On Monday, Starbucks announced that it was making changes to its loyalty program and will now reward customers based on how much money customers spend. The new program will now reward people for spending $5 or more and will stop those who don't spend as much from getting free treats, according to the Associated Press.
The current model of the rewards system gives customers one star per transaction regardless of how much money was spent. Once a customer reached 12 stars, they were able to get a free food or drink option of their choice. Starting in April, customers will receive two stars for every $1 spent and will have to earn 125 stars for the free drink or food item, according to Reuters. This means that if a customer only goes to Starbucks for plain coffee, they would have to spend $62.50 to get their free item.
"We believe that customers, because they earn more, they'll spend more," said Scott Maw, chief financial officer for Starbucks.
Starbucks said that these changes were made so that more people will sign up for the loyalty program and to increase store sales and profits, according to USA Today. There are currently about 11 million active members, which was up by 23 percent from previous years. The new program also hopes to stop "check-splitters," customers who request multiple transactions in a single visit to earn points more quickly. The change will affect customers in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.
