Uh-oh Moosers. Just a reminder that Starbucks Canada has finally decided to do the thing I have always been afraid of. They are changing their wonderful Starbucks Rewards system. In my opinion, I am not fond of this new coming rewards system but it won't stop me from buying my favourite coffee every morning. What do you think about the new system?
Starbucks Rewards members have been requesting to get more Stars awarded based on what they buy for ages, so here it is! This time around you will earn 2 Stars for every $1 spent. Which definitely means you will accumulate Stars quicker and get more Stars for your buck, but in turn you will need to get 125 Stars to redeem a Reward freebie as opposed to 12 Stars. Maybe I just don't like change! That only works for Gold Members though. You will become a Gold Member when you earn 300 Stars. So at least the Gold Membership will be easier to attain now.
So the things you love about being a Starbucks Rewards Member will stay in tact. You will still get your free refills, birthday drinks and to access your order or pay with your phone. Another thing Gold Members will benefit from will be the Monthly Double Star Day. Once a month you can earn a whopping 4 starts for every $1 spent - so that is the time to spend, spend, spend and earn, earn, earn.
They are also eliminating the Welcome Level. So anyone who is currently at the Welcome Level will be automatically upgraded to the Green Membership Level.
Another neat fact is that any starts you have as of April 1st will be automatically multiplied by 11 to make up for these changes. You may want to start earning those Bonus Stars now so that they can be multiplied come April!
Moosers, what do you think of these changes?
Photo Credit: ND Strupler
I am one of 'those' people that do spend over $5 per drink, and also buy my husband a drink which adds up! so am kinda glad about it.
This means that I don't have to make multiple transactions during one visit - just so I can get a star for each transaction.... so, this may be a good thing.
I hate it! As someone that orders a brewed coffee every morning I will now have to purchase 30 coffees before I see a reward :(
i like the new changes, most of the time. There are the rare occasions when i do go in and spend less than $5 but most of the time I have at least one of my kids with me and we can easily spend $10-13. The new program will let me add up stars much more quickly.
I also take advantage of converting my Airmiles over to Starbucks cash.
I'm not impressed. I spend $2.88 on a Venti Dark Roast coffee every morning. So, what used to cost me $34.56 (12 purchases) to get a free drink will now cost me $69.12. As much as I love Starbucks, I wont be buying as much there now. I guess Ill start making my own at home!
I truly hate it. I'm among those who only were grabbing a quick coffee to go on my way to work. This new change will make me wait over 30 purchases before getting a freebie instead of 12 visits. It is just not worth it. They will definitely lose regular customers like me... I'm not reloading my card once the balance is reaching 0$; enough is enough. There are less and less promos available (bogos, rebates...), and the answer I got from their customer service was kind of arrogant.
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Thank you for contacting Starbucks about our new Rewards program.
I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts, and I’m sorry that you’re disappointed. We understand it may now take some people **a little longer** to get that free treat. We’re adding new ways to earn Stars, including monthly Double-Star Days for Gold members.
[...]
Even with these double-star days... They won't see me around except if they consider letting us the choice of the star reward system we would like to use (per visit or per $ paid).
Not impressed. I've started going to Second Cup which has a more rewarding loyalty program. Support a Canadian business. And the coffee is fab.