If you live anywhere in the developed world, there’s a good chance there’s a Starbucks near your home or office. And, if you pray to the caffeine god regularly, why not earn some rewards while you’re at it?
The Starbucks Rewards customer loyalty program lets you earn “stars” every time you pay for your favourite customized coffee concoction or food item with your registered Starbucks or Teavana card. Another option that makes paying even easier is the Starbucks mobile app; just open the app, the clerk will scan your phone screen, and presto – your purchase is deducted from the available balance on your Starbucks card.
However, if you’re already using your Starbucks card to pay for purchases, you may notice that it seems to take a long time to accumulate enough stars to reach Gold Level status which is activated when you’ve earned 30
stars within the past 12 months. To maintain this special status, you must earn 30 stars within each 12- month period. If you earn less than 30 stars, your account reverts back to the lower Green Level.
Gold Level offers its own set of perks, including:
- A free beverage or food item for each 12 stars you collect
- A shiny, gold Starbucks card with your name printed on it
- Special offers and discounts available exclusively to Gold Level customers
The catch is that stars are accumulated per purchase, not per item. That means if you stop by a Starbucks location to pick up drinks for you and your better half – or even your entire office – you’ll only earn one star
for your purchase, even if your order consists of multiple drinks and/or snack items.
To us, this seems a little sneaky, so we wanted to share a helpful tip one of Starbucks’ baristas passed along to us: If you pay for items separately on individual transactions, you earn a star for each transaction.
For example, if you purchase two beverages and pay for each item individually on a separate transaction, you earn two stars instead of one. It may seem like a little bit of a hassle, but the benefit of taking an extra minute or two means you earn more free Starbucks drinks and food items even faster.
Do you use a clever trick to earn more rewards points at your favourite store or web site? Share it with our readers in the comments section below!
