
Sbux Math: Calculate Your Starbucks Reward Program Changes - SeanKilleen
http://SbuxMath.com
======
douche
Circle-K stores (Irving's gas station convenience chain) used to do a deal
where you'd get a free coffee every six or ten.

Most of the time, if you hit them in the morning, the cashier would just punch
the whole card when you bought one...

It's terrifying the amount of money you can save when you get in the habit of
making your own coffee though. It's not quite on the level of movie popcorn,
but it's up there.

~~~
chrissnell
I'm painfully aware of the cost of my daily large triple-latte habit but I
can't seem to motivate to do what it takes to replace my high-quality PNW
coffee shop with homemade espresso. These are the obstacles, as I see them:

\- The espresso machine. The $150 one you get off Amazon just isn't the same
as the La Marzocco that they use at a good coffee shop. Count on spending a
minimum of $2,000 for a machine, or as much as $5-6,000 for a commercial-
quality machine that will last for years of use. The quality of the grind is
one of the most important aspects of good espresso, so figure another
$500-1000 on a high-quality grinder, and another hundred or so for accessories
and such. Yes, there are cheaper devices but there are reasons that the good
stuff cost so much: high-quality all-metal construction, consistent and
accurate pressure and temperature, serviceability, etc.

\- Learning to be a barista. Operating and maintaining the equipment, pouring
technique, knowledge of coffee beans--these are all skills that I lack. I
don't know where to learn them, either. I have a busy job and I don't have
time to apprentice at a coffee shop. I wish there was some kind of class that
I could take over a weekend where I could learn to be as good as the guys and
girls working at my local shop.

Still, even with all of the hurdles, it's worth it. I'm spending $35/week--
that's almost $1,900 a year--on espresso drinks. I could pay for a nice Faema
or La Marzocco in only a few years of drinking at home.

EDIT: I spoke too soon. Look at this:
[https://a.zozi.com/#/express/seattlebaristaacademywa/product...](https://a.zozi.com/#/express/seattlebaristaacademywa/products/64317)

~~~
cowholio4
I spent about $1,100 if you include accessories on a Rancilio Silvia Espresso
Machine and the doserless Rancilio Rocky grinder. Once you get to the know the
machine, you can pull consistently great shots and even do latte art.

I have had this setup for about 5 years now. I drink more coffee than ever,
spend much less for it and it's at the point where I would much rather drink
my coffee than go out to a cafe.

But yeah, I would love a La Marzocco. When and if my faithful Silvia kicks the
bucket I am going to definitely head that route.

You should try it! There is something just so satisfying about making yourself
an awesome cappuccino and it's great for guests.

~~~
askafriend
When I go to a cafe, it's really about the space. I pay for a great space to
hang out and chat with someone. It's less about the actual beverage if I'm
being honest.

That's why I don't particularly care for making coffee at home. I enjoy
hanging out at the coffee shops for extended periods of time. I'll read, get
some work done or just people watch. It's fun and my way of giving back to the
shop is to buy stuff like a bagel and some coffee.

I do have a daily coffee habit, but more so as a pick me up after lunch at
work. At work we have multiple ways to make (free) coffee so can't really
complain there! I've been trying to drink less coffee though. I should really
stop eating so many carbs during lunch. It really slogs down the rest of my
day and it makes me need coffee.

~~~
amerkhalid
Exactly, coffeeshops, for me, are like what bars are for many people. I don't
really go there for coffee but just a place where I can relax, read something,
get some extra work done, maybe even socialize.

The value I get from any good coffeeshop far exceed what I pay for drinks and
food there.

------
JoshGlazebrook
The last change they made to their reward system decreased the amount of stars
required to receive a free drink from 15 to 12 stars, but the big thing was
soy milk and additional syrups were no longer free. This really pissed off
non-dairy drinkers and I can understand why since soymilk is an extra $0.60.

But now with this new change it seems like they're catering to the customers
that already shell out the money for the $5.00+ drinks (frappuccinos, lattes,
etc) in their larger size forms. It's like they're just giving the middle
finger to the people who only come for regular coffee and teas.

On top of that, they're making it even more complicated to understand. Like
how exactly do they think managing hundreds of stars and calculating stars
earned based on the amount of money paid is better in terms of simplicity for
the ordinary customer vs. the current (soon to be old) system where 1 purchase
= 1 star, 12 stars = free food/drink. It's overly complicating an already
simple system. Surely there had to be another way to fix the issue of people
wanting their orders split up into individual orders to get more stars while
still giving more value (in stars) to larger orders.

~~~
plaguuuuuu
Why bother going to Starbucks for regular coffee anyway? They're not good at
it.

~~~
JoshGlazebrook
Their cold brew iced coffee is actually pretty decent. But I myself do mainly
go for the lattes, iced tea, and occasionally frappuccinos. But as far as the
new rewards system goes, for trying to be a coffee company, especially with
the recent drinks like the "flat white" which cater more towards plain coffee
drinkers and coffee snobs, they sure gave the middle finger to them with this
change.

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et2o
I never understand the extent to which people get upset about these programs.

Taking the absolute worst-case scenario: You spend only $1.75 every weekday
morning on a plain coffee. This website says you now get a free drink every 36
visits instead of every 12 visits. Assuming you have 240 visits (48
weeks/year), that comes to $408/year instead of $385/year, or a difference of
$23. That's only about 5% more. Over time, you'd save much, much more just
making your own coffee or even buying a machine for the office.

If you're buying a $3.65 latte everyday (apparently these are much cheaper
nationally than in Manhattan), this rewards program change takes it from
$832/year to $813/year, or about a 2% change.

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gitah
I get a grande drip coffee every morning just for the star. Looks like I now
have to go 32 times to earn the reward.

Guess it was too good to last; I'm going to stop using the reward system and
just drink coffee from the office.

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ww520
The only reason I got a Starbucks card is for the reward. I actually didn't
like the card since it tracked my visits. Now there's less reason to do so.
When people are switching back to credit cards, those small transactions are
going to hurt more with the per transaction fee.

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joeax
Thanks. I didn't realize how much the new system sucks til I looked at the
math. Before I was spending $30-40 bucks to earn a free drink. Now I have to
spend $63 in the least, not accounting for truncating the cents off each
purchase + tax, so more like $70-80 for the same perk.

~~~
jchin
FAQ indicates you'll get partial stars for the cents.

"What will happen in the new program if I spend an uneven amount? Do I get
credit for the change?+

Yes, your change counts towards partial Stars. We’ll keep track of all your
partial Stars and apply them to your total Stars.

For example, if you spend $6.20 (i.e., not including tax, tips, alcohol or
other exceptions), you will earn 12.40 Stars.

The .40 is not always visible (we like to keep things simple), but you can
always view your Stars and purchase history at starbucks.com/rewards or in the
mobile app."

[http://morestars.starbucks.com/#section1](http://morestars.starbucks.com/#section1)

~~~
SeanKilleen
This web site calculates partial stars behind the scenes. So the equivalent
visits uses the sum (including partial stars) in the calculation.

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gd2
This change feels like a bad fumble, even if Starbucks is a great marketing
engine.

Under the old program, even that it was kinda dumb, I liked getting the stars
and the reward, and it somehow made me feel like a member a my club. This
changes seems to bust that.

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fencepost
I'm going to make a push to get my gold status renewed for one more year
before the new program goes into effect, but after that I'm not going to worry
about it much. I'm one of the people they're not looking for anyway, since I
get either a morning blonde roast or a midday Americano when I do go in there.

I also haven't actually been in very much since I got a Zojirushi mug for
Christmas - these days I make a pot in the morning, fill up an older mug (for
immediate drinking) and the Zojirushi mug for 2-4 hours later (when it'll
still be quite hot), and I'm done with it for the day.

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boling11
The best part of this change is the ridiculous email where they couched it by
saying it was the "#1 request we heard from members."

~~~
SeanKilleen
Yeah, that really grabbed my attention. Of all the people who've used it so
far, I haven't seen any report that they'll be favorably affected.

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jstelly
This is a good change for people in offices that take turns buying coffee for
a regular group of people.

