Major chain axes free coffee from its loyalty scheme leaving customers livid and threatening to cancel
A HIGH street coffee chain is cutting free drinks from its paid-for loyalty scheme as part of a shake-up to the subscription.
Club Pret at Pret a Manger currently costs £30 a month, or £360 a year, and members can get five free hot or iced barista-made drinks each day.
The scheme also offers 20% off the rest of the food and drink menu.
But under changes coming in September, subscribers will instead get 50% off five barista-made drinks a day instead.
Discounts on the food menu through the scheme will also end.
At the same time, the price of the scheme will fall to £10 a month – with a reduced rate of £5 a month available until the end of March 2025.
Furious customers have taken to X, formerly known as Twitter, to slam the decision.
One subscriber said: “Have a word I will be cancelling as I think many others will be!!! Shame on you.”
Another added: “Pret changing their subscription to 50% off five drinks instead of it being free five drinks…. that just ruined my day.”
A third cried: “It’s a very sad day for coffee lovers.”
And a fourth fumed: “You are making a huge mistake. There is time to rectify it.
“Otherwise, I am cancelling my subscription, and will never step foot into any of your stores.”
Pret said that given that the majority of its customers were not Club Pret subscribers, its priority now was to “focus on better value for everyone”.
In a letter sent to customers on Thursday, Pret’s managing director Clare Clough said: “We know this is a change.
“But with Club Pret subscription, our coffees, teas, coolers and iced drinks will continue to be the best offer on the high street, and at a much more accessible price than the £360 a year people have to pay for the current scheme.”
Pret also announced that its signature 100% organic arabica filter coffee would drop to 99p, and its all butter croissant will also drop to £1.99.
In March, the chain implemented a crackdown to prevent Club Pret subscribers from sharing free drinks with others.
Some customers were exploiting loopholes by sharing subscription benefits, prompting the changes.
Subscribers have since been required to use the app to redeem their complimentary drinks, rather than accessing QR codes via Apple Wallet or smartwatches.
Many aired their concerns, saying the changes made it harder to claim the offer, with some reporting technical issues when trying to access the app.
Others said they had cancelled their subscriptions altogether amid the “faff” the updates had caused, with some questioning how they would be able to access the app if they were in a chain without signal.
Club Pret changes will cost coffee lovers
Sun Savers Editor Lana Clements gives her verdict on the changes to the Club Pret scheme.
The Club Pret subscribe and save scheme has been hugely popular among coffee lovers.
If you enjoy treating yourself to a hot or iced beverage every day, the savings were well worth it.
The £30 a month price-tag may sound fairly hefty but it works out as up to five drinks every day for just £1.
Now the cost of the scheme is falling to £10 a month which would work out as roughly 33p a day. But you now have to pay half the cost of your drink of choice.
If you buy a flat white, medium size, at £3 a go. You’d pay £1.50, plus the 33p in membership working out at £1.75 for one coffee. If you ordered another four on the same day, it would cost another £6 working out at a total of £7.75 for five drinks in one day.
To soften the blow, Pret has reduced the price of its no frills filter coffee to 99p, down from £1.80.
But those who enjoy a drink with the added extras could find that other coffee chains are now a better deal. For example, you can sign up to chain Leon’s Roast Rewards for £25 a month and get five barista-made drinks a day. This works out at roughly 83p a day for five drinks. Not bad, not bad at all.
Do other coffee chains have loyalty schemes?
Starbucks
Customers get three stars for each partial £1 spent, then a free drink when they get 150 stars. It means spending around £50.
For a £2.95 small latte, it means buying 17 small lattes to get a free one.
Taking a leaf out of airline loyalty programs, Starbucks has a “gold level”.
This is reached once you have collected 450 stars – after spending £84.
It lets you claim perks like extra shots, dairy-free milks and whipped cream for free.
There is also a drink on the house for your birthday.
- How it works: £1 spent = three stars (includes partial pounds spent), 150 stars = free drink
- Small latte cost: £2.95
- Number of drinks to hit target: 17
- Cost for a ‘free’ coffee: £50.15
- Reusable cup bonus: 25p off
Caffe Nero
Every drink gets you a reward stamp in your Caffe Nero app.
You get an extra one if you bring your own cup.
Every nine stamps is a free drink.
So, take your reusable cup and you get a free latte, cappuccino, flat white or whatever your chosen caffeine is after paying for just four and a half.
With a small latte costing £3.50, that is a free one after spending £31.50.
Go green with a reusable cup and it is half that, so just £15.75.
- How it works: One drink purchased = one stamp, nine stamps = free drink
- Small latte cost: £3.50
- Number of drinks to hit target: Nine
- Cost for a ‘free’ coffee: £31.50
- Reusable cup bonus: Yes, one extra stamp
Costa
Customers must now buy an extra two coffees to get a free one at Costa – after a change last August.
They get a freebie after buying ten now, rather than eight.
Like at Nero, you get an extra stamp for a reusable cup.
Stamps can be collected in any of the chain’s 2,800 coffee shops, as well as around 12,000 machines in petrol stations and convenience stores.
How it works:
- One drink purchased = one bean, 10 beans = free drink
- Small latte cost: £3.50
- Number of drinks to hit target: ten
- Cost for a ‘free’ coffee: £35
- Reusable cup bonus: Yes, one extra bean
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