Many companies have loyalty programs. If you sign up for one of these programs and if you’re a frequent customer, you can often rack up rewards that can later be redeemed for discounts or even freebies.
Starbucks, which obviously has many frequent coffee-addicted customers, has a rewards program where customers earn stars. Once they accumulate enough stars, they can redeem those stars for freebies at the coffee retailer. These freebies include things like beverages, food items and bagged coffee.
Currently, here is the breakdown of how many stars you would have to accumulate in order to receive a freebie at Starbucks.
- 25 stars – a “beverage modifier” such as an espresso shot, syrup sauce or a milk alternative such as soy milk
- 50 stars – hot brewed coffee or tea or a bakery item like a cookie or cake pop
- 150 stars – a “handcrafted beverage” such as a latte or Frappuccino or a hot breakfast item or packaged snack
- 200 stars – a packaged salad, lunch sandwich or protein box
- 400 stars – packaged coffee such as whole bean coffee or a merchandise item up to $20 in value
Starbucks recently announced drastic changes to their stars program. Customers can still earn stars the same way as before where $1 equals one star unless there is a promotion to earn extra stars or unless the customer uses a Starbucks card. In that case $1 equals 2 stars. What’s changing is how many stars you have to earn in order to get a freebie.
Starting February 13, 2023, customers will need to earn more stars in order to get some popular freebies. Instead of 50 stars, customers will need 100 stars in order to get a free hot coffee, tea, cake pop or cookie. Instead of 100 stars, they will need 200 stars in order to get a free latte, Frappuccino or hot breakfast item. Instead of 200 stars, they will need 300 stars in order to get a free salad, sandwich or protein box.
Watch the video below to learn more about these upcoming changes to the Starbucks rewards program including the answer to this very important question: Can you still get a free beverage on your birthday?
Are you a member of Starbucks’ rewards program? Are you going to use up your stars before the rewards program changes? Will these changes to the Starbucks rewards program impact how often you go to Starbucks?