Starting in March, Starbucks is rolling out a new rewards program. It will feature tiers and new rewards for those different tiers. It’s confusing, and frankly, we don’t want to lose gold star status! Here is everything that you need to know about the upcoming changes.
By Jayne Turner – Staff Writer
The Current Program
The current rewards program allows users to sign up and then order and pay however they’d like. Use cash, credit, or debit by scanning for stars, or save time by loading your card into the app. These methods will earn you one star per dollar. The best way? Loading a gift card into the app. This will earn you two stars per dollar. Double the bang for your buck!
Active members can earn free food, drinks, and more, as well as a free birthday treat! Account holders can also mobile order, making your coffee stop faster than ever. Finally, there are a variety of challenges and double-star days that make it easy to rack up stars to redeem for free items. Read more about Starbucks’ current issues here.
Star Redemption
25 Stars earns you up to $1 off a drink customization – this includes an add shot or syrups.
100 Stars gets you a free brewed hot or iced coffee or tea, bakery item, or packaged snack. This includes modifications, so feel free to add syrup, milk, and more to your drink.
200 Stars unlocks a free handcrafted drink. These include lattes, cold brews, flat whites, and shaken espressos. You can also redeem for a hot breakfast item, like a sandwich or oatmeal.
300 Stars gets you a free lunch sandwich, protein box, or bag of coffee.
400 Stars will take up to $20 from a cup, tumbler, or other coffee merch. So, if the item is less than $20, it’s free! If it’s more, you’ll have to cover the additional cost.
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What’s Changing
With the introduction of tiers, the money you spend on Starbucks has a real effect on your membership tier. It is calculated by the stars earned in a year.
Green Member (0-499 stars): This tier earns 1 Star per $1, double stars when using a personal cup, access to “Free Mod Mondays,” bonus stars when reloading $30 or more, and a free birthday treat.
“Free Mod Monday” offers members one free customization per month, including cold foam.
Gold Member (500-2,499 stars): Includes all above benefits plus 1.2 Stars per $1, a whole week to redeem your birthday reward (normally it is only available day-of), 4 or more double star days a year, and stars that never expire.
This is a huge upgrade, as stars currently expire after 6 months.
Reserve Member (2,500+ stars): Includes all above benefits plus 1.7 Stars per $1, 6 or more double-star days, a free personalized reserve card, access to all-expenses paid “Global Coffee Experiences,” and access to the Starbucks merchandise shop.
This rewards program is more like that at Sephora, which is tiered and points-based, which puts Starbucks’s reward program up there with the best of the best.
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Though it’s a bit confusing at first, this program is meant to support the highest spenders while motivating lower spenders to increase visits to reach higher tiers. Starting on March 10, 2026, we will see how consumers receive this new reward program.
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