Dive Brief:
- Starbucks is adding three redemption tiers based primarily on consumer spending to its Rewards program beginning on March 10, according to an emailed press release.
- A Starbucks spokesperson said the basic cost to redeem items using Stars — as the chain calls its points — has not changed and the tiers increase the availability of rewards and redemptions to consumers.
- The tiers offer increasing rates of points accumulation, with the lowest, Green, continuing Starbucks’ one-Star-per-dollar rate, the middle, Gold, increasing the rate to 1.2 Stars, and the highest, Reserve, offering 1.7 Stars per dollar spent.
Dive Insight:
Members of each Starbucks rewards tier have access as well to successively better rewards, including increased double points days and longer redemption periods for birthday items.
Starbucks is updating its rewards system
In addition to the tier-based rewards, all members will receive early access to personalized offers and games, and once-monthly free modifications on a Monday.
“The redesigned program introduces new ways to deepen connection while incentivizing members to stretch for each subsequent level of membership, creating the potential to drive increases in frequency and transactions,” Starbucks said in the release.
Under the old system, Starbucks Rewards members receive one Star per dollar spent. However, they earn two stars per dollar spent through pre-loaded Starbucks cards in the brand’s app.
“Evolving from the current structure, where Star-earning is tied solely to payment type, the new program will enable members to accelerate their Star-earning as their activity grows,” Starbucks said in the press release.
Consumers will now get additional Stars when they reload cards directly, rather than when they spend the money loaded onto the cards. Consumers will receive 10 Stars for digital reloads of $30 or more, and 25 stars for reloads over $50, according to the press release.
The Star cost to redeem items has not changed, but Starbucks is adding a new rewards option. For 60 stars, consumers can receive $2 off any purchase. This is roughly a 3.3% discount, compared to the spend required to amass that many points by Green tier members.
Under the old rewards regime, Stars expired after six months. But Starbucks will now allow consumers in the Green tier to extend the life of Stars indefinitely so long as they remain engaged with the program through qualifying purchases each month. Stars do not expire for members of the higher tiers. The brand said it was making these changes “in response to member feedback.”
Consumers will keep their existing Stars, and they will automatically be sorted into one of the membership tiers based on the number of Stars accumulated in calendar year 2025. Starbucks did not disclose what proportion of consumers it expected to qualify for each tier.
The shift preserves the core dollar-for-points mechanism of the program and the overall incentives for consumers to load money into the app, while rewarding both frequency and high spending to a greater degree than the previous iteration.
Combining membership tiers with points-based rewards is an increasingly common method of driving loyalty in the restaurant sector. Panera is testing a new spend-based tier as part of a pilot program for a points-based system. Cava added points-based membership tiers to its rewards program in October.
