Starbucks Rewards Program To Change From Visits To Dollars

If you frequent Starbucks for your morning (afternoon, and evening) cup of Joe, then you're no doubt familiar with the company's rewards program. It's pretty simple. Once you hit gold status, you'll get a free food or drink item after every 12 visits. For some, that can easily be one free item every week or two. But the program is changing, and that might upset some people.

The company has decided to do away with the "per-visit"method of earning stars. The old system meant that you got one star, whether you ordered the cheapest cup of black coffee, or six drinks with a dozen syllables. The new system is designed around the amount of money you spend.

The new program will have you earning 2 stars for every 1 dollar spent at Starbucks. You'll also need to accumulate 125 stars to earn your free item. If you're the kind of person that just picks up a cheap cup of coffee, you'll have to spend a lot more money to earn free drinks. That adds up to just over $60 in money spent, in order to get your freebie.

The bright side of this is that customers that spend a bit more on their coffee, or those that go in to buy drinks for a few people, will find that they're racking up free drinks much faster. Under the new system, you'll only need to spend around $5.20 per visit, to accumulate rewards at the same pace as the old 12-visit system.

Another added benefit of this is the reduction in the number of people who tried to game the old system by splitting their orders into multiple transactions. The company estimates that around 1% of all transactions included split-orders, which ultimately slow everyone down.

The new reward system will take effect in April, so you still have a bit of time to enjoy free drinks after your 12th visit.

Source: Starbucks