The New Starbucks Rewards Program

I love Starbucks! In fact, my husband and I pretty much have Starbucks almost every day…and I always look forward to my Breve Vanilla Latte with lots of whipped cream. The baristas at our local Starbucks know who we are and are super friendly and helpful. Because we go to Starbucks a lot and are constantly looking for ways to save money on the purchases we make, we took advantage of the Starbucks Gold Rewards Program and joined over a year ago. With it, we would get a Reward (or free item) for every 12 purchases we made. When going through drive-thru, we typically would place two separate orders so our stars would add up more quickly. After all, when looking for a deal, don’t we all want the most we can get?

I was a little concerned when the new Starbucks Rewards Program was coming out because I wasn’t sure what to expect. With that being said, I did a LOT of research on it. I read all the email notifications I received through my Starbucks App, as well as searched online. I even asked the baristas and staff at our local Starbucks. There were some changes to the Starbucks Rewards Program, so I wanted to share with you 5 Things I Learned About the New Starbucks Rewards Program.

5 Things I Learned About the New Starbucks Rewards Program

1 – Update your Starbucks app on your phone. This is something you’ll definitely want to do as they have made a few changes. I hadn’t updated my phone yet this morning and it had my stars and rewards as zero. Once I updated it, it showed my current stars and reward. I did have two rewards from the previous program which will show up in my account in the next few days. You will not only be able to see your card balance, but you’ll also be able to see your rewards, as well as notifications Starbucks sends out about specials, 2x points, and more. Plus, you can pay with your app at the drive-thru or in the store.

2 – Check your emails often. Leading up to this change, Starbucks was in constant communication via email. In the emails, they shared what we could expect with this transition to the new Starbucks Rewards Program, as well as when you receive rewards and when specials or double point days are available.

3 – Rewards from the previous program will roll over to the new Rewards Program. When I asked about the Rewards rolling over, I got a few different responses. However, after calling Starbucks Corporate, I found out that the Rewards we earned from the last program will indeed roll over to this new one. I noticed that my Rewards from the previous one had not been added to my app yet, but when I called the Corporate line, a message said that they were updating all the apps and that this would take some time. If they don’t show up by next week, I’ll give them a call again and I would encourage you to give them some time to make these adjustments, but to follow up and make sure you have the Rewards you earned from before. Starbucks also multiplied my previous Star balance by 11 to reflect the new change, which I was happy about.

4 – Everyone will be a Gold Member. This is something one of the staff members told me at our local Starbucks and is partly correct. During the first month of the program (aka April 2016), anyone who joins the New Starbucks Rewards Program will automatically be made a Gold Card Member. To do this, you must download the Starbucks App and register a gift card within the app. You will activate your membership the first time you make a purchase with the registered card. You will then receive a Gold Card in the mail with your name on it. If you don’t have a Gold Card yet, I would HIGHLY recommend doing this as it normally takes 300 stars to get to Gold status (which is $150.00 in purchases). If you were a Gold Card member already, you will also need to make a purchase with your registered card to keep the Gold status for the next year.

5 – Green versus Gold. In the new Starbucks Rewards Program, there are two different levels. The first level is the Green Level, which is someone who has earned between 0 and 299 stars. At this level, you’ll get the following benefits:

• 2 Points for Every $1 Spent
• Free Birthday Reward
• Pay by Phone
• Order Ahead
• Free In-Store Refills
• Member Events and Offers

With the Gold Card (300+ points), you’ll get all of the Green Level benefits, as well as a few extra perks. These include:

• Monthly Double-Stars Days – be sure to either check your email, your app, or the Member Events section on the Starbucks site
• Personalized Gold Card
• Star Reward for Every 125 Points – the Star Reward is good for anything on the menu (drinks or food)

It seems like the New Starbucks Rewards Program will be better all around. Not only does it appear that the Rewards will add up faster, but I no longer have to make separate purchases to accrue Rewards quickly. Plus, if you aren’t a Gold member yet, you have a great opportunity to become one quickly if you do it by May 2nd!

What do you like about the New Starbucks Rewards Program?