Starbucks is updating its popular loyalty program next month—ushering in some big changes.
Key Details
- Starbucks is changing its loyalty program starting on February 13 to update how many stars are needed to redeem free items.
- According to Starbucks, the popular rewards program has 28.7 million members in the U.S., up 16% year-over-year, and represented 55% of its revenue in the last quarter.
- Some of the changing tiers:
- What was once 50 stars will now be 100 stars.
- 150 stars is now 200 stars.
- 200 stars will now be 300 stars.
Why it’s news
Starbucks has a top-rated rewards program bringing in 55% of its revenue in the last quarter of this year, but come February, the company is updating the program and making changes.
“We occasionally need to make changes to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Starbucks Rewards program and to meet the changing needs of our members,” says Starbucks.
One of the new changes is how many stars customers must earn to redeem free items. What was once 50 stars will now be 100 stars, 150 stars is 200 stars, and 200 stars will now be 300 stars.
Although the star amounts have changed, the company has moved some items down a tier to make them easier to earn. Iced coffee and tear have moved down from 150 stars to 100 stars, packaged coffee is now 300 down from 400 stars, and some merchandise has moved to 100 from 200 stars.
The company said it is not changing how customers earn star rewards, just the star amounts.