For you coffee addicts out there, Starbucks now has a Starbucks Rewards Visa Card. It is a credit card that has an introductory offer of 4,500 Bonus Stars after you spend $500 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. By our estimate, this would amount to around 36 drinks/food.
On top of the bonus offer, you can earn 300 Bonus Stars the first time you use your Starbucks Rewards Visa Card to add money to your Starbucks Card.
You’ll also receive eight (8) complimentary food or beverage items (“Barista Picks”).
There is a $49 annual fee ($0 intro annual fee) and no limit on number of points you can earn. If you would like to get some more information over this card, here is some more information below!
Editor’s Note: Valid for a limited time, Starbucks Rewards Visa Cardholders can receive a $250 Starbucks eGift Card when they spend $500 on purchases in the first 3 months. Keep in mind that this offer is targeted, so check your email to see if you have this offer.
*The Starbucks Rewards Visa card is issued by Chase Bank. Chase Bank offers great sign-up bonuses for its Checking/Savings accounts.
Table of Contents
Starbucks Rewards Visa Credit Card Summary
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| Bonus Available | Earn 4,500 Bonus Stars after you spend $500 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
On top of the bonus offer, you can earn 300 Bonus Stars the first time you use your Starbucks® Rewards Visa® Card to add money to your Starbucks Card. |
| *Bonus Value | $180 |
| Ongoing Rewards/Benefits | Earn Up to 3 Stars per $1 spent at Starbucks Stores: 1 Star per $1 when you digitally load your Starbucks Card with your Starbucks® Rewards Visa® Card (excludes money added at the register), plus 2 Stars per $1 spent when that Starbucks Card is used to pay at Starbucks stores.
Earn 1X Star per $2 spent at grocery stores, on local transit and commuting, and on internet, cable, and phone services. Earn 1X Star per $4 spent everywhere else Receive eight (8) complimentary food or beverage items (“Barista Picks”). |
| Foreign Transaction Fees | 3% |
| Annual Fee | $49; $0 intro annual fee |
Recommended Free Credit Score (Get Free Score) 690 – 850 (Good – Excellent)
PROS
- Welcome bonus
- Many ways to earn Stars
- 8 free Barista Picks per year
CONS
- Annual fee
- Good-Excellent credit needed to qualify
- Complicated rewards structure
- Limited redemption options
- Foreign transaction fees
Editor’s Alternate Pick
 The Chase Freedom Flex offers a $200 bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. You'll earn: • 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in bonus categories each quarter you activate. • 5% on travel purchased through Chase, 3% on dining at restaurants and drugstores, and 1% on all other purchases. You cash back rewards do not expire as long as your account is open and there is no minimum to redeem for cash back. You'll be able to new 5% categories each quarter! This card has no annual fee. |
Starbucks Rewards Visa Credit Card Bonus Stars
Take advantage of the 4,500 bonus Stars offer. That’s a value of 36 Starbucks food or drink rewards.
Earn another 300 bonus Stars the first time you use your Starbucks Rewards Visa card to digitally load your Starbucks membership card in the Starbucks App.
Here are some ideas on meeting the spending requirement:
| • Plastiq - Using Plastiq allows you to pay for your personal expenses such as rent, tuition, mortgage, auto lease etc. Although they charge a 2.5% processing fee for using your credit card, this will contribute to the card bonus that you will receive. There is also a referral program that allows you to earn "Free-Free Dollars" that goes towards processing fees as well. |
| • Funding Checking Accounts - When it comes to funding a checking account, opening your initial deposit with a credit card is the usual way to go about it. However, if you want to have more opportunities, you should open a checking account that offers a sign-up bonus. This allows you to work towards bonuses from not one but two different sources instead. Banks like Chase, Huntington Bank, TD Bank and BBVA offers credit card funding, and for your opening deposit, you can often fund anywhere from $50-$1000 with a credit card, depending on the bank. |
| • Gift Card Purchases With Using a Credit Card - Another way to acquire the bonus is using your credit card to purchase gift cards. Buying a a gift card or an individual merchant card typically do not require a purchase fee and are used towards leisure, so gift cards are ideal. However, gift cards such as a Visa or American Express do incur purchase fees because they can be spent anywhere, but gift cards that are specifically for a certain online shopping site such as Amazon or eBay don't. |
| As for a Citi Credit Card, you should call customer service and ask them to lower your Cash Advance limit to $0 before making any purchases because Citi tends to read gift card purchases as a Cash Advance. Ideally, you should do this with any card just to be safe. Lastly, there is such thing as a discounted gift card which can be purchased on Raise or eBay. If you use a credit card often for everyday purchases, it can build your credit score that will contribute towards paying for things such as bills and taxes. |
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What Are Starbucks Stars Worth?
After earning 125 Stars, you can trade them in for 1 food or drink item. So your 4,500 welcome bonus Stars are worth 36 Starbucks food or drink items.
If you redeem 125 Stars for a $5 coffee, your Stars will be worth $0.04 each. That’s a great value considering the average across different rewards cards is just $0.01 per point. But, you’ll have to use your Stars for items at Starbucks only. The 6,500 bonus Stars are worth about $260 assuming you redeem for a $5 food or drink item.
To maximize the value of your Stars, redeem them for items that cost $5 or more. That way you’ll get at least $0.04 out of each Star. If you trade in your Stars for cheaper items, you’ll get a less per-Star value.
Why You Should Sign Up
The process of earning bonus Stars is a bit confusing. To earn the maximum 3 Stars per dollar spent, you’ll need to load money onto your Starbucks membership card by using your Starbucks Rewards Visa card. Then, when you’re at a Starbucks, pay from your Starbucks membership card. Not from your Starbucks Rewards Visa card.
Every $1 that you load onto your Starbucks membership card is prepayment that can be applied to Starbucks purchases.
You’ll also get 300 bonus Stars the first time you load your Starbucks membership card with your Starbucks Rewards Visa card using the Starbucks app. That’s enough for 2 food or drink items.
Get 8 complimentary barista picks annually. These coupons can be redeemed for pre-selected food or beverages. Barista picks will expire 30 days after they show up on your account.
The value of this is hard to determine. It won’t matter if you don’t want to consume the barista’s choice of the moment.
Bottom Line
If you are a looking to earn fast rewards and stars or if you are a strong supporter of Starbucks, consider signing up for the Starbucks Rewards Visa Card.
This is really only a good card for huge Starbucks fans, check out our list of Starbucks Promotions, otherwise you would probably be better off with a general rewards credit card. If you’re interested in more posts like this, check out more Chase Promotions!
Below are some alternatives to the Starbucks Rewards Visa credit card you should consider.
Looking For More Flexibility?
Consider a no annual fee cash back card to earn general rewards instead. The American Express Cash Magnet Card, Chase Freedom and Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card are some good options. They all have nice sign-up bonuses as well.
 The American Express Cash Magnet® Card offers $150 statement credit after you spend $1,000 or more in purchases with your new Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership. You'll earn unlimited 1.5% Cash Back on your purchases; your cash back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be easily redeemed for statement credits, gift cards, and merchandise. The card has no annual fee. (See Rates & Fees). |
The Chase Freedom Flex offers a $200 bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. You'll earn: • 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in bonus categories each quarter you activate. • 5% on travel purchased through Chase, 3% on dining at restaurants and drugstores, and 1% on all other purchases. You cash back rewards do not expire as long as your account is open and there is no minimum to redeem for cash back. You'll be able to new 5% categories each quarter! This card has no annual fee. |
 The Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Card offers a one-time $200 cash bonus after spending $500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening. You'll be able to earn an unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase, every day with no rotating categories or sign-ups needed to earn cash rewards. This card comes with no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees which makes this card a viable option for your go-to everyday card. |
The editorial content on this page is not provided by any of the companies mentioned, and has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone.
Not a cardholder but am considering it. Information about stars expiring is incorrect. Stars earned on the card DO NOT expire. Cant speak to the 00 bonus stars but from their site –
Stars Don’t Expire
Under the Starbucks® Rewards Program, Stars earned do not expire as long as your Starbucks® Rewards Visa® Credit Card account is open. If your Starbucks® Rewards Visa® Credit Card account is closed for any reason, your Stars will expire six (6) months after the calendar month in which that account was closed.
Thanks, Alisha! The article has been updated.