Starbucks rewards changes start today with new tiers: How to tell if you’re Green, Gold, or Reserve

Starbucks customers who love collecting the company’s loyalty rewards stars for each dollar they spend are in for a change this morning.

America’s No. 1 coffee chain is launching its revamped rewards program today, March 10. With it comes a tiered loyalty membership program and a new structure for earning stars and new rewards. Here’s what you need to know.

The former Starbucks loyalty rewards system is no more

Before today’s launch of the new rewards program, Starbucks’s previous loyalty system was more straightforward. Under the old system, which was in place from around 2019 until yesterday, there were no membership tiers.

In that program, all Starbucks customers were equal because they earned the same number of stars for dollars spent. Under the old system, rewards members earned 1 star for every $1 spent or 2 stars for every $1 spent when paying with a pre-loaded Starbucks Card.

Stars could be redeemed for rewards, such as a free extra shot of syrup (25 stars), free drinks (100 to 200 stars), and even free merch (400 stars). However, no matter how many stars a person earned, they needed to redeem those stars within six months, or they expired.

But in January, Starbucks announced it was doing away with its reward program, which had treated every member equally.

In its place, the company said it would launch a new rewards program that had three tiers of membership. Under the new program, the more loyal you are to the company (i.e., the more you spend), the greater your rewards will be.

At the time of the announcement, Tressie Lieberman, Starbucks global chief brand officer, explained that the company’s Starbucks Rewards program has “always been about creating connection, and we’re evolving the program based on what our members told us matters most, offering faster, more meaningful benefits that make them feel appreciated.”

That new program launches today.

How is Starbucks new rewards program different?

The main difference between the new Starbucks loyalty program launching today and the previous one is that the new program works on a tiered membership.

Starbucks Rewards members are now grouped into three tiers based on the amount of stars they have earned (in other words, the amount of money they have spent). When a Starbucks Rewards member earns enough stars, they move into a higher tier, unlocking more rewards.

The new tiers and stars structures are as follows:

• Green Member: This is the entry-level tier that every Starbcuks Rewards member starts at. Green members will receive 1 star for every $1 spent (so 10 stars for $10 spent).
• Gold Member: Once a Green Member collects 500 stars, they are promoted to a Gold Member. Gold Members earn 1.2 stars for every $1 spent (so 12 stars for $10 spent).
• Reserve Member: This is the highest level you can achieve under the new Starbucks Rewards program. Once you earn 2,500 stars, you are promoted from a Gold to a Reserve Member. Reserve members earn 1.7 stars for every $1 spent (so 17 stars for every $10 spent).

No matter which membership tier you fall into, these stars can be redeemed for the same freebies. For example:

• a free shot of syrup (25 stars)
• up to $2 off any item (60 stars)
• free drinks (100-200 stars)
• free food (300 stars)
• free merch (400 stars)

However, there are additional rewards unique to the new membership tiers. For example, while Green Members can keep their stars from expiring at the six-month mark by making eligible purchases, Gold and Reserve Members never see their stars expire as long as they maintain those membership tiers.

Additionally, the higher your membership level, the more double-star days you get per year, and the longer you have to redeem your free birthday treat (1 day for Green, 7 days for Gold, and 30 days for Reserve).

How do I know what membership tier I’m in?

The good news for existing Starbucks Rewards members is that they do not start from scratch today.

Starbucks is grandfathering existing rewards members into the new program based on the number of stars they accumulated between January 2025 and December 2025.

This means that if you accumulated under 500 stars, you’ll be a Green Member today. If you accumulated between 500 and 2,499 stars during the period, you’ll be a Gold Member. And if you accumulated more 2,500 or more stars during the period, you’ll be a Reserve Member today.

To see your new membership level under the revamped Starbucks Rewards program, simply open up your Starbucks app. Starbucks has also said it will alert Rewards members to their new status via email.

In January, Starbucks said it had 35.5 million active Starbucks Rewards members in the United States. 

Why is Starbucks doing this?

Clearly the company hopes the new system will boost loyalty and therefore sales. Brian Niccol, who took over as CEO of Starbucks in 2024, has been executing an aggressive turnaround plan, in part aimed at improving the in-store experience.

Starbucks Corporation stock (Nasdaq: SBUX) is up over 18% year to date. In January, the company posted its first U.S. sales growth in two years.

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