Starbucks customers can now earn more than just “stars” for their purchases.
Beginning Wednesday, the coffee chain is partnering with Delta Air Lines and awarding 1 mile for every $1 spent at Starbucks in an alliance between “two of America’s most highly regarded loyalty programs,” the companies said in a press release.
Customers must first link their Starbucks Rewards and Delta SkyMiles accounts on a special website in order to start receiving miles on purchases made at US Starbucks locations. As another perk, on days that members are scheduled to fly Delta, they will earn double stars, or rewards points, on their Starbucks orders.
To entice customers to join the partnership, members who link their accounts between now and December 31 will earn an additional 500 SkyMiles and, after joining and making one Starbucks purchase, they will accrue 150 stars, enough for a free coffee.
The brands have two of the country’s most popular loyalty programs. Starbucks (SBUX) has more than 27 million US members and Delta (DAL) has around 100 million global members (the airline doesn’t break out numbers for the US).
Expanding Starbucks Rewards is a goal for the company because it gives the chain access to customers’ data and ordering habits, which in turn helps the company target members with deals. Plus, members typically spend more money on each purchase compared to non-members. Partnerships like these help Starbucks “increase awareness and drive growth,” as well as attract new members, the chain said in the release.
The coffee giant is also taking a page from Delta’s playbook, as the airline already has a number of partnerships allowing members to accrue SkyMiles without flying, including for Lyft rides, Instacart purchases and Airbnb stays. The carrier said in the release that this new partnership helps the company “deliver more moments and interactions that matter, both in the air and on the ground.”
Starbucks’ newest perk to its loyalty program comes as rival Dunkin’ recently made changes to parts of its own program, which has sparked some outrage among members.
Source: www.cnn.com