The thing people are not talking about is apples to apples. I see onlinements all over this thread talking about only getting one star for a $20 purchase, never getting free rewards, etc etc. The way to really onlinepare the programs is to pick a set dollar amount and onlinepare. Let’s do the math.
OLD NEW
1 star per purchase (NOT per item or per $) 2 stars per $ spent
30 stars to gold 300 stars to gold
12 stars for free gold level reward 125 stars for free gold level reward
Let’s see how these programs onlinepare for a $4.00 purchase, since many people here consider that an average purchase.
$4 spent = 1 star $4 spent = 8 stars
1 star = .03% of gold requirement 8 stars = .026% of gold requirement
1 star = .08% of free reward requirement 8 stars = .06% of free reward requirement
@$4 each, 7.5 purchases required to meet gold @$4 each, 37.5 purchases required to meet gold
@$4 each, $30 in purchases required to meet gold @$4 each, $150 in purchases required to meet gold
@$4 each, 12 purchases required for free reward @$4 each, 31.25 purchases required for free reward
@$4 each, $48 in purchases for free reward @$4 each, $62.50 in purchases for free reward
ALSO – free rewards now expire. Once you have accumulated 125 stars, you are eligible for a free reward. That must be redeemed *within six months* of reaching 125 stars. Although that’s not usually an issue, it’s yet another new limitation.
The bottom line is that you used to get a LOT more for your dollar, as long as you didn’t blindly onlinebine expensive items into a single order. Those of you who only splurged on insanely expensive onlinebinations once in a while will still not benefit. You’ll earn a lot more stars per purchase, but your sporadic purchasing won’t net you much over time.
This plan works best for those customers who can afford to use Sbux as ther regular daily coffee stop. The rest of us are SOL.