Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific - Starbucks Cards Issued in USA & Australia are Interchangeable!

My spouse is a Starbucks fan and has a automatically reloading card issued in the US. She will be in Australia for a few weeks and wrote an email to Starbucks to see if her US card could be used at Australian locations. Here's their response:

"The U.S. and Australian Starbucks Cards can be used interchangeably in either country. The transaction will be posted to your account in either U.S. or Australian dollars, depending on where the transaction took place. The exchange rate at the time of transaction will be applicable if the purchase was made outside the country of card activation.

For example, if you owned an Australian Starbucks Card and used it to by a latte in a Starbucks location in New York, the transaction would be posted to your Starbucks Card in U.S. funds. The exchange rate at the time of transaction would then convert that amount to Australian funds which would be subtracted from your Australian balance on the card."


Also, I understand that Canadian issued cards are also useable in OZ!

There are so many cafes in Australia though each with its own different character, your wife would be better off sampling some of those and saving the Starbucks till she gets home ;) . The standard of coffee at Starbucks in Australia isn't bad but most coffee shops will have far superior coffee.

Agree. In Australia and NZ starbucks generally far inferior to most coffee shops.

Hobart is on a semi boycott of the 1 starbucks in town. Its almost always empty and the coffee I had there (for comparison purposes) was abysmal.

There are so many cafes in Australia though each with its own different character, your wife would be better off sampling some of those and saving the Starbucks till she gets home ;) . The standard of coffee at Starbucks in Australia isn't bad but most coffee shops will have far superior coffee.

Totally agree. Rather than greeting this homogenisation with glee, I reckon it is another sad reflection of the "sameness" culture.

We travel for different experiences, and to visit a Starbucks when on vacations half way round the world from the US is to negate the purpose of travel. Try something new while you're there - you might like it.

Australia has some of the best coffee I've experienced, which I wouldn't have anticipated in advance. (Although an a Yankee it took some getting used to, figuring out that I wanted a short white for instance.)

Australia has some of the best coffee I've experienced, which I wouldn't have anticipated in advance. (Although an a Yankee it took some getting used to, figuring out that I wanted a short white for instance.)

you mean a flat white? ;)

you mean a flat white? ;)
No - short black with milk on the side..... :)

No offence..but the only people I have ever seen at the Starbucks in Sydney are tourists :)

Now I am off to catch the train to work and get my daily skinny cap..yummm :)

Phoebe

I don't even see tourists at the Starbucks in Sydney. Head down to Woolloomooloo and to Toby's...mmm, I'm dying for a short black just thinking of it.

Interestingly enough, a Starbucks in Edward Street, Brisbane, actually closed down.

What's more, Starbucks paid the lease on the empty shop for ~2 years until a new tenant was found. It must have really been doing badly...

I have noticed that most of the Starbucks I go past the overwhelming majority of customers are Asian students studying in Oz.

I haven't seen a Starbucks in China but I can't say I really go looking for them. Actually I was in Beijing and there was this great cafe near where I was staying run by a brother and sister, they even had some fantastic soups, hopefully Starbucks doesn't take over there the way so many American chains are/have.

Starbucks at Martin Place is just a minute's walk from the Westin, which is one attaraction for the solo US traveller who wants to lounge in familiar surrounds.
This one could get busy late afternoons with students - most of the other city SBs are ignored by CBD workers.

Australia has some of the best coffee I've experienced, which I wouldn't have anticipated in advance. (Although an a Yankee it took some getting used to, figuring out that I wanted a short white for instance.)

Yes, I think that is a short black, or a flat white. ;)

Glen

.... figuring out that I wanted a short white for instance.)

What? An American who takes milk in their coffee? :p

We had the reverse situation...it took 4 weeks to work out that what my mother wanted was an Americano in which she could then put the milk.