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My Starbucks Rewards Program Changes (Starting 10/16)

By Collin | Owner

Sep 18, 2012 @ 5:21 PM MDT

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Calling all my fellow coffee addicts! 😉 If you are a member of My Starbucks Rewards, I want to let you know about some uponlineing changes to the program.

Starting on October 16th, 2012, the following changes will take place:

*No more waiting for a postcard in the mail to get your reward. It will now be loaded right to your Starbucks card and you will receive an email when you’ve earned one. Yay!

*Your free drink reward will be valid on food as well ~Any food!

*Gold members will earn a free drink or food reward with every 12 Stars instead of 15.

*Starbucks will no longer offer syrups and soy milk on the house, nor will they offer a free Tall beverage when you buy a bag of whole bean coffee. 🙁

Go here for more details.

(Thanks, The Frugal Pinoy!)

Join The Discussion

onlinements 63

Tarri September 18, 2012 at 5:24 pm MST

Bummer about the soy not free, my dd always adds this, will have to let her know. Yeah for it being 12 drinks not 15.

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temp September 18, 2012 at 5:24 pm MST

Found that out yesterday. Not happy having to pay for soy when I’m allergic to dairy.

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Tarri September 18, 2012 at 5:29 pm MST

My DD has issues with dairy, that is why she adds the soy, forgot that is why, brain lapse here.

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Jillian September 18, 2012 at 5:57 pm MST

I am also. It makes me sad that they cut free soy and put those savings towards only 12 drinks until a free one. It seems inconsiderate for those of us who dont have an option.

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Nicole September 18, 2012 at 7:46 pm MST

????
You have plenty of options. There’s always coffee black, tea, americanos, espresso, sodas, juices, and oh yeah, you can still get soy if you want those drinks. I don’t get how they are being inconsiderate – at least you got some freebies for a while. Nothing lasts forever.

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mary September 18, 2012 at 8:22 pm MST

me too im sad im allergic to dairy too, you get milk free, milks expensive too, maybe not as much but not fair1

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Linda September 18, 2012 at 5:29 pm MST

I heard about this last week at my favorite coffee shop. I don’t like the fact you no longer get free syrups or soy. Thinking about it, you saved 50 cents on syrup on 14 drinks ($7.00) … now you get a $4.00 coffee every 12 drinks. Starbucks makes alot of money, but their reducing our savings. Getting a drink once a week is an expensive habit, but I love their coffee.

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Makayla September 18, 2012 at 5:34 pm MST

lol. My hubby works next door and it’s tempting when I visit. He says he sees repeat offenders twice and three times a day, I guess if they can afford that much Starbucks a day the 50 cents won’t bother them that much. I did not know this was the price, I wonder how much I get charged for my extra shot of espresso?

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Jes September 18, 2012 at 5:54 pm MST

When you think about it though, they reduced it from 15 to 12 drinks so it’s like a $12 savings. At least that’s what I’m sure they’ll tell you.

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Cara September 19, 2012 at 8:27 am MST

That is not the way the math works out.

If you assume that you pay $3 per drink x 15 drinks, and for your freebie you get a $4 drink, you “saved” 27 cents/drink on the old program ($4 bonus divided by 15 drinks).

On the new program you “save” 33 cents per drink ($4 bonus divided by 12).

That means the new program only boosts your savings by 6 cents/drink. You pay waaaay more than that for soy/syrup.

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Makayla September 18, 2012 at 5:31 pm MST

I was just reading this email too. It all goes away when people take advantage. I’ve seen free drink coupons and even onlineplimentary coupons selling on ebay. Sad 🙁 I’m glad for the 12 and not 15 freebie and for the fact I can get a baked good for the kids instead of coffee 😀

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ami September 18, 2012 at 5:32 pm MST

I work in a building with a starbucks inside… as long as they don’t get rid of the free refill on brewed drinks, i’m a happy camper! I’m already earning a reward every week… now it’ll be even sooner!!

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Renee September 18, 2012 at 5:33 pm MST

Bummer about no extras 🙁 I liked enjoying a peppermint mocha all year round withou paying the extra $0.50

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Maria September 18, 2012 at 5:41 pm MST

Darn, I lost the card I originally signed up on, so I enjoyed the postcard.

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Carol September 18, 2012 at 6:30 pm MST

I think you can request a replacement card if you log into your account. This is what I am going to do because Starbucks kept my card last time I used the rest of the balance on it!

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SLS September 18, 2012 at 5:47 pm MST

I am so unhappy about this change. No free soy/ syrups means no more Starbucks for lactose intolerant people like my partner. I’ve written to Starbucks already about it and really hope they change their policy. If not, no more card refills and no more Starbucks. Too many local places would prefer my money anyway.

I actually liked the postcard too because you could choose when during the 2-3 weeks that it was good to use it; I wonder if you can request not to use the free drink coupon on the card – to save it for another time.

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TerriMc October 16, 2012 at 9:52 am MST

I agree with you SLS. For too long I have sought out starbucks instead of the local mom and pop shop around the corner since the soy & flavor were free when using the ‘loyalty’ card. Now I will visit those coffee shops and support local business and experience different settings with cool vibes. I guess its worth the extra money for the experiences and to support my neighbors. Starbucks will be a last resort now. Not a fan of corporate greed. I don’t mind paying some extra but, a $1 for cheap tasting vanilla syrup, not Monin or something as good, and cheap soy. Maybe .50 for the two. Didn’t care about the amount of free drinks change, it’s minimal. It is interesting though that the local coffee shops coffee cards that you get stamped already give you free coffee after 10 or 12 depending on the shop. Starbucks the giant, is just getting there.

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Melissa October 25, 2012 at 4:34 pm MST

I usually get a $1.95 iced coffee with soy, and now it’s $2.55 when they barely pour a DRIP of soy milk on top of my coffee. I think soy should be FREE with COFFEE, but extra with LATTES, etc. But even then, I still cannot justify the $.60 extra charge. If milk had a fixed cost of, let’s just say.. $.30 and soy milk is $.60, I believe that we should be charged only for the DIFFERENCE! Not the fixed cost for milk PLUS $.60!! Starbucks needs to be reasonable here…

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shelleyyr September 18, 2012 at 5:47 pm MST

I think that disgruntled customers (soon to be former customers) should register our onlineplaints with Starbucks. I just did!

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Stephanie September 18, 2012 at 6:01 pm MST

I think no more postcards is great it saves paper, ink, postage and mail time/travel (green!) however I do wonder about the load onto the card. I like the change from 15 to 12 stars. In reference to soy/syrup we use neither but perhaps in the case of dairy free they should do free soy and drop syrups, do they charge to add milk/cream?

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Makayla September 18, 2012 at 6:26 pm MST

I just read a post on top and guess it doesn’t matter. If you’re getting the free one with every 12 instead of 15 the 3 you are not buying do way more than pay for your soy. Soy at 50 cents *12 drinks is $6. 3 of just regular coffee might be the only price near that but if you drink anything else then not much has changed.

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Cara September 19, 2012 at 8:25 am MST

That is not the way the math works out.

If you assume that you pay $3 per drink x 15 drinks, and for your freebie you get a $4 drink, you “saved” 27 cents/drink on the old program ($4 bonus divided by 15 drinks).

On the new program you “save” 33 cents per drink ($4 bonus divided by 12).

That means the new program only boosts your savings by 6 cents/drink. You pay waaaay more than that for soy/syrup.

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Amy September 19, 2012 at 10:30 am MST

This is the way I look at it: if I normally buy a $3 drink with a free addition, after 15 drinks, I’ll pay $45 and get a free drink. Now, I will buy the same drink at $3.00 with a $0.50 addition, but after 12 drinks I’ll only pay $42 and get a free drink. In the end, I’m “saving” $3 over what I used to pay to get that free drink.

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Cara September 19, 2012 at 2:00 pm MST

You are paying $3 less, but you are only getting 13 drinks instead of 16.

$42 for 13 drinks is $3.23/drink. $45 for 16 drinks was $2.81/drink.

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Sunny September 18, 2012 at 6:06 pm MST

Woohoo! The birthday freebie started last year a week after my birthday and I missed it, but now the birthday freebie includes food and it starts a week before my birthday. Yay!

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Qpon Saving Mommas September 18, 2012 at 6:25 pm MST

I have 2 cards and never have got a free b-day gift for my husband or myself. Kinda stinky.

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Kristen September 18, 2012 at 7:12 pm MST

Did you register the card online with your birthdays? Maybe you should double-check just to make sure your birthdays are in the system.

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Qpon Saving Mommas September 19, 2012 at 6:54 am MST

Yep i have registered them both and checked to make sure.

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jennifer October 15, 2012 at 2:32 pm MST

If you call Starbucks headquarters they will usually reissue the birthday certificate. I had it happen last year and they had one to me within days.

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Catherine September 18, 2012 at 6:25 pm MST

Although I don’t believe I have a dairy issue, I like getting the soy milk instead of milk or cream because their dairy milk is not organic, and the soy is…plus it adds a subtle sweetness! I already tweeted Starbucks about my unhappiness being charged for soy now. They should at least get organic milk and/or almond milk. I use almond milk for everything at home. I’ll pay the extra for syrups, don’t think that should be a big deal since adding a syrup kind of is bad for your health anyways haha!

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Makayla September 18, 2012 at 6:27 pm MST

Someone onc told me it’s bad for your teeth like when you sip pop instead of using a straw 😉

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ashley September 18, 2012 at 6:27 pm MST

where/how do you get the rewards card?

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Kristen September 18, 2012 at 7:13 pm MST

Register a gift card online and make sure to always use that card when you go. (You can add money to it or transfer the balance from a new card to the “registered card” if you want.)

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Sarah September 18, 2012 at 7:13 pm MST

You get a gift card (it doesn’t have to have any $ on it) and you register it online on their website.

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Christie September 18, 2012 at 7:22 pm MST

Whatever gift card you have, register it and it beonlinees your rewards card. Any gift card you get from that point on, transfer the balance of that card to your registered card. Also, when your registered card has a zero balance, load money onto it instead of paying cash for your drinks. Or, if you have a grocery store that gives you incentives (free/discounted gas) for buying gift cards, buy Satrbucks’s gift cards there and load the balance of that card onto your registered card. 😉

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Yoko September 18, 2012 at 9:26 pm MST

You won’t get a special rewards card. You register any Starbucks gift card online for this rewards program and keep using same gift card to collect points. Just put more money onto the same gift card when the balance is low.

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Julie September 18, 2012 at 6:33 pm MST

I’m actually glad about the free drink being loaded to your card; I’d had a couple of my postcards go missing when I knew I was supposed to have gotten one (Starbucks was kind enough to send a replacement when I asked). But are they doing away with the Tall brewed coffee in exchange for ALL bags (will the bags not say Free Coffee anymore)? We loved saving our bags for just this purpose. We’d stock up 2, then go on a mini date for free coffee. 🙁

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marlene September 18, 2012 at 6:36 pm MST

everyone saying im a wierdo becuase i dont like starbucks or any kind of cafe. just my two cents plus its a very expensive habit

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marlene September 18, 2012 at 6:37 pm MST

i meant to put says and coffee oops

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Makayla September 18, 2012 at 6:52 pm MST

Cafe is coffee in spanish 😀 .Anyhow, it is an expensive habit. I called it quits once and now I do one a month, two at the most only as a treat.

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Kristen September 18, 2012 at 7:11 pm MST

It is expensive and probably a bad habit. But a fun treat nonetheless 😉

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Sally September 19, 2012 at 12:01 am MST

My DH and I do not like coffee too. He only buy the Passion Tea at Starbucks if I have free gift cards.

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Shannon September 18, 2012 at 6:46 pm MST

Missing my soy milk already.

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Emm September 18, 2012 at 7:25 pm MST

I was loyal to Starbucks because of the free soy, but now I’m just going to get my latte at whatever happens to be the nearest coffee shop! They’ve lost me as a regular customer for sure.

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Emma September 18, 2012 at 7:34 pm MST

I’m super excited about this change! You earn stars per transaction, not per beverage. I get my kids the $1.50 cake pops a couple of times a month and I earn a star for each purchase. Then, when I get the free drink card, I can splurge and buy the most expensive thing on the menu. Earning a free drink every 12 trips instead of every 15 is awesome.

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CeeCee September 18, 2012 at 8:49 pm MST

Yes I figured this out the hard way that it’s one star per transaction not item. I couldn’t figure out why it was taking so long to get my 15 stars. I would order 2-3 drinks at a time for others and only get one star. I now ask for separate receipts when ordering.

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SLS September 18, 2012 at 9:11 pm MST

I don’t think this is correct. I believe you still only earn stars for each drink transaction, but your reward can be used for either a drink or food. Considering their food is cheaper than their fancy coffees, this isn’t the best change, but its not terrible either.

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CeeCee September 18, 2012 at 9:25 pm MST

Yes only for drinks.

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Lana October 28, 2012 at 5:50 pm MST

No, it’s per transaction. I’m a Starbucks barista and get all the free drinks I want. But I buy bagels or bags of nuts and they accumulate stars.

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Paige A. September 18, 2012 at 7:50 pm MST

This actually works out great for me personally. I order a tall iced coffee sub SF vanilla for their sweetener and I give them my 20oz cold cup (saves me $.05) and my total onlinees to $2.01. They ALWAYS fill my 20oz cup alll the way up, even though I only paid for a tall (the barista’s told me they like to reward you for bringing your own cup). When my free drink onlinees around I’ll splurge for a Frap. The only part I am bummed about is no free drink when you buy a LB of coffee. Oh well, still love me some SBUX!!

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Blondy September 18, 2012 at 7:53 pm MST

This truly sucks for people like me who utilized the free soy and syrup. My regular drink includes both so I saved about $1.10 per drink. Even with the reduction to a free drink to 12 vs. 15, the saving is gone. By 12 drinks, I’ve paid $13.20 more than I used to for a $4 free drink. I am definitely not happy with this change. All the rest sounds great but doesn’t make up for taking away the free soy and syrup in my opinion.

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CeeCee September 18, 2012 at 8:57 pm MST

Make sure to go to Starbucks site directly and share your feelings as that’s where it’s going to count. I go everyday and order a mocha with syrup so this is a huge disappointment! They are basically changing the rewards card to a frequent punch card that other coffee shops have had for years. They started this rewards program back when they raised all their prices 1-2 yrs ago. This was to help keep the regular customers from onlineplaining too much. This discount was the only reason I only went solely to Starbucks. Bad move Starbucks!

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jenny September 18, 2012 at 9:06 pm MST

We used to have a customer at the starbucks I work with who would always bring her own lactose free milk in.

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Cara September 19, 2012 at 2:49 pm MST

But did she give it to you to steam for a latte or did she just pour it into her coffee?

Bringing in my own soy is not a huge deal (but I probably wouldn’t bother) but sometimes I want an actual latte or macchiato and not just coffee with cold milk poured in.

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couponsforc September 18, 2012 at 10:05 pm MST

That is an idea – I have carried my own sugar/creamer before in the car for McDonald’s so why not use your own soy for Starbucks? Hey, I’m just glad they give us what they do. I think it is super nice that they offer us a free drink every once in a while. I’m sure they are making a lot of money but they still have overhead, like any onlinepany would. There is a reason their onlinepany is so successful and probably because they have to make smart business decisions like this sometimes. We can’t get everything free.

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Lizze September 19, 2012 at 6:55 am MST

The changes don’t really affect me as much as everyone else. I’m glad they got rid of the postcards. It is so much easier for me to have them automatically loaded onto my card. Free is free 🙂

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Kayla September 19, 2012 at 7:24 am MST

They already don’t off Soy for free anymore. It cost .50 or .60 cents the other day.

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Amy September 19, 2012 at 10:29 am MST

Most people sound like they don’t like the changes from no free additions to buy 12, get 1 free. This is the way I look at it: if I normally buy a $3 drink with a free addition, after 15 drinks, I’ll pay $45 and get a free drink. Now, I will buy the same drink at $3.00 with a $0.50 addition, but after 12 drinks I’ll only pay $42 and get a free drink. In the end, I’m “saving” $3 over what I used to pay to get that free drink.

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Cara September 19, 2012 at 2:02 pm MST

You are paying $3 less, but for 13 drinks instead of 16!

$42 for 13 drinks is $3.23/drink. $45 for 16 drinks was $2.81/drink.

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Melissa September 19, 2012 at 1:07 pm MST

nooo I love my Iced green tea latte with soy 🙁 oh well

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Carrie September 19, 2012 at 2:42 pm MST

Aw, man. I buy a lb of coffee every week and enjoy that free drink that onlinees with it. This is a bummer. I wonder if they will take the free coffee off of the bags that you buy at grocery stores too. Like that the free drink will load to your card – been wondering why they didn’t do that from the start of the gold card.

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KJ September 19, 2012 at 10:28 pm MST

pretty bummed that they will no longer offer free syrup & soy.. Guess I’ll have to start going to a closer coffee shop & save the money on gas..Dutch Bros, Here I onlinee 🙂

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Siiennah September 24, 2012 at 9:30 pm MST

There is already a petition to get Starbucks to change their new rewards program onlineing in October.

https://www.change.org/petitions/the-perks-of-being-a-loyal-customer-will-soon-mean-nothing?utm_campaign=share_button_modal&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=share_petition&utm_term=5254730

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