For some reason, this short piece of information about Starbucks cards is one that hugely confuses both partners and customers:
Your money is on a Starbucks card. Your reward is not.
As we talked about this in a Facebook group, one former partner said to me, “This was, by far, the most difficult thing to explain to customers and get them to understand when I was a Sbux partner.”
The problem sometimes comes when people (both partners and customers) think that somehow the gold card is different than any other card and/or a certain card must be swiped to redeem a reward. I’ve had partners say to me, “There’s no reward on this card…” as if swiping a different card associated with the same account would make a difference. It won’t.
You have a profile at Starbucks.com/card. Your profile is at a rewards level. There are 3 rewards levels: Welcome, Green, and Gold. Every card you register on your Starbucks.com/card account is automatically at your digital rewards level, whether Welcome, Green, or Gold.
The only thing that is associated with any one specific card is money. The money is on the card.
If you had an account with Starbucks where a lump of money could be deposited and held for you, and further, in of your cards could access it, do you know what you would have created? A bank. Starbucks is not a bank. You don’t have a bank account with Starbucks. Because the money is held on a specific card (whichever card you choose to use), Starbucks avoids being subject to all the federal banking regulations.
Everything else – promotions, rewards, perks – are all your account an ALL your cards can access it. You can register as many cards as you like to your profile. (I think – I tried to get a response from Starbucks on this with no luck. I have 15 cards registered on my profile. I’m sure you can register at least 15 cards.)
Here’s a few examples of what I mean:
Need to swipe a card to get a free refill while inside the store? Use any card on your Starbucks.com/card profile. Just know that you have to be at the Green level of rewards to get that perk.
Did you get an email that you have a promotion code for half off iced tea? Swipe any card and tell the barista the promo code.
Did you get an email that says you have a free breakfast sandwich waiting for you? Swipe any card to access your special offer.
Do you have a birthday reward waiting for you to use? Swipe any card to redeem your birthday reward. (Birthday rewards expire quickly. They show up about 7 days before your birthday and expire very close to on your birthday.)
Do you have a Lucky Dozen reward waiting for you? Swipe any card to redeem your Lucky Dozen reward, which can be used on both food and drink. (Lucky Dozen rewards may not be used to purchase beer and wine or for Evenings food items.)
Are you buying a Pumpkin Spice Latte? Swipe the card that you loaded money onto.
Of course, all the same applies if you’re using the mobile phone app too.
Each time you swipe your card, you earn one star. If your Starbucks card is empty, you’re not earning stars. You earn My Starbucks Rewards stars when you are using a card to pay for your purchase. Also, always keep in mind that the promotions you get might be totally different than what your friends are getting. Starbucks uses one-to-one marketing, which means that promotions are tailored to each person.
Since there is never a requirement to use the shiny gold card, don’t hesitate to use whatever card you like. The rewards are on your profile and all your cards can redeem them! There are tons of card designs. I think there must be a few thousand! All of the cards show here are Starbucks cards and you can use any of them. Don’t bat an eye if you happen to see a card design you have seen before. There are tons and tons of Starbucks card designs.
![20150919_154615[1] Core Starbucks Card](http://starbucksmelody.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/20150919_1546151-Core-Starbucks-Card.jpg)
![20150919_121047[1] teavana cards](http://starbucksmelody.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/20150919_1210471-teavana-cards.jpg)
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Any unused expired Lucky Dozen Rewards, Starbucks usually replaces them with a $5 credit for each reward if you call the customer service hotline.
I don’t think there’s a limit to the number of cards you can register. I have close to 200 (been registering since 2005/6). It does slow up the app. Takes 10-15 secs to load the app. But once it’s loaded/opened its good to go. 🙂
I think part of this confusion is because some stores perpetuated the confusion. For example, at a Target Starbucks I frequent they used to tell me I could only redeem a reward (or get free refills) using my GOLD card, even though I was a gold member and using a different card that I prefer the look of. Since i did not have my physical GOLD card with me, they would not let me redeem my reward. It seems Target has changed to be more like normal Starbucks stores in how they give stars and redeem rewards, but in the past it was not always so equal.
@bryan, that is because you can get a free refill with any gift card through our system. Even if it’s a brand new card and you are only on welcome level. It was not set up right. We still can’t accept codes as well. My store has never turned a free refill down because of this but I see why the store you want to had.
Something to note is please tell your till barista about the promo BEFORE they swipe the card. Often we need to enter a three digit code to activate the reward. Because the rewards are personalized no two people have them the same and we don’t know what’s on your card. Baristas have a “check rewards” button and can print off a slip showing you what offers you have and information about your free rewards.
@Becca! Yes! Thank you that’s a good reminder!
Kristen – Your comment confuses me a bit. The free refill comes at the green level, not welcome level (though I think there should be just 2 levels and have green and welcome merge, imho). I just wasn’t sure what you meant with ‘not set up right.’ And I wanted to say thank you for always making great experiences! Your store sounds like they very much care about the customer experience.
I have several cards registered to my account as well. Recently, I started using a registered card with $0 balance when I request reward redemption. I did that the other day, told the barista 3 times that I had a reward and he still told me there was no balance to pay for the drink. I said I know, I have a reward. I have been charged at least 3 to 4 times in the past for rewards even though I said I would like to use my reward.
@Deborah – I’m sorry to hear that. That shouldn’t happen. There’s just a gap in training around this subject with partners. Assuming you were at a store that redeems rewards (some licensed retailers don’t), the answer should be a simple, “yes” – “Yes of course you can redeem your reward right now…” If this happens to you again, please call Customer Service and/or ask to contact the store manager. One challenge though is that I’ve met a number of store managers, ASMs, and Shifts who don’t understand this concept that we’re discussing.
Good day Melody, I’m still around, just doing more lurking than commenting, but enjoying every one of your posts that show up in my RSS Reader.
What brought me out of my quiet was the importance of this post. Once again you have done an excellent job of explaining the subtleties of the Starbucks Card and the Starbucks Card Account. Too bad Starbucks HQ cannot be as concise. And this may be lost on many of your readers, but the Bank reference is very significant.
Regarding the birthday reward. My birthday is Monday, the 21st, and my reward did not show up in my App, account, or email until yesterday, Saturday, the 19th, and it expires on the 28th. Just for grins I went back in my email archives and found last year’s email. It arrived 2 weeks before my birthday and expired six weeks after my birthday. I really do not understand why the birthday reward now has the shortest valid period.
Love this post! Very informative. I have my gold card in my wallet but I have never used it once. When I first got a rewards card it was Nov of last year when all the new designs came out. I chose several including the Youre a Peach and Hot Air Balloons but my favorite is the fox in the woods. I still get compliments on it and it’s so cute I use it exclusively. To be honest the gold on the gold card is too much for me.
One thing that you might want to add Melody is the refill process. As a newbie I had no idea how it worked. Sbux should put on their site somewhere that although the barista has to ring you up for a 50 cent purchase the system voids the charge if you are at the right level. The first time I ever got a refill the barista kept telling me it was 50 cents and not free. I let it go and then when I checked my account I realized my card gave me the discount automatically.
You’re right, Melody. This is a difficult concept for some to grasp. You gave a very good description!
I’m always having trouble with the refill policy on the Green Tea Lemonade or Peach Green Tea Lemonade etc. It used to be to get a “free refill” I paid another $1 for the lemonade – this always seemed kinda crappy because well there isn’t that much lemonade, but I paid it. Then last month they just told me no more free refills on it. So any idea why this came to be? I ADORE PGTL season and usually get it to sip in store then take one with me.
Melody, you crack me up!
“If you had an account with Starbucks where a lump of money could be deposited and held for you, and further, in of your cards could access it, do you know what you would have created? A bank. Starbucks is not a bank. You don’t have a bank account with Starbucks.” Lol. Love it.
I really do marvel at how well you explain the policies in your blog. Neither partners nor customers (and I am both!) should need to turn to the internet for such clarification, but at least it does exist! I agree that two rewards levels seem fine – easier to understand, and minimal impact on rewards. Anyway, another good post!
@Lauren Kom – I’m glad you get me!! I wanted someone to at least laugh a little at that one! Just imagine: Bank of Starbucks!
Happy Belated Birthday @DadCooks! You share a birthday with @Camspi (happy belated birthday Cameron)
@CD, thanks for the birthday wishes, never too late at my age 😉
Hey DadCooks happy belated birthday from me too!
@Melody, thanks very much. BTW, “belated” is my middle name 😉
What is a Lucky Dozen reward? I just got one according to my account ONLINE but NOT ON MY PHONE. I have 8 of 12 stars, so that’s not it. What is it?
I cannot find the description on their website.
Thanks.
Quip – A ‘Lucky Dozen’ is reward achieved by earning 12 stars (the only other kind of reward is the one you get for your birthday). Looking at the rewards I have, it appears it is 38 days from the time it is earned until it expires (the website says it should be 30 days). If you check when the reward expires, you should be able to work backwards and find out when you earned it. (eg. the reward I earned on Jan 11, expires on Feb 18).
Have you participated in any Star Dashes or bonuses star deals? It’s possible to go from zero rewards to a reward plus multiple stars overnight if you get multiple stars credited to your account (eg. if you had 10 stars and zero rewards, then earned 8 stars in a deal, you would then end up with 1 reward and 6 stars).
Melody – thanks for explaining that. I think when I played the Starbucks for life game and of course never won anything – for a week, a month, year or anything like that – I DID win a bunch of stars so those probably all got credited at once ….and so I have my reward! Thanks Melody.
Now I’m waiting to see the list of people who won Starbucks for life. Did they actually give out all of the awards that were possible?
I also find the app sometimes takes longer to update than the website, so it’s possible that if you just earned the reward, it just hasn’t appeared on your app yet.