• Health
  • Science
  • U.S.
  • Technology
  • Business
  • World
  • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • Sports

Building a Better World

News and information

  • Home
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Our Team

It’s about to get a little harder to earn that free Starbucks reward

February 23, 2016 By Jerry Newberry

It’s about to get a little harder to earn that free Starbucks reward

Program switches to rewards based on amount of money spent in stores.

The Seattle-based coffee chain Starbucks has announced a change in its loyalty rewards program, and it means most people will have to pay a little more to reach the reward plateau, according to an article on Fox News.

The company is moving away from a transaction-based program for rewards to one that awards points, or stars, based on the amount of money spent instead.  The current loyalty program allows for a star with each transaction, with customers being to collect a free food or item of their choosing after accumulating 12 stars.  The new program rewards two stars for each dollar spent at the coffee shops, with 125 stars being the redemption point for free items.

In an example cited in the article, a customer making a $2 purchase every day could receive a free item after spending $24 over 12 transactions, while another customer, purchasing a more expensive item each day at $4.45, would have spent $53.40 over the same 12 transactions to receive their premium.

Starbucks is promoting its loyalty program in an effort to enlist new members.  The company reported it had 11.1 million loyalty program participants in the United States last month, which is a 23 percent increase over the previous year.  The coffee giant has said the members of its program spend three times as much in the stores as those who are not members, and the company is looking to those members to help increase the profits.

Starbucks Chief Strategy Officer Matthew Ryan said the vast majority of the firm’s customers will continue to receive their awards at the same or a very similar rate as before with the new program award rules.  He did admit, in a call to analysts, a small minority of customers will earn their awards at a slower rate under the new system.

Ryan pointed out that some customers have been ordering multiple items separately, to increase the number of transactions credited to their loyalty purchases, and that practice has led to increased wait times at store counters.  These type transactions only account for about one percent of all the counter purchases.

Sharing

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmail

Filed Under: Business, Front Page

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Follow Us

Facebookrss

Search:

Recent Posts

  • NASA’s InSight spacecraft makes important course correction May 26, 2018
  • Scientists outraged at latest Trump decision May 15, 2018
  • Huge uproar erupts over major incident at Utah park May 13, 2018
  • Incredible moon discovery stuns scientists May 12, 2018
  • Authorities shocked by discovery about common painkiller May 6, 2018
  • Outrageous crocodile experiment stuns scientists May 5, 2018
  • Great Barrier Reef is too quiet, scientists say May 1, 2018
  • Massive Hiroshima bomb discovery shocks scientists May 1, 2018
  • Earth will be slammed by massive asteroid April 29, 2018
  • Teens are doing something incredibly alarming in schools April 29, 2018
  • Huge discovery in Tasmania stuns scientists April 28, 2018
  • Shocking discovery in New Jersey stuns authorities April 22, 2018
  • Huge volcanic explosion could wipe out the United States April 21, 2018
  • Huge controversy erupts over world’s hottest pepper April 15, 2018
  • SpaceX is about to do something astonishing April 15, 2018

Copyright © 2021 Jones Kilmartin Group, LLC · Metro Pro Theme On Genesis Framework · WordPress