Starbucks Rewards Program

[eyoungren]

It's quite upsetting that the Starbucks rewards program doesn't allow to scan and attain points across the pond in the UK. You know, the barista scans the barcode from the app and it accumulates points for redeeming later. It also doesn't allow me to install the UK Starbucks app either. So stuck with the USA app in the UK LOL

A few years back I had a UK friend of mine get me a Costa card and mail it to me. Although there seems to be some Costa locations in the US (I may be wrong), I doubt my UK card is going to be accepted here in the US. 🙂

 

[bradl]

Are you back east by chance? When we were in Boston and drove up to Maine... it felt like there was a DD at ever exit and on every corner! Don't get me wrong we liked it, actually liked it a little much... but holy smokes!

You caught a drought. When I was in Philly and Boston, there were DDs every opposite corner, so there was never a lack of Boston Cremes...

... But I couldn't find a grocery store with a jar of salsa to save my life.

BL.

 

[Fred Zed]

A few years back I had a UK friend of mine get me a Costa card and mail it to me. Although there seems to be some Costa locations in the US (I may be wrong), I doubt my UK card is going to be accepted here in the US. 🙂

Funnily enough the balance ( US balance )I had worked for purchasing beverages here in the UK Starbucks.
But the app isn’t allowing me to accrue rewards by having it scanned at the point of sale. Oh well 🥲

 

[Fred Zed]

A few years back I had a UK friend of mine get me a Costa card and mail it to me. Although there seems to be some Costa locations in the US (I may be wrong), I doubt my UK card is going to be accepted here in the US. 🙂

Oh so in my case it doesn’t work like that. Just found the following.

 

[rhett7660]

You caught a drought. When I was in Philly and Boston, there were DDs every opposite corner, so there was never a lack of Boston Cremes...

... But I couldn't find a grocery store with a jar of salsa to save my life.

BL.

Boston Cremes are my favorite!!!! Damn I love that donut!

 

[eyoungren]

Well, well, well.

Starbucks changes it's rewards program BACK to reward tiers. Imagine that! 6 years later!

Hey SB, do I get my Gold status back?!!!!!!!

 

[eyoungren]

LOL!!!!

Despite the uproar in 2016 2019 when Starbucks removed the tiered rewards system and its benefits in favor of a flat system, there are a lot of people out there who didn't realize they weren't Gold anymore!!!! Go figure!!!

Now the new rewards revamp which brings back the tiered system (with a third tier) is causing these same people to freak out. Because their purchases from last year only qualify them for Green status when they've been thinking they were Gold the entire time SB had removed it!

This is a third devaluation of the program, the first being 2009, the second 2016 2019 and now 2026. Pay attention folks, SB rewards isn't about you, despite what they tell you. It's all about trying to manipulate you and not about how special and loyal you are to SB. So when this 2026 revamp doesn't work for SB, you can be sure they will devalue the program yet again.

 

[Apple fanboy]

LOL!!!!

Despite the uproar in 2019 when Starbucks removed the tiered rewards system and its benefits in favor of a flat system, there are a lot of people out there who didn't realize they weren't Gold anymore!!!! Go figure!!!

Now the new rewards revamp which brings back the tiered system (with a third tier) is causing these same people to freak out. Because their purchases from last year only qualify them for Green status when they've been thinking they were Gold the entire time SB had removed it!

This is a third devaluation of the program, the first being 2009, the second 2019 and now 2026. Pay attention folks, SB rewards isn't about you, despite what they tell you. It's all about trying to manipulate you and not about how special and loyal you are to SB. So when this 2026 revamp doesn't work for SB, you can be sure they will devalue the program yet again.

I buy 2-3 a year. What status do I get!

Enjoy your coffee!

 

[BigMcGuire]

I went to an appointment 30 mins earlier than I should have (my mistake) last week. They let me know there was a Starbucks across the street. Figured, ok, I'll drop a few bucks on a small iced coffee (black).

It was $6.23 (yes, I did the tip option so some of that was on me). First time I'd been to Starbucks in many years. I realize I live in NorCal but dayumn.

Context: Used to frequent Starbucks back in the day - had a gold card - loved their Matcha powder Vivano? shakes back when they had them.

 

[eyoungren]

I buy 2-3 a year. What status do I get!

Enjoy your coffee!

I buy either when I can financially, or when there is money when I want.

That said, I was out of the program in 2019. Starbucks, like any other company, wants to manipulate me into buying stuff. But they make the effort and the spend not worth the dinky reward. Now, with this recent change and after ignoring loyal customers for seven years, all of a sudden it's about loyal customers again.

The funny thing is, an article I read mentions that SB customers who are NOT on their rewards program are spending more than their rewards customers are.

No. I'll pay for my coffee and not be manipulated on when, where and how to spend anymore.

PS. You get green status. Maybe you want to go to Costa instead? 🙂

PPS. I had a friend from Nottingham send me a Costa card several years back so I'm in that program, LOL. Just can't use it in the US. 😀

 

[eyoungren]

I went to an appointment 30 mins earlier than I should have (my mistake) last week. They let me know there was a Starbucks across the street. Figured, ok, I'll drop a few bucks on a small iced coffee (black).

It was $6.23 (yes, I did the tip option so some of that was on me). First time I'd been to Starbucks in many years. I realize I live in NorCal but dayumn.

Context: Used to frequent Starbucks back in the day - had a gold card - loved their Matcha powder shakes back when they had them.

Before the 2016 2019 change, many, many customers on SB's blog had informed SB that if they just offered 1 star per item purchased that everything would be just fine. At the time, people (such as myself) were gaming the system and having the baristas make single transactions for every item. Because the deal then was one star per visit. So, multiple transactions resulted in multiple stars.

It slowed things down, it inconvenienced the baristas, and was generally a friction point. But, that wasn't what we got with the revamp in 2019. They made it harder to get perks by making the threshold 10x what it was. 12 stars for a free drink in 2019. Something like 150 or more post-2019.

Now coffee is much more expensive and they just devalued the program again.

I'm dropping close to $20 every time I got in for two espresso-based drinks. It would be insane how much I'd have to purchase just to get a free drink. So, no thanks - not participating.

 

[BigMcGuire]

Before the 2019 change, many, many customers on SB's blog had informed SB that if they just offered 1 star per item purchased that everything would be just fine. At the time, people (such as myself) were gaming the system and having the baristas make single transactions for every item. Because the deal then was one star per visit. So, multiple transactions resulted in multiple stars.

It slowed things down, it inconvenienced the baristas, and was generally a friction point. But, that wasn't what we got with the revamp in 2019. They made it harder to get perks by making the threshold 10x what it was. 12 stars for a free drink in 2019. Something like 150 or more post-2019.

Now coffee is much more expensive and they just devalued the program again.

I'm dropping close to $20 every time I got in for two espresso-based drinks. It would be insane how much I'd have to purchase just to get a free drink. So, no thanks - not participating.

Yep. My sister used to work at Starbucks for several years - she left around that time and had some interesting stories to tell. They had it so good but greed makes everything better.... /sarcasm.

I can't believe how many people have no problem dropping $18+ for 2 drinks ... but not only that, sitting in a long line for the privilege of handing over nearly $20/day for those 2 drinks. Those lines are always out the door here - all hours.

Maybe I'm poor... but doing a French Press (that we've had for 5+ years) with Smart & Final beans has been working well for us ever since Starbucks told us they didn't care.

 

[Apple fanboy]

I buy either when I can financially, or when there is money when I want.

That said, I was out of the program in 2019. Starbucks, like any other company, wants to manipulate me into buying stuff. But they make the effort and the spend not worth the dinky reward. Now, with this recent change and after ignoring loyal customers for seven years, all of a sudden it's about loyal customers again.

The funny thing is, an article I read mentions that SB customers who are NOT on their rewards program are spending more than their rewards customers are.

No. I'll pay for my coffee and not be manipulated on when, where and how to spend anymore.

PS. You get green status. Maybe you want to go to Costa instead? 🙂

PPS. I had a friend from Nottingham send me a Costa card several years back so I'm in that program, LOL. Just can't use it in the US. 😀

To be honest I don’t do Costa either. I only use Coffee shops when travelling for work. Then I pay with their card! If I’m travelling for myself I take tea or water from home!

 

[eyoungren]

Yep. My sister used to work at Starbucks for several years - she left around that time and had some interesting stories to tell. They had it so good but greed makes everything better.... /sarcasm.

I can't believe how many people have no problem dropping $18+ for 2 drinks ... but not only that, sitting in a long line for the privilege of handing over nearly $20/day for those 2 drinks. Those lines are always out the door here - all hours.

Maybe I'm poor... but doing a French press with Smart & Final beans has been working well for us ever since Starbucks told us they didn't care.

Well, I don't do that every day. 🙂

But, I also don't have like $3k or more to invest in my own machine. Kitchenaid recently launched some machines that would absolutely work for us, but these are still $1k to $3k systems.

I'm fairly particular about what I like and that's not just coffee. Starbucks serves a good Flat White. Scooters and Colados Coffee and Crepes (local coffee place) have never heard of that and wouldn't know how to make it. Dutch Bros is for caffeinated energy/sugar drinks and Dunkin' just pushes buttons (if they don't have a button for it on the machine, you're out of luck).

So SB is really the only place I can go for that. When it comes to drip coffee though, that's all from home. No reason to go to SB when I can brew their branded coffee here.

 

[eltoslightfoot]

Well, I don't do that every day. 🙂

But, I also don't have like $3k or more to invest in my own machine. Kitchenaid recently launched some machines that would absolutely work for us, but these are still $1k to $3k systems.

I'm fairly particular about what I like and that's not just coffee. Starbucks serves a good Flat White. Scooters and Colados Coffee and Crepes (local coffee place) have never heard of that and wouldn't know how to make it. Dutch Bros is for caffeinated energy/sugar drinks and Dunkin' just pushes buttons (if they don't have a button for it on the machine, you're out of luck).

So SB is really the only place I can go for that. When it comes to drip coffee though, that's all from home. No reason to go to SB when I can brew their branded coffee here.

This is what I ended up finding: https://www.wholelattelove.com/collections/gaggia/products/gaggia-classic-e24?variant=43085100843062 I love it, and use it multiple times a day. I really like that it is very reparable.

That said, I also do go to Starbucks when I am out and about. (They are one of the few places that doesn’t charge for milk alternatives.). The key is to use $50 dollar reloads to help offset the change in the stars (since they give you a bonus at that level). But yeah it sucks LOL.

 

[NoBoMac]

Starbucks, like any other company, wants to manipulate me into buying stuff. But they make the effort and the spend not worth the dinky reward.

Preach! Starbucks suddenly has become interested in me as I'm getting spammed a lot via email and the app these days. But not worth it, no allure for me.

Roadtrips, at an airport, about only time I'll maybe hit a Starbucks merely for convenience sake, so only a handful of times over the course of the year.

My neighborhood was a coffee desert outside of the Starbucks, but over the years has gained three roasters and a couple of local chains, so more/better (one of the roasters has some national recognition) options out there. And they all have better food. Yes, not any cheaper than SB but better experience, especially since I'm a pour-over guy at the roasters which SB does not do.

And even then, not an every day thing. Most days are pour-over at home with beans from one the local shops or three others I like in other parts of town and am occasionally in their neighborhoods.

ADD: RE: dinky awards. SB free birthday drink doesn't even come close to one of my local roasters for birthdays: free bag of beans, so at minimum $16 deal, or in 2025 got a $30 bag comped.

 

[eyoungren]

Preach! Starbucks suddenly has become interested in me as I'm getting spammed a lot via email and the app these days. But not worth it, no allure for me.

Roadtrips, at an airport, about only time I'll maybe hit a Starbucks merely for convenience sake, so only a handful of times over the course of the year.

My neighborhood was a coffee desert outside of the Starbucks, but over the years has gained three roasters and a couple of local chains, so more/better (one of the roasters has some national recognition) options out there. And they all have better food. Yes, not any cheaper than SB but better experience, especially since I'm a pour-over guy at the roasters which SB does not do.

And even then, not an every day thing. Most days are pour-over at home with beans from one the local shops or three others I like in other parts of town and am occasionally in their neighborhoods.

ADD: RE: dinky awards. SB free birthday drink doesn't even come close to one of my local roasters for birthdays: free bag of beans, so at minimum $16 deal, or in 2025 got a $30 bag comped.

Supposedly the new CEO is all about turning SB back into a 'third place'. Ie, a place where you'd go to have your coffee and enjoy the experience. So far, he seems to me, to be failing.

Because of the pandemic, SB converted a lot of their stores into 'to-go' stores only. One local store that I actually saw be built in 2007 or so got changed twice with that second change being to go only. I'm not seeing any movement anywhere else on this.

My wife and I used to go their for the experience in the 90s and I brought my kids there consistently for that same experience from 2008 onwards. It's long gone.

Another local store is also hard to perceive as being a 'third place'. That's because it's a former Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant (which I saw being built) and I can't go in there without remembering that. You can still see the marks in the floor where KFC had poles directing you to the register. It's loud in there, the music is louder and the place is devoid of decor.

If Starbucks wants to go back to being a third place, they could start by bringing things back that they tossed out a long time ago. Until then, I still have no reason to stay beyond getting my coffee.

The recent change to the Rewards program tells me they really aren't serious about any of that though.

 

[NoBoMac]

Because of the pandemic, SB converted a lot of their stores into 'to-go' stores only. One local store that I actually saw be built in 2007 or so got changed twice with that second change being to go only. I'm not seeing any movement anywhere else on this.

We had a couple of the to-go Starbucks built ground up in the neighborhood. One was about half a mile down the road from the OG Starbucks and always seemed dead. Now empty real estate since SB killed off the to-go store model and closed them all on the same day (at least by me).

 

[Fred Zed]

LOL!!!!

Despite the uproar in 2016 2019 when Starbucks removed the tiered rewards system and its benefits in favor of a flat system, there are a lot of people out there who didn't realize they weren't Gold anymore!!!! Go figure!!!

Now the new rewards revamp which brings back the tiered system (with a third tier) is causing these same people to freak out. Because their purchases from last year only qualify them for Green status when they've been thinking they were Gold the entire time SB had removed it!

This is a third devaluation of the program, the first being 2009, the second 2016 2019 and now 2026. Pay attention folks, SB rewards isn't about you, despite what they tell you. It's all about trying to manipulate you and not about how special and loyal you are to SB. So when this 2026 revamp doesn't work for SB, you can be sure they will devalue the program yet again.

A bit like everything else. Pay more get less.

 

[rhett7660]

The two Starbucks near me or polar opposites. One feels like they want you to hang around and stay, while the other one wants you to get your cup and go. Far less seating, one outdoor seating area... just not very welcoming at all. I love me some Starbucks, yes I know they are not the best. One thing that has really tempered my buying is the price hikes. They are expensive now and I find myself not going as much.

 

[eyoungren]

The two Starbucks near me or polar opposites. One feels like they want you to hang around and stay, while the other one wants you to get your cup and go. Far less seating, one outdoor seating area... just not very welcoming at all. I love me some Starbucks, yes I know they are not the best. One thing that has really tempered my buying is the price hikes. They are expensive now and I find myself not going as much.

There was a while where I was going to a local coffee shop. That shop is still there, same shopping complex as the SB closest to my house. They have even opened an additional two stores and have a coffee delivery van (for businesses I guess).

My problem is that the local shop got crowded. At any given time of the day, it's standing room only. SB can get busy too, but it's rarely standing room only. And since I'm not there at SB for the third place anymore, I might as well just go to SB for the Flat White I want, rather than to my local shop which does not serve that drink and where I can't sit down anyway.