Starbucks Rewards is a program that I didn’t pay much attention to until more recently. I typically don’t visit Starbucks all that often, but when I’m traveling I tend to prefer Starbucks to other coffee chains for one reason or another. Through all of that, I’d estimate that I spend a few hundred dollars with Starbucks each year.
Given the relatively small amount of money I spend at Starbucks (by comparison to daily visitors) I never though I’d get much value from the Starbucks Rewards program. However, the more I heard about the program from friends and co-workers the more I knew I needed to try it out.
At first I didn’t quite get it. I found it annoying that I had to scan my Starbucks card with each purchase instead of simply using my credit card. I hated the fact that I had to reload the card in set increments and couldn’t just fund each purchase. However, the more I familiarized myself with the Starbucks Rewards program the more I came to appreciate it. For example, about 10-15 days a month Starbucks offers half off beverages in the afternoon. Likewise, recently I’ve seen several buy one get one deals. All in all, I’ve grown to like the app and now prefer to order through the app prior to my visit.
What Are Starbucks Rewards Stars?
The nice thing about ordering through the Starbucks app is that it guarantees that I earn Starbucks Rewards Stars. It’s best to think of Stars as points. In general, Starbucks Rewards users earn 2 Stars per $1 spent at Starbucks stores. You only earn Stars if you use your Starbucks Rewards card or order through the app. Additionally, you (generally) only earn Stars on the cost of your purchase excluding any taxes and tips.
Once you earn 125 Stars you can then redeem those Stars for a free menu item. What’s interesting about Starbucks is that your redemption isn’t capped. So, you can use your 125 to pay for your $2 coffee or use the same number of stars to pay for a $15 concoction. Either way, once you earn 125 Stars you get a free menu item.
It’s worth noting that Starbucks Stars do expire 6 months after earning them. So if you earn 20 Stars in January 2018 those Stars expire in July 2018. It’s also worth nothing that Starbucks has plans to change the program in 2019.
The Awesome Deal To Earn Up To 475 Bonus Stars
Within the Starbucks app you’ll often find opportunities to earn bonus Stars. Typically these offers are to earn 25 Stars for going back and buying an item you’ve already purchased, 50 Stars for making a three app purchases in a week, or 75 Stars for completing a menu challenge. Every now and then though an offer shows up in the app that seems to good to be true and this most recent promotion appears to be one of them.
Right now, Starbucks is offering targeting customers up to 475 when they reload their Starbucks Rewards card with Chase Pay. This is fairly similar to the other huge Chase Pay offer earlier this year.
Registering for this most recent promotion is fairly simple if you are targeted. I suspect those who completed the earlier Chase Pay bonus offer are the targeted ones, but I’m curious to see if this is open to others who didn’t get in on the first promotion.
How To Register For The Deal
To register, begin by opening the Starbucks app. At the top of the page you should see a little green dot on the “Inbox” which shows an incoming message.
When you open your inbox you should see a message or two from Starbucks. You may have more if you don’t check your inbox frequently. What’s important is that if you’re targeted for the offer you should see a “Reload 3x. Earn 475 (Star).” offer.
When you click on the message you’ll reach a page with the details for the offer. With this current offer, you can earn up to 475 Starbucks Stars for reloading your Starbucks account 3 times with Chase Pay.
For the first Chase Pay reload you’ll earn 125 bonus Stars. For the second reload you’ll earn an additional 150 Stars. When you reload for the third time you’ll earn 200 Stars for a total of 475 Stars.
All you have to do is make sure to use Chase Pay to reload your Starbucks account in at least $20 increments. To maximize this offer you must complete all three reloads before 12/12/2018.
Final Thoughts
I’m a big fan of huge offers like this. 475 bonus Stars is enough Stars for at least 3 free menu items. Then, assuming you reload your card in $20 increments, by the time you complete the offer you should have earned enough Stars for a fourth free menu item. That’s not that bad for simply changing your method of payment. In many cases, you’ll end up using the same card to make these purchases as you would if you link your Chase card directly so you shouldn’t be missing out on credit card points when taking advantage of this offer.
Finally, I like that Starbucks is giving customers a little over a month and a half to complete this challenge. Also, you don’t have to spend the full $60 in the time period. All you have to do is add $60 to your Starbucks account. So, unlike other offers which require you to make a few purchases in a short period of time. You could in theory add funds and use the funds for months to come.
I personally will be taking advantage of this offer and look forward to enjoying my four free menu items. Starbucks prices are fairly outrageous on everything but a cup of coffee so I’ll be using my rewards to try out some of the more expensive drinks on the menu that I otherwise wouldn’t be purchasing.
