- Double points day (basically 4x points for a purchase, excluding tax)
- Buy item x and item y (and sometimes item z), and get 10, 20, 50, 75, or 125 extra points
- Buy any item three times for x-bonus points
- Buy any item on three (up to 5) consecutive days for x-point
The threshold to become a gold customer is still super low. Basically, earn 300 stars within a 12-month period. If you participate in the rewards program, it doesn't mean you have to spend $150/year to become a gold customer.
If you're one of those retired people who still enjoys a basic cuppa joe, you're probably angry at Starbucks for making your free $2 coffee (which probably costs Starbucks $0.15/cup -- a dime for the cup and a nickel for the actual coffee) cost you 125 points in rewards to redeem. With the new bonus program launching in April, the reward points are in new tiers. So if you're that granny with a single cup of coffee who adds her own cream and sugar, you're probably going to like the new reward system which only taxes you 50 bonus stars for a free cup of basic coffee.
If you're a customer, like myself, who will wait for a good ratio of purchase spend to points, say for example: buy two specific items and get 125 points. That's a really good ratio! The minimum spend is $6-7 (normally gains you 12-14 points) that you can get for 125 points? Sure, sign me up. You don't even have to understand math to know that this is a good deal for future goods and services.
This brings me to comment on this new rewards program ratio that's coming out in mid-April, just after tax day. Surprise! Starbucks tries to make its rewards program more equitable based on the type of customer you are.
 |
| Starting April 16, rewards are broken out into five categories |
50 stars: brewed hot coffee or hot tea, or a bakery item
150 stars: handcrafted drink, hot breakfast, or parfait (yogurt + nuts/berries/granola)
200 stars: lunch sandwich, protein box, or salad
400 stars: bag of coffee, a signature cup, or your choice of select coffee accessories.
The 400-star tier is new. Though, all the above rewards are what Starbucks retail employees get each month as part of their benefits package. Points costs for the handcrafted drink or lunch sandwich have gone up in cost within the context of this rewards program. It'll cost you 37.5% more stars to get a sandwich and 17% more to get a handcrafted drink.
Third party items are items made by a vendor other than Starbucks. All the bakery items, sandwiches, protein boxes, salads, yogurt, etc., aren't made by Starbucks but rather other food vendors.
Maybe Starbucks wants to wean people off buying 3rd party goods with the rewards system by making them more expensive. Or, perhaps, more choice is good for the customer who wants something other than a cup of daily brew costing them 125 points.
This is the second major rewards change I've been through since becoming a gold customer and each time, it feels like the rewards are getting worse for the money that is spent to attain it.
Someone, somewhere is paying for this rewards system. Is it you?
