Consolidated "Starbucks - games, promotions, devaluations, et al" thread
Aug 28, 2018, 5:45 pm
#391
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Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Either at the shooting range or anywhere good beer can be found...
Posts: 51,030
They appear automatically.
Aug 28, 2018, 6:08 pm
#392
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: VPS
Programs: IHG Diamond, Delta PM, Hilton Gold, Accor Gold, Marriott Silver
Posts: 7,262
They've just appeared automatically credited to my account and Starbucks app
Aug 28, 2018, 9:01 pm
#393
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: PHL
Programs: AA ExP, Marriott Amb, National EAE, Hilton Diamond, SPG Plat (RIP), US CP (RIP)
Posts: 2,379
Check your account history for the points to be credited with “promotion” listed on the line where normally you would find the store name.
Nov 4, 2018, 1:13 pm
#395
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Motown
Programs: DL, WN, AA, IHG Diamond, Hertz 5*
Posts: 3,408
Since Starbucks changed the time frame to use a birthday award, I lost mine this year. I was traveling in China on my birthday recently, and the US rewards program is not compatible with Starbucks stores there. When I got home, I wrote a note to their customer service, and to my pleasant surprise they re-added the reward to my account to be used within 24 hrs. Just an FYI if and when anyone else is in the same situation, and thank you Starbucks.
Nov 4, 2018, 2:06 pm
#396
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: San Diego, CA
Programs: GE, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 15,503
Anyone else notice that they seem to hold off on bonuses until your star balance drops below a certain level? I used up a bunch of them recently because they were about to expire and I suddenly started getting usable offers again.
Nov 4, 2018, 2:45 pm
#397
Community Director Emerita
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Anywhere warm
Posts: 33,739
Since Starbucks changed the time frame to use a birthday award, I lost mine this year. I was traveling in China on my birthday recently, and the US rewards program is not compatible with Starbucks stores there. When I got home, I wrote a note to their customer service, and to my pleasant surprise they re-added the reward to my account to be used within 24 hrs. Just an FYI if and when anyone else is in the same situation, and thank you Starbucks.
Nov 4, 2018, 4:08 pm
#398
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: PHL
Programs: AA ExP, Marriott Amb, National EAE, Hilton Diamond, SPG Plat (RIP), US CP (RIP)
Posts: 2,379
I see it tied more to my overall activity level. Stray away for a while or divert from your normal pattern. Watch offers roll in. 🤔. If you don’t come back, the offers slow but then periodically drop back in. (Kind of a “hello, don’t forget us” message)
Nov 4, 2018, 4:23 pm
#399
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Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Either at the shooting range or anywhere good beer can be found...
Posts: 51,030
Nope. Just received two different bonus offers in the past week. I have points expiring for two items this month, and six more next month.
I see it tied more to my overall activity level. Stray away for a while or divert from your normal pattern. Watch offers roll in. 🤔. If you don’t come back, the offers slow but then periodically drop back in. (Kind of a “hello, don’t forget us” message)
Nov 5, 2018, 8:01 am
#400
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: CLE
Programs: UA Platinum, Starbucks Gold, PF Chang's Warrior, Wine Century 100
Posts: 1,104
Not sure if it's just the store I frequent, but they no longer seem to offer compensation when they screw up. They seemed a lot more generous before they changed over to the electronic $5 gift card system for compensation. Perhaps the store managers get a black mark on their record every time they hand out compensation? In the old days if I had to wait 5 minutes for the iced tea to brew, or they forgot to put the sandwich in the oven, a $5 comp was offered with apologies. Not so much anymore.
Nov 5, 2018, 8:37 am
#401
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Either at the shooting range or anywhere good beer can be found...
Posts: 51,030
Not sure if it's just the store I frequent, but they no longer seem to offer compensation when they screw up. They seemed a lot more generous before they changed over to the electronic $5 gift card system for compensation. Perhaps the store managers get a black mark on their record every time they hand out compensation? In the old days if I had to wait 5 minutes for the iced tea to brew, or they forgot to put the sandwich in the oven, a $5 comp was offered with apologies. Not so much anymore.
Nov 5, 2018, 1:11 pm
#402
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: CGX
Posts: 168
Not sure if it's just the store I frequent, but they no longer seem to offer compensation when they screw up. They seemed a lot more generous before they changed over to the electronic $5 gift card system for compensation. Perhaps the store managers get a black mark on their record every time they hand out compensation? In the old days if I had to wait 5 minutes for the iced tea to brew, or they forgot to put the sandwich in the oven, a $5 comp was offered with apologies. Not so much anymore.
Nov 5, 2018, 8:45 pm
#403
Join Date: May 2015
Location: South Florida
Programs: DL Skymiles KE Skypass
Posts: 2,362
Not sure if it's just the store I frequent, but they no longer seem to offer compensation when they screw up. They seemed a lot more generous before they changed over to the electronic $5 gift card system for compensation. Perhaps the store managers get a black mark on their record every time they hand out compensation? In the old days if I had to wait 5 minutes for the iced tea to brew, or they forgot to put the sandwich in the oven, a $5 comp was offered with apologies. Not so much anymore.
Nov 6, 2018, 7:20 am
#404
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Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Either at the shooting range or anywhere good beer can be found...
Posts: 51,030
Yes the store receives a hit to their customer service scores, just as they do a bad survey. If you feel the need for $5 for a minor delay to get fresh product, then complain to get it, as it is no longer in their best interest to be proactive. You may find that the store may offer you a better, get right now, compensation for your "inconvenience." Or you can be more proactive and order through the app so it will be ready when you arrive, but you won't know how long it sat waiting for you to arrive.
Nov 12, 2018, 9:18 pm
#405
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: New England
Programs: American Gold, Marriott Gold, Hilton Silver
Posts: 5,637
I can't believe I haven't found this thread before. I miss the days of star laundering. It was essentially manufactured spend for Starbucks. Back before the current program (where in the previous program, you just needed 12 stars for a free drink. Star Dashes rewarded stars as codes to enter, and those stars counted towards future star dashes. So, I would start out with a star dash, make actual purchases, and receive a code to redeem the stars from that star dash (usually something like 20 stars or more if the star dash rewarded a free drink as well). Instead of redeeming it right away, I would hold onto it (they did have expiration dates that I took note of) and usually another star dash would occur before the previous code expired. I would join the second star dash, and then redeem the code from the first star dash to fulfill the requirements of the second star dash, and repeat this over and over again to effectively launder my star dash rewards into more and more stars, while redeeming the leftover stars for drinks.
Since they went to the new program, I can't do that anymore, but now my office has moved to a location with a (licensed) Starbucks 50 feet away from my office, so I've been earning rewards and haven't been able to redeem them yet since the licensed locations are earn only. I still fulfill the terms of most star dashes though, as they usually involve counting visits, and each transaction is a "visit." So, I'd order my usual, and once I finish it, I go back and ask for a refill and insist that they charge me for the refill (they usually don't) so that I could get a transaction for the star dash.
I've noticed that successive star dashes tend to be less and less rewarding, but if I miss one or two, it resets. Star dashes that require purchasing particular products are ones that I can never fulfill at work (since it's licensed, the POS doesn't report the items purchased to Starbucks when they run my Starbucks card, only a total)
Since they went to the new program, I can't do that anymore, but now my office has moved to a location with a (licensed) Starbucks 50 feet away from my office, so I've been earning rewards and haven't been able to redeem them yet since the licensed locations are earn only. I still fulfill the terms of most star dashes though, as they usually involve counting visits, and each transaction is a "visit." So, I'd order my usual, and once I finish it, I go back and ask for a refill and insist that they charge me for the refill (they usually don't) so that I could get a transaction for the star dash.
I've noticed that successive star dashes tend to be less and less rewarding, but if I miss one or two, it resets. Star dashes that require purchasing particular products are ones that I can never fulfill at work (since it's licensed, the POS doesn't report the items purchased to Starbucks when they run my Starbucks card, only a total)