Starbucks’ loyalty changes are drawing value-conscious customers

Starbucks Value-oriented consumers are seeing early signs that changes to the loyalty program are paying off as they take advantage of the program, CNBC has learned.

Last month, the coffee chain brought back tiers to its North American Rewards program, added “free Mood Mondays” for customizing drinks, offered double points for using a reusable cup, and extended the time members can redeem birthday rewards. The revamp also reduced the number of stars or points earned per dollar spent when paying with a pre-loaded Starbucks gift card.

Starbucks relies on Rewards to get customers to visit more often and spend more money on drink orders. In fiscal 2025, loyalty program-related transactions accounted for 60% of the company’s revenue. These loyal customers are crucial to the chain’s return; While its problems started when occasional customers stopped visiting, its traffic was also negatively affected as it lost active Rewards members.

Now, as members adjust to the Rewards revamp, Starbucks is watching for early signals that customers are turning to take advantage of the loyalty program’s new deals.

For example, the program’s new 60-star payment option has become the most popular. More than a quarter of all shoppers now opt for a $2 discount on an order.

The coffee chain’s first-ever “free Mood Monday” more than doubled the number of point redemptions compared to the Starbucks Monday promotion earlier in the year. Vanilla sweet cream cold foam was preferred for members in the lower green and gold tiers, while those in the reserve tier were more likely to add an extra shot of espresso.

While changing point valuation may have disappointed some customers, members are taking advantage of easy ways to earn more stars, such as adding more money to their account for bonus points.

Hundreds of thousands of loyalty program members use their personal cups to earn double stars on their orders. This represents a double-digit increase since the changes came into force.

Starbucks will likely share more details about its loyalty program and the company’s broader turnaround efforts during its fiscal second-quarter earnings conference call, scheduled for after the bell on Tuesday.