How to Maximize Your My Starbucks Rewards Benefits

How to get the most out of the My Starbuck's Rewards program.

A while ago I wrote a piece on the Starbuck's Gold Card program which has been discontinued in favor of a free and slightly more complex rewards program. The program has three tiers and with each increasing tier more free benefits become available.

You can read about the full details of the My Starbuck's Rewards program at the "official website" but here are some basics:

You register any Starbuck's gift card at Starbucks.com and create a free account. You either link a credit/debit card to the account or keep registering a new gift card whenever you get one to keep the account active. If you already have an account you automatically enter the "Green Level," otherwise you start at the "Welcome Level." Gold Card members from before automatically start at the "Gold Level."

At the "Welcome Level" you get a free birthday drink and 2 free hours of WiFi a day in store. At the "Green Level" you get these two perks plus free refills on brewed coffee, iced brewed coffee, and iced tea in store in addition to special offers, a free tall drink with a whole bean pound purchase. You also get free syrups and soy milk if you want.

At the "Gold Level" you get all of the "Green Level" benefits plus a free drink after every 15 stars (purchases), free trial items and coupons, and a personalized Gold card.

You progress through these levels by earning "stars." A star is earned every time you make a purchase with a registered Starbucks card. Green Level begins at 5 stars and Gold at 30 stars. If you earn 30 more stars within a year of first reaching Gold Level, the level remains for another year.

There are ways to really maximize the free benefits of this program and get your money's worth:

Important: A "star" is earned with each and every purchase regardless of the cost of the purchase. You could buy a dollar item or be buying 100 dollars worth of merchandise and both equal a single star.

1.) Set up auto reload on your Starbucks account online. Every time it dips below a certain balance the website reloads your card. This ensures you always have funds on the card as you must pay for a purchase with the card to get the benefits such as free refills and earned stars.

2.) If you are staying in the coffee shop for a little while and like regular coffee or tea, always order a "Tall" aka a "Small," stay a while and get at least one refill. This reduces the cost per cup. No reason to get a larger size if you can get free refills.

3.) Make multiple separate purchases during a single visit. Since a "star" is earned each time your registered card is swiped it is beneficial to make multiple card swipes. For example if you plan on having a pastry or sandwich or want a bottled drink to go purchase your coffee or drink first. Go back up and purchase the second item separately. If you plan on staying there for a little while you can sit down and enjoy the drink and get your other item later.

4.) Use the "free drink" coupons and offers to get the best drink possible. Your free birthday drink and free drink every 15 stars are generally not limited to brewed coffee or even a certain size. Although this may change (say a size requirement of "Tall" only) you can get an expensive drink for free. Also included is the free tall drink with any whole bean pound purchase.

In theory you can order any drink with multiple shots of expresso and custom syrups at no cost to you. You will want to wait for the physical coupon in the mail however as only the "free tall drink" with whole bean purchase occurs instantly. The special offers and free drinks must be redeemed with a coupon mailed out to you. You could easily get a 7 or 8 dollar custom drink for free making the rewards program well worth it.

5.) Register multiple cards to your account and give them to your significant other or family. This way you can accumulate stars faster without having to go in Starbucks often yourself.

Check Starbucks.com regularly to track your account balances and star balance. Also check the fine print in the FAQ section and on any coupons you receive as terms can and do change from time to time.