | $4,150 | $2,075.00 |
Apt C | $4,115 | $235 | $4,350 | $2,175.00 |
Apt D | $4,315 | $235 | $4,550 | $2,275.00 |
Since all residence students are required to purchase a mandatory meal plan, students who do not make a selection will be automatically allocated a C meal plan from their mandatory group. Set up of the Residence Meal Plan account is automatically considered an acceptance of all the terms and conditions of the Residence Meal Plan Policy.
Your meal plan fees should be submitted with your tuition fees. Please proceed using these fees. All fees are subject to change. Meal Plan fee charges will be applied to your Student Account.
Budget Planner (daily average based on 242 days)
A common concern of many residence students is whether or not their meal plan will last them through to the last day. To help you manage your meal plan wisely, this is the balance to strive for at the end of each week (based on 242 days). Keep in mind that you can always add more money to your account throughout the school year.
2025-2026 Budget Planner TBA
DATE | Week End |
A Plan 11.23 |
B Plan 11.64 |
C Plan 12.06 |
D Plan 12.47 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Starting Total | 2,717.50 | 2,817.50 | 2,917.50 | 3,017.50 | |
SEPTEMBER 2024 | 1st | 2,638.89 | 2,736.00 | 2,833.11 | 2,930.22 |
8th | 2,560.29 | 2,654.50 | 2,748.72 | 2,842.93 | |
15th | 2,481.68 | 2,573.01 | 2,664.33 | 2,755.65 | |
22nd | 2,403.08 | 2,491.51 | 2,579.94 | 2,668.37 | |
29th | 2,324.47 | 2,410.01 | 2,495.55 | 2,581.08 | |
OCTOBER 2024 | 6th | 2,245.87 | 2,328.51 | 2,411.16 | 2,493.80 |
13th | 2,167.26 | 2,247.01 | 2,326.77 | 2,406.52 | |
20th | 2,088.66 | 2,165.52 | 2,242.38 | 2,319.24 | |
27th | 2,010.05 | 2,084.02 | 2,157.99 | 2,231.95 | |
NOVEMBER 2024 | 3rd | 1,931.45 | 2,002.52 | 2,073.60 | 2,144.67 |
10th | 1,852.84 | 1,921.02 | 1,989.20 | 2,057.39 | |
17th | 1,774.24 | 1,839.52 | 1,904.81 | 1,970.10 | |
24th | 1,695.63 | 1,758.03 | 1,820.42 | 1,882.82 | |
DECEMBER 2024 | 1st | 1,617.02 | 1,676.53 | 1,736.03 | 1,795.54 |
8th | 1,538.42 | 1,595.03 | 1,651.64 | 1,708.25 | |
15th | 1,459.81 | 1,513.53 | 1,567.25 | 1,620.97 | |
22nd | 1,381.21 | 1,432.04 | 1,482.86 | 1,533.69 | |
29th | 1,302.60 | 1,350.54 | 1,398.47 | 1,446.40 | |
JANUARY 2025 | 5th | 1,224.00 | 1,269.04 | 1,314.08 | 1,359.12 |
12th | 1,145.39 | 1,187.54 | 1,229.69 | 1,271.84 | |
19th | 1,066.79 | 1,106.04 | 1,145.30 | 1,184.56 | |
26th | 988.18 | 1,024.55 | 1,060.91 | 1,097.27 | |
FEBRUARY 2025 | 2nd | 909.58 | 943.05 | 976.52 | 1,009.99 |
9th | 830.97 | 861.55 | 892.13 | 922.71 | |
16th | 752.37 | 780.05 | 807.74 | 835.42 | |
23rd | 673.76 | 698.55 | 723.35 | 748.14 | |
MARCH 2025 | 2nd | 595.15 | 617.06 | 638.96 | 660.86 |
9th | 516.55 | 535.56 | 554.57 | 573.57 | |
16th | 437.94 | 454.06 | 470.18 | 486.29 | |
23rd | 359.34 | 372.56 | 385.79 | 399.01 | |
30th | 280.73 | 291.06 | 301.39 | 311.73 | |
APRIL 2025 | 6th | 202.13 | 209.57 | 217.00 | 224.44 |
13th | 123.52 | 128.07 | 132.61 | 137.16 | |
20th | 44.92 | 46.57 | 48.22 | 49.88 | |
24th | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
2025-2026 Budget Planner TBA
DATE | Week End |
A Plan 6.77 |
B Plan 7.18 |
C Plan 7.59 |
D Plan 8.01 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Starting Total | 1,637.50 | 1,737.50 | 1,837.50 | 1,937.50 | |
SEPTEMBER 2024 | 1st | 1,590.13 | 1,687.24 | 1,784.35 | 1,881.46 |
8th | 1,542.77 | 1,636.98 | 1,731.20 | 1,825.41 | |
15th | 1,495.40 | 1,586.73 | 1,678.05 | 1,769.37 | |
22nd | 1,448.04 | 1,536.47 | 1,624.90 | 1,713.33 | |
29th | 1,400.67 | 1,486.21 | 1,571.75 | 1,657.28 | |
OCTOBER 2024 | 6th | 1,353.31 | 1,435.95 | 1,518.60 | 1,601.24 |
13th | 1,305.94 | 1,385.69 | 1,465.44 | 1,545.20 | |
20th | 1,258.57 | 1,335.43 | 1,412.29 | 1,489.15 | |
27th | 1,211.21 | 1,285.18 | 1,359.14 | 1,433.11 | |
NOVEMBER 2024 | 3rd | 1,163.84 | 1,234.92 | 1,305.99 | 1,377.07 |
10th | 1,116.48 | 1,184.66 | 1,252.84 | 1,321.02 | |
17th | 1,069.11 | 1,134.40 | 1,199.69 | 1,264.98 | |
24th | 1,021.75 | 1,084.14 | 1,146.54 | 1,208.94 | |
DECEMBER 2024 | 1st | 974.38 | 1,033.88 | 1,093.39 | 1,152.89 |
8th | 927.01 | 983.63 | 1,040.24 | 1,096.85 | |
15th | 879.65 | 933.37 | 987.09 | 1,040.81 | |
22nd | 832.28 | 883.11 | 933.94 | 984.76 | |
29th | 784.92 | 832.85 | 880.79 | 928.72 | |
JANUARY 2025 | 5th | 737.55 | 782.59 | 827.63 | 872.68 |
12th | 690.19 | 732.33 | 774.48 | 816.63 | |
19th | 642.82 | 682.08 | 721.33 | 760.59 | |
26th | 595.45 | 631.82 | 668.18 | 704.55 | |
FEBRUARY 2025 | 2nd | 548.09 | 581.56 | 615.03 | 648.50 |
9th | 500.72 | 531.30 | 561.88 | 592.46 | |
16th | 453.36 | 481.04 | 508.73 | 536.42 | |
23rd | 405.99 | 430.79 | 455.58 | 480.37 | |
MARCH 2025 | 2nd | 358.63 | 380.53 | 402.43 | 424.33 |
9th | 311.26 | 330.27 | 349.28 | 368.29 | |
16th | 263.89 | 280.01 | 296.13 | 312.24 | |
23rd | 216.53 | 229.75 | 242.98 | 256.20 | |
30th | 169.16 | 179.49 | 189.82 | 200.15 | |
APRIL 2025 | 6th | 121.80 | 129.24 | 136.67 | 144.11 |
13th | 74.43 | 78.98 | 83.52 | 88.07 | |
20th | 27.07 | 28.72 | 30.37 | 32.02 | |
24th | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
Off-Campus Meal Plans
Hospitality Services is pleased to support students living off-campus with a tax-exempt Term Plan.
Term Plan
Our Term Plan is designed to save you money and stretch over a designated period of time. It is a non-taxable meal plan saving you up to 13% of sales taxes, and can be purchased at a minimum rate of $320 for a period of 4 (four) consecutive weeks. You may add more weeks at the rate of $80 per week at the time of initial purchase, or prior to the expiry date of your Term Plan. This plan is designed for your personal use only and it allows you to buy only food items at the Hospitality Services locations on campus.
As the Term Plan is a non-taxable plan, under government tax regulations, it is also considered non-refundable and non-transferable (except upon complete withdrawal from the University, subject to a minimum charge of four weeks). All monies must be used by the end of the purchased term. We encourage you to monitor your purchases, as any unspent monies at the end of the purchased term will be lost.
Staff/Faculty/Retirees Meal Plans
Why a Meal Plan?
Savings
The Staff/Faculty/Retirees Meal Plan is designed to save you money. You save 10% on all on-campus food purchases through Hospitality Services.
Convenience
- You can add funds to your account and view your account activity any time through the MacCard Account Management website.
- If you prefer to add funds via a one-time payroll deduction, please contact the Mac Express Office to arrange this.
- Because the Meal Card is programmed to your Employee ID card, it is safer, easier, and more convenient than carrying credit/debit cards.
- You can access your account information and transaction history online within a secure web application.
Security
Lock your MacCard 24/7 if it becomes lost or stolen. Visit the MacCard site for more details.
How does it work?
If you have a MacCard (McMaster student ID card), then your card is already programmed and you can add funds to your Flex balance. If you have a Working at McMaster card, please bring it to Mac Express to be programmed. The Flex balance works on a declining cash balance, just like a debit card. Each time you make a purchase, the total cost is subtracted from the balance in your account.
Web Access
You may access your account information by logging in to the MacCard account management site. For more details and FAQs, visit the MacCard website.
Where can you use your card?
Gift Cards
Give the gift of choice with McMaster Hospitality Services Gift Cards! Perfect for any occasion, our cards unlock a world of delicious dining experiences across our campus locations.
Hospitality Services gift cards can be purchased from Mac Express with a value between $25 and $200.
The card balance and transaction history cannot be viewed online, but you can check your current balance by inquiring with a cashier at any of our locations.

Meal Plan FAQs
Expandable List
The MacCard Account Management site will allow you to deposit funds. The BASIC account represents the mandatory and non-refundable portion of all residence meal plans. It is a non-taxable account saving you up to 13%, can be used for food purchases on campus only, and cannot be topped up. The Residence Top-up account is an optional account that allows you to continue non-taxable purchases of food on campus once the BASIC account is exhausted. At any time during the academic year, you can deposit into the Residence Top-up account. Unused funds in the Residence Top-up account will be automatically carried over to the next term or can be refunded to you, so there’s no risk involved!
No matter which residence meal plan you select, the BASIC portion of your plan is non-refundable except on a prorated basis upon withdrawal from residence, subject to the charges specified in the Residence Meal Plan Policy. Any unused BASIC funds, not including prepaid overhead, will be carried forward to the next year. Carried over funds remain non-taxable and will expire at the end of enrollment at McMaster University. Only the unused portion of your Residence Top-up account is fully refundable upon withdrawal.
Every time you make a purchase, you can see the total amount of all your meal plan accounts on the customer display. Better yet, use our secure Internet access to your meal plan information at the MacCard Account Management website. Once there, you are able to check your meal plan balance and review your transaction history. The web access also allows you to deactivate your MacCard as soon as you notice it missing.
There are two meal plan groups, Traditional (Trad) and Apartment (Apt), and within these groups there are four meal plan sizes A, B, C, D. Any student living in a traditional residence must choose a meal plan from Trad. Students living in Bates or Mary E. Keyes Residence must choose a meal plan from either Trad or Apt. Refer to the Residence Meal Plan Details for clarification.
Students with special dietary needs due to health restrictions must contact Hospitality Services for written confirmation that their needs can be met within the residence meal plan before making a decision to apply for residence, as the meal plan is mandatory for all students living in McMaster University residences. Visit the dietary restrictions page for detailed information regarding our additional services.
Yes, this can be done through the Supporters section of the MacCard webpage. They will need to know your student ID number and legal first name.
Contact Mac Express
Location
1280 Main St W
Commons Building
Room 115
Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1
Hours
The Mac Express office is open by appointment only;
please call or email for assistance.
Contact Details
Phone: 905-525-9140 x27448
Fax: 905-522-5395
Email: express@mcmaster.ca