Starbucks New Reward Program Earns Zero Stars from Me

(c) Starbucks

I admit it. I am a Starbucks addict. I love coffee and I love their coffee. It was with great pleasure that I earned my Gold card in 2012. And, I've kept up the Gold level with ease in the past four years.

When I opened the Starbucks Email today entitled "Say hello to the new Starbucks Rewards," I expected the changes to be beneficial to this Gold-level customer. Their claim is "Based on what you normally buy at Starbucks, you'll be able to earn free rewards even faster than you do today. "

I went to their web site link to check out the new program details Starbucks.com/MoreStars and waded through pages and pages of information. True, it was useful information but when you've scrolled down to what probably equates to page 10, you have to wonder....

At first, it sounds good - you get two stars for every dollar spent. 

Then the shock comes...the amount of stars needed to get what you used to get is magnitudes higher - like in earthquake measurements. Take a look at this screenshot:

(c) Starbucks

For me, instead of getting a food reward in 12 visits, I now have to make 62.5 visits. My time to use these stars before they expire is halved. Instead of having 12 months, I now have to hurry up and use them in 6.

Anyone wanting to become a Gold level member has to earn 270 more stars than before.

Can someone explain to me how this is better for the customer because I just can't see it.