As an avid coffee drinker, Starbucks is my go-to when I need something reliably delicious to fulfill my caffeine cravings. What makes Starbucks even better is its rewards program. For every purchase I make, I earn “stars,” redeemable for free drinks, snacks, and even retail items if I rack up enough of them. But the coffee chain is making major changes starting very soon. While the rewards aren’t going away entirely, the changes might make it that much harder to redeem stars for your morning coffee.
Generally, you earn 2 stars for every $1 spent at Starbucks locations by scanning the barcode through your Starbucks Rewards App. Starbucks also says you can use a “Linked Payment Method” — basically your credit or debit card linked to your account — and this will earn you 1 star for every $1 spent. Additionally, bonus stars can be earned through promotions run through the app or in stores.
Now, the number of stars needed to redeem certain items is doubling. While a hot coffee currently would set you back 50 stars, starting February 13th, it’s going to cost you 100 — a 100% increase in price. A quick scroll through Twitter makes it clear that customers are unhappy with the changes, especially when Starbucks already raised the prices of many of its drinks in early 2022.
Starting February 13, 2023, here are the major changes coming to the Starbucks Rewards Program.
100 stars can be redeemed for:
A hot or iced brewed coffee or hot or iced brewed tea, one bakery item, a packaged snack, or one Cold Siren Logo Plastic To-Go Cup (24 oz) or one Siren Logo Plastic Hot Cup (16 oz).
200 stars can be redeemed for:
Any handcrafted beverage (i.e. a Frappuccino or latte), or any hot breakfast item.
300 stars can be redeemed for:
A packaged salad or lunch sandwich, a packaged protein box, or a packaged coffee item.
Starbucks has alerted rewards members to these changes, and although the changes were not well received, it’s unclear if the chain will take a major hit in its popularity — especially as they continue to roll out new drinks to try like the Pistachio Cream Cold Brew.