The Seattle coffee giant will tweak its rewards program to entice customers to spend more during each visit, especially on the sweet and savory goodies behind its glass case. The most notable change for the new program is that members will earn stars based on dollars spent versus purchases made, a No. 1 request from Starbucks customers. For every $1 spent, you’ll get two stars. Oftentimes, it’s anything but friendly to the average Joe or Jane on the street, and that appears to be the case with Starbucks, which recently changed the terms of its rewards program.
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Under the current scheme, program members earn one Star per visit, and attain Gold status after 30 visits.
“That is challenging for customers who are forced to wait, and to our baristas who have to perform extra work”, chief strategy officer Matthew Ryan said on the call. Now, instead of earning a star for every visit, members will earn stars based on dollars spent.
Starbucks Rewards are now based on the amount of times you visit the chain. Currently, people earn a star for each transaction and get a free food or item of their choice after earning 12 stars. There’s also only two levels now: Green and Gold. Starbucks Rewards members have to accumulate at least 12 stars to qualify for a free drink. “So much better, you actually get rewards that are worth it”. Under the current system, 12 visits equals a free drink. In order to receive a perk, customers will have to reach 300 stars first, and then 125 stars thereafter.
Customers line up at a Starbucks last week in NY.
The new guidelines, which go into effect in April, are bad news for those who don’t typically buy Starbucks’ pricier specialty coffee drinks. So they earn something free typically after spending about $60.
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Ryan said that extending transaction times that way also adds costs for Starbucks.
