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Here are 8 insider tips how to save money at Starbucks. These are easy hacks anyone can use to stretch your coffee budget a wee bit further!Â
How To Save Money at Starbucks – 8 EASY Tips!
I haven't been a coffee drinker until recently (love my Nespresso or give me hot chocolate any day), but I know so many folks love Starbucks. So, I did a little digging around for tips on how to save money at Starbucks!
I visited my local Starbucks recently and talked with the manager about the Starbucks Rewards program (which just changed AGAIN this past July !).
While we were talking, a couple Starbucks mega-customers (no kidding, they said they stop by in the morning AND again after work every. single. day.) came by to share a few of their favorite ways that they like to save money at Starbucks.
How to Save at Starbucks
1. Get FREE Refills at Starbucks (and Free Refills at Target Starbucks, too!)
This was the biggest surprise to me when I was asking questions at the store – I actually said, “Really!?!” when the barista told me this one!
ALL Starbucks Rewards members get Free Refills as long as they remain in-store on brewed items. That includes hot or iced brewed coffee or tea (excludes Iced Tea Lemonade and Teavana Shaken Iced Teas Infusions). Just remember that you'll need to use 1) your registered Starbucks card or 2) your mobile app to pay.
So if you're planning to be there for awhile working on your laptop – you can just about drink your weight in free coffee or tea!
HOT TIP: This also works at the Target Starbucks – so if you spend a while in the store, grab yourself a free refill on your way out!
2. Watch for Circle Offers at Target!
Speaking of Target, every few weeks, Target Circle releases a new offer to help you save on your favorite beverage at the Target Starbucks Cafe ~ usually it's for 20% off.
Plus, occasionally there will be exclusive Target promotions like $5 off your $20 purchase of beverages (usually around the holidays). What a fun way to save on yummy seasonal drinks!
*And be sure to take advantage of Tip #1 while you're shopping at Target!
3. Earn Starbucks Stars – How many Starbucks Stars do you get per Dollar?Â
Every time you spend money at Starbucks as a member, you'll earn Starbucks Stars. (You can even earn stars buying Starbucks coffee at the grocery store – just be sure to enter the Starbucks code found on the product!)
You get 2 Starbucks Stars per $1 Spent = BIG Savings!
Once you reach 25 Stars, you can start redeeming them for rewards!
They start at a drink customization for 25 Stars (like an extra espresso shot, a special dairy request, or extra flavoring) and go all the way up to redeeming free drinks and merchandise.
And this would even include something like a large Frappuccino with 8 extra shots! (I looked at the menu to check the math for that one – and let me tell you, so expensive!) You can also order sandwiches with your reward, so keep that in mind for an inexpensive lunch.
Once you hit 400 stars, you can now buy select merchandise items in the lobbyy – perfect if you need to grab a gift for a Birthday, Mother's Day, Christmas…. everyone loves a good mug or some fancy coffee!
I was pretty impressed.Â
As of July 2023 – this is the current tiered system for redeeming Starbucks Stars:
- 25 Stars may be redeemed for one (1) of the following beverage modifiers: an added espresso shot, added syrup or sauce (such as caramel syrup), or a dairy alternative option (such as soy milk, almondmilk, oatmilk or coconutmilk), valued up to $1 (one) U.S. Dollar. The beverage modifiers in this redemption tier are only available as a customization to your base beverage order and cannot be redeemed as a standalone beverage.
- 100 Stars may be redeemed for one (1) of the following items: hot brewed coffee or hot steeped tea, iced brewed coffee or iced brewed tea, OR a bakery item (such as a cake pop or cookie), OR a packaged snack (such as popcorn or potato chips) OR one (1) Cold Siren Logo Plastic To-Go Cup (24 oz only) or one (1) Siren Logo Plastic Hot Cup (16 oz only). Clover brewed coffee, Starbucks Reserve coffee, packaged lunch items, and all other reusable cups and tumblers are excluded from this redemption tier. All bakery items include a maximum of two (2) spreads (such as, for example, two cream cheese or butter packets). Brewed tea includes a maximum of four (4) tea bags.
- 200 Stars may be redeemed for one (1) of the following items: any handcrafted beverage (such as a latte or Frappuccino® blended beverage) OR any hot breakfast item (such as a breakfast sandwich or oatmeal). All beverages must be standard menu-sized items. All hot breakfast items include a maximum of two (2) toppings.
- 300 Stars may be redeemed for one (1) packaged salad or lunch sandwich OR one (1) packaged protein box, OR one (1) packaged coffee item (such as whole bean coffee). Packaged coffee availability may vary by store location.
- 400 Stars may be redeemed for a select merchandise item with a value up to $20 (twenty) U.S. Dollars (pre-tax). Merchandise availability may vary by store location.
When do Starbucks Stars expire?
Just remember that Starbucks Stars do NOT last forever so you can't bank them for a long period of time. Make sure that you use them before they go bad.
Starbucks Stars expire 6 months after you receive them!Â
4. Get a FREE Starbucks Drink on your Birthday!
Starbucks Rewards Members get a FREE Drink on their birthdays. This freebie will come to your phone if you have the app, or your email, and is good on your birthday ONLY. You'll receive the freebie offer on your birthday and it expires at midnight on that same day.
5. Starbucks Rewards Members earn Stars TWICE as Fast!
As a Rewards member, you'll earn Stars twice as fast! Here's how:
- Earn 2 Stars per $1 spent (instead of 1 Star) when you load funds to your digital Starbucks Card using any payment option.
- Earn 2 Stars per $1 spent (instead of 1 Star) when you pay with your registered Starbucks Gift Card either in-person or on the mobile app.
Also, there are Double-Star Days where you can earn 2x Stars per $1 spent, rather than 2 Stars (and occasionally we will see TRIPLE star offers too!).
6. Play Starbucks Games to earn Rewards!
A couple times a year, Starbucks comes out with Sweepstakes and Games where you can earn fun loot and even Stars ~ and you can play TWO times a day without making a purchase! The Starbucks Summer Game and Starbucks For Life Giveaways are a couple examples.
This past Summer, a PPP Reader even won a $100 Starbucks Gift Card ~ which is AWESOME!
7. Split a Drink in a Venti Cup and get TWO Talls!
This has got to be one of my favorite little Starbucks hack EVER – because it's totally something I would do!
If you just want a *little* pick me up – split a Venti size with a friend and ask for two tall cups. A Venti will fill up two Tall cups for half the price.
Let's do the math:
- A Venti While Chocolate Mocha Frappuccino (24 ounces) costs a whopping $5.49. (vs. the Tall 12 oz that costs $4.29.)
- If you ordered two Tall drinks, you'd pay $4.29 each, whereas a Venti divided into a two cups will come out to $2.74 each.
Another tip on saving money at Starbucks –Â order a more “plain” drink and jazz it up at the condiment bar.
8. Bring your Own Starbucks Reusable Cup to Save $0.10 per visit
If you really want to pinch those pennies – here are a couple more ways to whittle down the cost of your coffee. (Though a Keurig Machine might be the way to go if you're really trying to save on your daily cup of joe.)
Here are two way how to save money at Starbucks (while it's just $0.10, that can really add up over time!)
Bring Your Own Cup:  Save 10¢ on your drink when you bring your own cup
Order a Short: Although you won't see it on the menu – you can order the 8 oz  “Short” coffee and it will have the same shot of espresso in it that a 12 oz “Tall” does. If you're wanting to add creamer, order a “Short” in a “Tall” cup so there's room leftover.
A few more Starbucks tips ….
Starbucks Happy Hours & Double Star Days
And if you love BOGO Drinks – make sure to plan your coffee meet-ups with friends on Thursdays, as that's usually the day that Starbucks does their Happy Hour promotions. They will often offer BOGO Drinks or 50% OFF Drinks on Thursdays from 12 – 6 pm! Read more about Happy Hour here.
They also have Double Star Days where members can earn twice as many stars on all qualifying in-store purchases!
Starbucks Gift Card Offers
Every so often, PayPal or even Starbucks has offers where you can get a discount whenever you buy a certain amount Starbucks Gift Card. A recent promotion was for $4 off a $20 Starbucks Gift Card when you pay with PayPal, which is a nice discount!
Verizon Rewards Starbucks Gift Card Offer
Every month, Verizon Rewards Members often have the option to trade their monthly credit in for a FREE $5 Starbucks Gift Card – and sometimes there is an offer that needs no credit whatsoever!
(Also, there was a Starbucks Freebie for Microsoft 360 users recently, too!)
Safeway Starbucks Offers
If you have a Safeway or Affiliate store, be sure to check your Just for U app for various offers from time to time – including $5 off, completely FREE drinks, discounted pastries, and more!
Get Free Water vs. $$ Bottled Water
This seems like a silly little tip because you don't really need to spend money on water anyway… but if you're in Starbucks for a lunch date and you're wanting something nice cold to drink – this could save you a couple bucks. Plus, their water is TRIPLE FILTERED so it tastes great, too!
Don't waste your money on a bottled water, because you can ask for a “water cup” totally free. 🙂
And last but not least – another way how to save money at Starbucks is to keep an eye out for the Starbucks Groupon deal (it's SUPER rare and usually for select users, but hopefully it will come back soon)!
What is the cheapest item in Starbucks?
If you're just looking to get a drink the cheapest way possible, go for the short hot brewed coffee or Teavana tea. Or you can grab a single shot of espresso for around the same price.
You could also grab one of their GORGEOUS Starbucks cups in store too. They always have really fun ones – the Starbucks Summer cups , Fall and Halloween Starbucks cups , and the Holiday Starbucks Cups are always SO PRETTY and festive!Â
Do you know any other ways how to save money at Starbucks? I'd love to hear them! Leave a comment to share. 🙂Â
Fitness girl here – I get a grande cold brew with 1 pump of syrup and/or 1 pump of sauce. Then I split that in half and add half of my fave protein drink! 2 servings for the price of 1 and it’s a great post workout treat!
I love that idea Jessica! Thanks so much for sharing your tips and tricks.
I like half and half in my brewed coffee. So rather than having them waste space with half and half, I ask them to upsize the cup (i.e. Grande sized coffee in a Venti cup) and then I add my own cream. This allows for the maximum amount of coffee and I get to control the amount of cream that goes in my cup.
FYI on the reusable cup discount. Starting on Earth day in 2021, members also get 25 stars plus the 10¢ discount.
https://customerservice.starbucks.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/6847/~/what-is-the-reusable-cup-benefit-for-starbucks-reward-members%3F
Thanks so much for letting us know!
I love the refresher drinks! To save money (or at least get the most for my money!) I order a venti refresher with light water (minimal water) and no ice. Then I request a venti cup of ice water (which is free). I add the ice water to my refresher as I drink it and it’s like getting 2 refreshers for the price of 1!!
Great idea, Katie!
If you have mperks at Meijer (in Michigan), they have a reward every so often of spend $50 in gift cards, get $5 off. So I buy SB gift cards, pay $45 for $50 worth of purchases.
Good to know! 🙂
Our Hyvee Starbucks gives 5-cents fuel saver for every item purchased. It adds up to a lot of savings off gas when you visit almost every day!
So when you say a free refill on a hot coffee that would be plain black coffee,(not flavored like a pumpkin spice) right?
Yes Brittney ~ I believe it’s just for plain brewed black coffee or tea! 🙂
Sometimes I get coffee with a few pumps of flavored syrup. Sometimes they add it and charge a 0.50 fee
You can also get cold brew refills. Your refill doesn’t have to be the same thing you we’re initially drinking!
It is typical for Starbucks to Load up their cold drinks with ice all the way up to the top – you really get a very Small quantity of drink in the end. Especially if you are going back home or to have with a meal at home – or plan ahead and do it first thing – ASK for very LOW on the ice or ask for NO ICE. You will definitely get your money’s worth on that drink! 🙂
Thanks so much for the tip Brenda! 🙂
You’re so right! I always ask for no ice and get a grande or venti cup of ice on the side. Then I can add ice as I need it. I HATE when my coffee gets watery tasting when the ice melts!
I ALWAYS order mine with no ice. I put it over ice when I get home and have enough for atleast 1or 2 more