Starbucks ~ Getting a Good Deal on the Green Straw

Starbucks is a wonderful treat, addiction, guilty pleasure… but it can weigh heavily on your bank account if you find yourself rushing toward the green siren (logo) multiple times per week or even multiple times per day.  I am one of the many with this fabulous, yet costly addiction.  Since I am working on finding deals everywhere I frequent, I have decided to work on this one a bit.  Here’s a strategy I have figured out – maybe it can help you!

1) Get a Starbucks Rewards Card! I have avoided doing this for the past 10 years in order to somehow trick myself into believing that I don’t spend “too much” money there… It makes it pretty black and white.  BUT there are many perks that go along with the card.  

To get started all you need is a Starbucks gift card (empty or of any denomination).  Register it online at Starbucks.com.   There you can load, check balance, etc.  Once registered, it starts keeping track of your “visits” actually your purchases.  So, each time you purchase an item, you get a star.  5 Stars moves you up a level to earn rewards every visit like Free Syrup, Free Drip Refills, etc.  25 more Stars moves you up to the Gold Level – Free Drinks every 15, plus the previous benefits, plus more. Check out the site for more info.   You can get the iphone or Android app and transfer your card right to your phone (you can pay with your phone, update, load, etc).   You can load your card with your debit card, PayPal account etc. You can even set up a monthly allotment to be auto deposited onto your card (good and bad J).

So, the trick to getting more stars is to accumulate a lot of “visits” or purchases each time you get your usual items.  Take this past Sunday for example:  My family and I went there to enjoy a morning coffee date.  Purchase 1: Venti Iced Coffee – Pay, One Star.  Purchase 2: Tall Drip Coffee (free, I’ll explain later)  & a news paper – Pay, 2 Stars.  Purchase 3:  “Oh man, we forgot to get our daughter her kid’s juice” – Pay, 3 Stars.  Purchase 4: Refill the Venti Coffee (50 cents) for my husband to drink later – Pay, 4 Stars.

2) Utilize Drink Refills – You are allowed to refill any iced or hot drink with drip or iced coffee as long as you drink the first one in the store.  If you are a scammer like me, you may order the first Venti Iced coffee (as explained above), along with a Grande ice water (free) and enjoy part while at the store.  Then dump the remainder into the Grande cup, and send your husband up for a refill (50 cents) for him to drink later – healthier because he hydrated with the water already J.   Or you can always just refill your drinks to save for an afternoon energy burst as well.

3) Treat Receipts – All summer Starbucks offers Treat Receipts (expires 9/5).   Buy a coffee (or ANYTHING) in the AM (before 2) and then come back after 2PM for any Grande Iced Drink for $2.  Notice how many purchases I made in the above scenario? Well, each produced a treat receipt… You could take 3 of your friends out for cheap coffee in the afternoon J.   As you can guess, I ended up back at Starbucks in the afternoon for my $2 Grande Iced Mocha , add shot, with whip ($4.85 value).  Bam! 5 Rewards Card Stars in one day J

4) Save the Bags – Each bag of whole bean or ground Starbucks coffee in the grocery store has a “Return this bag for a tall drip coffee” on it.  Bring it in, order the tall coffee – go ahead and put a few pumps of mocha, some milk & whip in it and the “coupon” bag will take the entire amount off your order (supposed to be $1.50, but will take off anything that is added to the coffee as well).   Going back to the Rewards Card – if you are in the 2^nd Level (only after 5 stars) you get a free Tall Drink (of your choice) every time you buy whole bean or ground coffee at Starbucks.

5) Look for coupons – Often you can find coffee coupons online (coupons.com) or via email thanks to your Rewards Card for ground coffee, via packets, etc.

Note: I am not recommending that you start a new Starbucks Habit – this info is strictly for those who already find themselves in deep with the green straw addiction!  Enjoy J