starbucks is reintroducing tiers to its North American loyalty program to encourage coffee drinkers to visit more often as part of a broader turnaround strategy.
The company made the announcement at its investor day on Thursday. Executives across the business are sharing more details about Starbucks’ plans to drive future sales growth and profitability, including its all-important loyalty program.
Starbucks Rewards has been around since 2009. The company, which has long been considered a leader in restaurant technology, relies on its loyalty program to encourage members to come back more often and spend more money. In fiscal year 2025, transactions related to rewards programs accounted for 60% of the company’s revenue.
But coffee chains also need to balance offering attractive benefits to members and maintaining profit margins. The company abolished its two-tier system in 2019 and said the change was aimed at encouraging new member engagement. The company currently feels that the system does not adequately reward its most loyal customers.
“Our best customers come to us 200 times a year, and we treated them like someone who comes once a year,” Treci Lieberman, Starbucks chief brand officer who joined Starbucks in November 2024, told CNBC’s Kate Rogers. “So we introduced a hierarchy.”
The tiered program will resume on March 10, this time with three levels.
How Starbucks loyalty tiers work
Starbucks Rewards members with less than 500 “stars” (points) are in the green tier. Enjoy free drinks and food on your birthday, receive early access to select menu items, and receive personalized offers. Stars for Green Tier members do not expire for six months, and there are many ways to keep your Stars from expiring, including redeeming benefits and purchasing.
If a customer earns 500 stars in a 12-month period, Starbucks will upgrade the customer to the Gold level. Points never expire and you earn 1.2 stars for every dollar you spend.
Members can level up to the Reserve tier by earning 2,500 Stars in a 12-month period. Customers at this level have access to exclusive products and events, and earn 1.7 points per dollar spent.
The current Starbucks Rewards program gives members two stars for every dollar spent when paying with a preloaded Starbucks gift card. Members only earn one star for every dollar spent when paying with a credit or debit card.
The perks you can redeem are mostly the same, but Starbucks is adding an option that gives you $2 off any order in exchange for 60 stars.
The company also plans to add “Free Mod Mondays,” which give loyalty program members one free change to any drink on a Monday of their choice once a month.
The announcement came after the company released its earnings report on Wednesday morning. For the first time in nearly four years, Starbucks saw an increase in traffic from both Rewards members and non-members during the quarter.
“We have to win both with rewards customers and with light or infrequent customers,” CEO Brian Nicol said on an earnings call Wednesday.
