New York – Starbucks Tightens Rewards Program Rules

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    FILE - In this Jan. 11, 2016, photo, a man sits inside a Starbucks, in New York. Starbucks is changing the terms of its rewards program so that people who just get a regular cup of coffee will have to spend significantly more to earn a freebie. The Seattle-based coffee chain says its loyalty program will award stars based on the dollars spent starting in April. Currently, people earn a star for each transaction and get a free food or item of their choice after earning 12 stars. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)New York – Starbucks Corp on Monday announced changes to its North American loyalty program that will mean some customers will have to spend more money at the coffee chain to earn free food and drinks.

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    Under Starbucks’ current rewards program rules, customers earn redeemable points for every purchase. The new program will award points for every dollar spent, a change that is sure to spark complaints from customers who are used to accumulating points with frequent purchases of drip coffee and other lower-cost items.

    The widely anticipated change from the Seattle-based company comes as airlines and other companies have been tweaking their rewards programs to make them generally less generous to consumers.

    Starbucks customers now earn one “star” per purchase and may redeem 12 stars for a free food and drink item. Starting in mid-April, customers will get two stars for every $1 spent and need 125 stars to get a free item.

    Matthew Ryan, Starbucks global chief strategy officer, said the change was not a way to weaken Starbucks’ rewards program.

    However, he acknowledged that 1 percent of the chain’s total transactions now come from customers who request two or more transactions to earn stars more quickly.


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    2 Comments
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    bennyt
    bennyt
    8 years ago

    I wouldn’t drink their coffee if it was free!

    CountryYossi
    CountryYossi
    8 years ago

    I will dring coffee in shul..its free