As all Starbucks lovers know, the coffee giant changed its rewards program last month, ultimately making it more difficult for customers to redeem their Stars for free drinks.
Before this controversial switch, fans were able to redeem 150 stars for free handcrafted beverages such as lattes and cold brews. They now need 200 Stars (meaning that one would have to spend $50 just to get a free drink!)
As Allrecipes reports, however, there is one clever way to rack up more Stars to get to free coffee faster.
READ MORE: Starbucks Just Made This Huge Change To Their Rewards For 2023—Customers Are Furious!
Starbucks is making changes to its rewards program, requiring members to spend more to earn some popular freebies https://t.co/Wff9bpTnBe
— CNN (@CNN) December 30, 2022
Simple Starbucks Hack: Use A Gift Card To Rack Up More Stars
When using the Starbucks app to pay or order ahead in a store, the outlet notes, you are able to load your credit card or a Starbucks gift card. The latter option, the publication writes, will help you get closer to a free coffee.
“As a Starbucks rewards member, every purchase earns you Stars,” the site points out, but you receive a different amount of Stars depending on how you pay. “If you pay using cash, credit, debit, or PayPal (either in-app or in-store), you will earn 1 Star for every $1. But, if you pay using a registered gift card or pre-loaded digital Starbucks card (either in-app or in-store), you will earn 2 Stars for every $1.”
READ MORE: People Are So Mad At Starbucks For Their ‘Awkward’ New Tipping Policy: ‘Just Pay Them A Fair Salary’
Starbucks to change number of rewards ‘stars’ needed for free drinks https://t.co/Pgn0pkPEND pic.twitter.com/frbmiYHdKL
— New York Post (@nypost) December 30, 2022
That means instead of just keeping your credit card on file in the Starbucks app and using it on your morning coffee run, you should “keep a gift card in your app to use every time you go to Starbucks,” Allrecipes advises. (Makes sense to us!)
Starbucks is changing its rewards program, a leaked memo shows — making it harder to redeem some free drinks https://t.co/3MR9VpW4gz
— Insider Business (@BusinessInsider) December 27, 2022
Another great point is that you don’t have to head to the grocery store to buy a new gift card when the funds run out, as Starbucks lets you reload gift cards directly in the app. “Simply go to the card, click “Add Funds,” and then add an amount between $10 and $100,” the publication adds, “Now, every time you use that gift card instead of your credit card, you’ll get double the Stars.”
Noted!
