Some Starbucks customers are furious about changes to its rewards program that makes most free drinks harder to redeem
Thomson Reuters
- Starbucks just announced changes to its popular rewards program.
- Many items, like free coffee, lattes, and sandwiches, will soon be more difficult to redeem.
- Some customers are angry and say they'll stop buying Starbucks in response.
Starbucks just announced changes to its massively popular reward system, and some customers aren't happy. Under the new system, which goes into effect in February 2023, more points will be required to redeem many menu items.
Customers who enroll in the chain's Starbucks Rewards program earn points — or "stars" — when purchasing food or drinks, which can then be redeemed for free menu items, like coffee. Free hot coffee, tea, or baked goods will now require 100 stars, doubling the previous price of 50 stars. Cold brews, lattes, and all other "handcrafted drinks," along with hot breakfast items like sandwiches, which previously required 150 stars to redeem, will now require 200 stars.
Many of those angry customers took to social media to complain. Insider spoke to four Starbucks customers who said they'll visit the chain less often thanks to the change.
"Starbucks just torpedoed their rewards system," L.C. Graf-Juarez tweeted the day the announcement was released. Though she's been a loyal customer since 2015, Graf-Juarez plans to stop visiting Starbucks, she told Insider. "Starbucks has slowly been chipping away at any sense of goodwill I thought they had and as inflation rises, there's so little reason for me to 'treat' myself to a company's products when they won't treat us right in return."
Amy Babby, another former Starbucks devotee, told Insider that she plans to discontinue the habit completely. From now on she plans to visit local coffee shops, she said.
Starbucks says the changes are necessary for the health of the rewards program.
"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," the company said in a press release.
Some customers, however, aren't satisfied with that reasoning.
"I understand having to raise prices with inflation, and I happily pay more for my lattes!" customer Katy Biddle told Insider. "But it seems a little ridiculous to make us spend $100 dollars before getting a free latte...It just seems like they're taking advantage of us at this point," she told Insider.
Xochi Mendoza, a customer since 2013, felt the same way.
"I've stopped going so often because of the price hikes and would save up my stars for free drinks that I want to try," she told Insider. "No one is happy about these changes and I really hope they take a step back and rethink these changes."
A Starbucks representative directed Insider to the company's press release when reached for comment.
Starbucks has one of the most successful rewards memberships in the fast food business. The program has 28.7 million members as of this quarter, a year-over-year increase of 16%. Rewards members were responsible for over half of Starbucks' sales last quarter.
Other quick-service chains have recently made it more expensive for customers to earn rewards. Chipotle increased the number of points rewards members needed for a free burrito by 16%, and Dunkin' revamped its entire rewards system, more than doubling the amount of spending required for drinks like a free latte.
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