Did you know that Starbucks has a rewards program?
Check out the details and how to sign up here.
Yes, it's FREE!
Personal experience
My name is Teara and I love coffee. I've worked at three coffee shops in three different states. Just thought I should get that out there. Whew. Okay. Let me warm up my coffee first.....
So, to start this program, I used one of the gift cards I had (you can also just take one from the store and put money on it). Once you get the gift card, you have to register it with the My Starbucks Rewards program, here. It doesn't ask for too much as you can see, name, email, password setup, and birthday. Already have a gift card that you still have money on? Or even if it's all used up, READ step 9a below for a jumpstart to Gold!
So, now that you are set up, what do you do? What do you get?
There are different tiers of their rewards program. Here's from their website:
Welcome level
To earn your first rewards, just register a Starbucks, Teavana or La Boulange Card.
- Birthday drink or treat on us
- Birthday coupon for 15% off a purchase at StarbucksStore.com
- Custom offers via email (be sure to opt in)
Green level
Collect five stars within 12 months and you’ll be in the Green level.
- Birthday drink or treat on us
- Birthday coupon for 15% off a purchase at StarbucksStore.com
- Custom offers via email (be sure to opt in)
- Free in-store refills on hot or iced brewed coffee and tea
Collect 30 Stars within 12 months and you’re at the Gold level.
- Birthday drink or treat on us
- Birthday coupon for 15% off a purchase at StarbucksStore.com
- Custom offers via email (be sure to opt in)
- Free in-store refills on hot or iced brewed coffee and tea
- A free food or drink item after another 12 Stars earned
- Personalized Gold Card
1. Card swipes matter: Most importantly, each SWIPE of your registered Starbucks card is one star. (Don't go using your other cards, use the same one each time). So, if you're buying multiple items, say a cookie and a latte, have the barista swipe your card separately. It's worth it, and they don't mind.
2. Price doesn't matter: You can by a $6 coffee drink, or a $2 cookie, it doesn't matter. Don't be fooled into thinking the more you spend, the more you get. Not the case, re-read tip 1.
3. Read the bottom of your receipt: Always get your receipt, often times they do an afternoon special. If you purchased something in the morning, you can get a $1 baked good after 2pm. Which, you could use your Starbucks Card to pay for and get an extra star. Sometimes, they do special pricing on certain drinks in the afternoon, so read up!
4. Opt-in for emails: Make sure you are opted in for their emails and/or text notifications. Their custom offers emails that may seem like a waste, but sometimes provide some info on double or triple stars offerings.
For example, this week, I received an email saying that if I purchased any espresso drink between 8-10am from 1/27-2/2/15, I would get an extra star for each drink.
Last week, I received a Starbucks "Challenge" if I were to go to Starbucks 3, 4, or 5 days in a row between 1/20 and 1/24 I would earn either 3, 4, or 5 bonus stars. I failed, but I made an attempt ;)
A few times, I have just been asked to fill out a survey of my most recent experience and they give me a star.
**Keep in mind, not everyone may receive the same rewards, so look at your account to see if you have any. There's often more rewards at the Gold level**
5. Download the app: This comes in handy if you happen to forget or lose your Starbucks card, you can pay with the app! You can also receive notifications, keep up on your card balance, and check your number of stars, and other rewards on the app. If they have any special offers, they will often notify you on the app as well. AND, once you get your free drink, that reward will show on your app. You can also keep track of your account on the Starbucks rewards website. I prefer the app as a method of keeping track of my rewards.
6. Always keep your card loaded: You can easily reload your Starbucks card online or on the app by entering your credit/debit card information. What's also easy, is transferring gift card balances. I received 5 gift cards for Christmas and I added them to my account, then transferred the balances to my Gold card. Cha-Ching! Then I deleted those cards from my account to avoid the clutter.
7. Check expiration dates: Once you receive your free drink (which is good on ANY priced ANY sized drink), be sure to notice the expiration date, the free drink is usually only good for 30 days.
8. Read the fine print: I believe if you do not reach the 30 stars within 12 months in your strive for Gold, you have to start over again at the end of the 12 month period. If you don't reach Gold, you will stay at green. Here's the info on that issue. From their site:
Once you’re at Gold level it takes another 30 Stars to maintain Gold level for another 12 months.
And since you get a free drink or food reward every 12 Stars, you get at least two rewards for just staying Gold!
If you don’t qualify for the Gold level again by your anniversary date (i.e. the date you qualified for the Gold level), you’ll revert to the Green level and lose all your Stars. Don’t let that happen!
If it does though, don’t worry—if you earn 30 Stars again within 12 months, you’ll move from Green level right back to Gold level.
9. Customer service: If you happen to have any problems, I cannot stress enough to CALL Starbucks verses emailing them. Their email response was literally five days. Sometimes, you may have to wait on hold a bit, but they are generally pretty nice. I've been having issues with my account (long story) and they feel my frustration and as a courtesy they have credited my Gold card a couple times, totaling $35. So, be nice :)
9a. Already used a gift card, still have money on it? Or even if you don't. Register THAT card as your Starbucks card, this will upload all of your transactions on that card, click view transactions under card management. Then contact customer service and tell them you just found out about the rewards program, and you'd like to get stars for your previous transactions. They should be able to confirm your number of transactions and then bam, you now have a jump start to GOLD! It worked for me, so I'm assuming it will work for you. It's worth a shot. Again, CALL, don't email, and have that gift card number handy, they will ask for it right away in the prompts.
10. Google is your friend: If you google "get free starbucks star codes" there are a lot of results. I'm guessing there are some out there, but again, I haven't had any luck and I haven't really tried that hard to find them. If you Google Starbucks hacks, you can find some cool tricks at saving money. However, I'm very particular with my drinks, so if you try to "add milk from the condiment bar to an espresso shot to make your own latte for cheaper" I know pretty well that it's not going to taste the same. You get what you pay (or don't pay) for.
With the exception of one of their secret menu options, the Café Misto. Otherwise known as a Café Au Lait, or in plain English, coffee with milk. In my opinion, it tastes better than a latte, and it's cheaper, like $2. It tastes great warm or hot! For some extra deliciousness, add a shot of hazelnut. Also, if you haven't tried a cinnamon dolce latte, you are missing out. Yum!
ALSO, if you don't mind hot or cold lattes, order a large drink of your choice, even if you won't finish it, and then just put it in your fridge for the next day. You can drink it cold, over ice, or put it in the microwave. Still tastes delicious.
I think that's all I've got, do you have any other Starbucks tips?
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