Starbucks Rewards Changes Banishes Gold Status, All Customers Can Redeem Stars Now

In its bid to stay ahead of its competitors in the market, Starbucks announced plans to revamp its North American loyalty program.

The new rewards program, which was announced ahead of its annual shareholders meeting Wednesday, allows Starbucks customers to earn stars – also known as reward points – and also have greater number of options while spending those points. “We know that with loyalty programs, people like to have different options for redeeming," Matthew Ryan, Starbucks chief marketing officer, said. Also, he added, "depending on what you want, in as little as two or three visits, you can have it.”

The biggest change in the new program, available for the coffee company's rewards members in the United States and Canada starting April 16, is that customers will no longer require to gain the Gold status to be able to start earning stars. This means that Starbucks intends to make the system beneficial for members who visit its stores less frequently too.

Under the old program, customers who signed up as rewards members earned two stars for every $1 spent, becoming a gold member after surpassing 300 stars. Only after that could one redeem every 125 stars earned for a free reward – which was a selected item off the coffee house’s menu. “Starbucks Rewards will move to a single-level program where all members can begin to earn Stars toward free Rewards from the day they join,” a coffee company spokesperson said, Delish reported.

Also, none of the members – Gold or otherwise – would have to wait to accumulate 125 stars to earn free goodies. Here is a look at the new Starbucks Rewards structure:

25 Stars: Extra espresso shot, dairy substitute or additional flavor

50 Stars: Brewed hot coffee, hot tea or select bakery Items

150 Stars: Handcrafted drink, hot breakfast or yogurt parfaits

200 Stars: Lunch sandwich, protein box or salad

400 Stars: Select merchandise or packaged coffee

The offers do not end there. If one happens to be a Starbucks Rewards Visa Prepaid Card or Starbucks Rewards Visa Credit Card holder, one’s redeemable stars will never expire. However, for all other customers, the points will have a validity of six months.

According to CNN Business, customers who signed up for Starbucks' membership program account for about 40 percent of sales at the company's U.S. stores. However, not all of them had the same spending pattern and hence, it was natural for the coffee chain to tweak its rewards system. "There are people who like to spend at very low levels, and there are people who like to hoard a lot of points," Ryan told the outlet. "Right now, we have just the middle point of the range."

He added that while Starbucks had already mastered its loyalty program, which makes the coffee chain popular among its daily customers, its rivals like Dunkin' Brands and McDonald's continue to dole out tempting offers to urge more people to use their apps. "We have established the definitive loyalty program in our space," Ryan told CNBC. "They're trying to be the best, it's a little hard for them to catch up to where we are right now.”