Starbucks is reintroducing tiers into its North American loyalty program in a bid to encourage coffee drinkers to visit more frequently as part of its broader turnaround strategy.
The company made the announcement Thursday during its investor day. Company executives share more details about Starbucks’ plans to drive future sales growth and profitability, including through its all-important loyalty program.
Starbucks Rewards has been around since 2009. The company, long considered a leader in restaurant technology, leverages its loyalty program to encourage members to come more frequently and spend more money. In fiscal 2025, Rewards transactions accounted for 60% of the company’s revenue.
But the coffee chain must also find a balance between offering its members tempting rewards and maintaining its profit margins. In 2019, the company eliminated the two-tier system, saying the change was intended to encourage new members to become more engaged. The company now believes that this system does not adequately reward its most loyal customers.
“Our best customers come 200 times a year, and we treated them the same as someone who comes once a year,” Tressie Lieberman, chief brand officer at Starbucks, who joined the company in November 2024, told CNBC’s Kate Rogers. “So we introduced tiers.”
The tiered program will return on March 10, this time with three tiers.
How Starbucks Loyalty Tiers Will Work
Starbucks Rewards members with fewer than 500 “stars” – or points – will fall into the green tier. They can enjoy a free drink or food item on their birthday, get early access to certain menu items and benefit from personalized offers. Green Tier members’ stars will not expire for six months, and they can prevent them from expiring in several ways, such as redeeming a reward or making a purchase.
Once a customer earns 500 stars in a 12-month period, Starbucks upgrades them to Gold. Their points never expire and they earn 1.2 stars for every dollar spent.
Members can upgrade to the Reserve level after earning 2,500 stars over a 12-month period. Customers at this tier have access to exclusive merchandise and events and earn 1.7 points per dollar spent.
The current Starbucks Rewards program offers members two stars for every dollar spent when paying with a preloaded Starbucks gift card. If paying with a credit or debit card, members only earn one star per dollar spent.
The rewards available for redemption remain largely the same, although Starbucks is adding the option of a $2 discount on any order in exchange for 60 stars.
The company is also adding “Free Mod Mondays,” which offer loyalty program members a free modification of any beverage on a selected Monday, once a month.
The announcement follows the company’s release of its earnings report Wednesday morning. For the first time in nearly four years, Starbucks saw traffic from Rewards members and non-members increase during the quarter.
“You have to win both with your Rewards customers and, call it, thin or infrequent customers,” CEO Brian Niccol said during the company’s earnings call Wednesday.