Starbucks Rewards Visa card review

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If you are a loyal Starbucks drinker, you may have heard that Starbucks is updating its rewards program. Perhaps you are wondering if it’s time to give the Starbucks Rewards Visa a try.

While Starbucks has made its rewards program more accessible to customers by lowering the threshold at which you can start earning and redeeming points, the news on its Visa card is a little less positive: Starbucks has also raised the amount of points required to redeem for a reward, making the card’s points a little less valuable. Also, since Starbucks has eliminated elite status as a requirement for earning and redeeming points, you don’t have to worry about enrolling in its Visa card (and paying the $49 fee) to automatically qualify for status.

The card has tacked on additional ways to earn bonus points, such as groceries and rideshare services, but at a mere half a point per dollar for the new categories, this update barely makes a dent on the rate at which you earn rewards with the card.

Given the Starbuck Rewards Visa card’s less-than-spectacular rewards earning rate, even a diehard Starbucks drinker would have a difficult time swilling enough cups of coffee to see the value in the card’s $49 membership fee.

Rewards earnings are on the low side

The regular Starbucks rewards program is generous with its points, so it is surprising that the Starbucks Visa Rewards card offers such a modest rewards rate.

In addition to the 2 Stars that you earn as a regular Starbucks member, you get a mere 1 Star for every dollar that you load onto your Starbucks card with your Starbucks Rewards Visa card. You earn 1 Star per every $2 spent on grocery purchases, local transit and commuting, internet, cable and phone services. Finally, you earn 1 Star for every $4 on purchases that you make outside of Starbucks (that’s a ¼ of a point per dollar!).

Fair sign-up bonus

The card comes with a modest sign-up offer. You earn 4,500 stars if you spend $500 on the card in the first three months, which, by our estimates, amounts to around $138 in Starbucks rewards.

Limited redemption options

Another major drawback is the card’s limited redemption options. You can only redeem your rewards for Starbucks menu items, and only once you’ve accumulated a sufficient number of points. Furthermore, points have a short shelf life, expiring in only six months.

On the plus side, Starbucks points are far more valuable than their face value, so the rewards rate aren’t quite as meager as they seem. 150 Stars entitles you to a handcrafted drink, hot breakfast or parfait at Starbucks. Since we estimate the average menu item at Starbucks to be worth around $4.45, that means that every dollar that you spend at Starbucks with the card nets you around 3 cents worth of rewards on average.

Starbucks redemption options

However, even at a rate of 3 cents per dollar, you would have to drink many, many cups of coffee to earn $49 in rewards. Not to mention, it’s not worth using the card for anything but coffee, since the rewards earnings on outside purchases is extremely low, amounting to less than 1 cent per dollar. 

Other benefits

Aside from bonus points on Starbucks purchases, the Starbucks Visa is exceptionally light on reasons to pay a $49 fee for card membership after the first year. Card members are entitled to 8 Barista Picks per year (offers for free food and drinks that are automatically loaded into your Starbucks app throughout the year).

Otherwise, the card comes with a pretty standard set of Visa benefits, including car rental insurance, extended warranty, purchase protection, trip cancellation and interruption insurance. You’ll find these benefits on most cards targeted to cardholders with good to excellent credit scores, and often without an annual fee.

Why not use a cash back card instead?

It’s even harder to justify the annual fee that kicks in on the Starbuck’s Visa after the first year when you consider that there are a large number of cash back cards that let you earn rewards on Starbucks purchases without an annual fee and that offer far more flexibility in how you redeem your rewards.

The Chase Freedom Unlimited® card, for instance, offers at least 1.5 cents per dollar on purchases (at least 1.5% cash back on purchases). Even better, the Citi Double Cash® Card offers up to 2 cents per dollar on every purchase – 1 percent cash back as you buy and another 1 percent cash back for paying your bill on time. Compared to the Starbucks card, which gives you 3 cents back for Starbuck purchases, that’s a mere 1 cent difference. At that rate, you would have to drink approximately $4,900 worth of coffee per year to justify paying the $49 fee for the Starbucks card rather than using the Citi card. That’s a serious coffee habit!

Why get the Starbucks Rewards Visa card?

• You want to take advantage of the card’s valuable bonuses in the first year.
• You are an especially heavy Starbucks coffee drinker. 

How to use the Starbucks Rewards Visa card:

• Use the card to load dollars onto your Starbucks membership card through the mobile app to earn the bonus on your Starbucks purchases.
• Visit Starbucks during double Star days to earn double rewards points.
• Alternate the card with another card for your purchases outside of Starbucks, since the card’s rewards rate on outside purchases is low.

Is the Starbucks Visa Rewards card worth it?

By our estimates, there are few cardholders who will see the value in  the Starbucks Rewards Visa card given the $49 annual fee that comes into play after the first year. Even if you make multiple Starbucks stops per week, you’ll likely find plenty of more versatile and rewarding credit cards.