New way to earn Starbucks freebies

Rewards loyalty program gets a makeover.

Starbucks is offering a new way for you to get free stuff.

Starting April 16, Starbucks Rewards loyalty program is getting a makeover, allowing members to earn Stars – aka rewards points – sooner, and use those points to buy more items than before.

“We know that with loyalty programs, people like to have different options for redeeming,” said Matt Ryan, chief marketing officer at Starbucks. Under the new points-earning structure, “depending on what you want, in as little as two or three visits, you can have it.”

Starbucks reworked its Rewards structure to include tiers. Now if you spend $13, on your next visit, you can get an extra espresso shot or dairy substitute free of charge. The updated program also lets you use points to buy packaged coffee and select merchandise for the first time.

In addition to the redesigned program, Starbucks credit and debit cardholders will be able to accrue points forever with no expiration date.

Ryan said that cardholders tend to be “the ones who have thousands of Stars in their accounts.” He said that “they want to be able to do is use them in big chunks.” So under the suite of new enhancements, they’ll be able to do that.

Starbucks also is doing away with the elite “Gold” status that you get once you’ve spent $150 or earned 300 points. Under the changes, there’s just one level and customers can begin redeeming Stars immediately after they are earned.

Don’t fret, though. Starbucks says that all gold level members will keep their Star balances; the points will roll over. Members at the “Welcome” level (less than 300 points) will see their balance reset, and they will be immediately eligible to earn Stars toward Rewards.