How Does the New Diamond Star Coffee Grade Work?
Starting June 20, Starbucks Rewards added a Diamond Star tier above Gold Star, the first major change since the program launched in 2008. Gold Star members who accumulated 100 registered stars in the past year are upgraded automatically the next day, keeping all prior privileges while gaining new ones.
Perks include priority preparation for Rapid Pickup orders with a skip-the-line experience, a limited-edition Bearista Store Manager birthday gift, free roasting workshop experiences and a co-branded Hilton membership. Some loyal customers say the thresholds are too high and the reach too limited, questioning the practical value of the new coffee grades.
Since Starbucks launched its Starbucks Rewards program in 2008, its membership tiers had always maintained a three-level structure: Silver Star, Green Star, and Gold Star. However, starting June 20, this system that had been in use for over a decade is undergoing a major overhaul—a new Diamond Star membership tier is being added, and Gold Star members who accumulate 100 registered stars in the past year will automatically be upgraded. The new tier brings perks such as priority preparation for Rapid Pickup orders, limited-edition birthday gifts, and free roasting workshop experiences, along with a co-branded membership with Hilton. However, some loyal customers have questioned the practicality of these new benefits, arguing that the thresholds are too high and the reach too limited. This article will provide a comprehensive overview of the details of this adjustment and the feedback from all sides.
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"I've saved up a hundred stars, so I should be fine for this upgrade, right?" Recently, Starbucks regulars have been calculating the number of stars they've accumulated in Starbucks Rewards while eagerly awaiting the arrival of June 20. Because starting that day, Starbucks' membership tier system will undergo an adjustment.
Starbucks Rewards is a customer loyalty program that Starbucks has operated since 2008. After customers register as members, they earn stars through accumulated spending—the more stars, the higher the membership tier. Compared to other brands, Starbucks' membership tier divisions are relatively simple, with only three levels: Silver Star, Green Star, and Gold Star.
The biggest change to this membership system is the addition of a brand-new "Diamond Star" tier above Gold Star. Gold Star members, who were previously at the highest level, will be automatically upgraded to Diamond Star by the system the next day if they have accumulated 100 registered stars in their account over the past year.
The new tier also offers Starbucks fans richer benefits. Diamond Star members can not only continue to enjoy all the privileges of Gold Star, but also receive additional services, such as priority preparation for Rapid Pickup orders and an exclusive skip-the-line experience; a limited-edition Bearista Store Manager gift on their birthday; and free roasting workshop experiences.
In addition, Starbucks has partnered with Hilton Hotels to launch a co-branded membership, which should be quite practical for people who travel frequently for work. Benefits for other membership tiers have also been slightly adjusted—for example, all members can enjoy a one-star cup upgrade; and the birthday gift now includes a cake option, allowing members to choose between two.
Judging from these changes, Starbucks' adjustments to its membership system this time are indeed substantial. The system began upgrading after 2:30 p.m. that day, during which services such as Rapid Pickup and Delivers were temporarily unavailable. Most fans are hopeful about the new system, but some believe "the new benefits are a bit hollow."
Take the free roasting workshop experience as an example. According to the specific details revealed by employees, this benefit is only available at the Shanghai Roastery, so members not in Shanghai would have to make a special trip if they wanted to experience it once.
Additionally, the co-branded membership between the brand and Hilton is also not well received by consumers. It is understood that Starbucks Gold Star or Diamond Star members need to complete challenge tasks within a specified time limit before they can upgrade to Hilton Gold card membership. But many netizens pointed out that the thresholds set by other brands partnering with Hilton are lower than Starbucks', saying "this is even less appealing than a stay-to-upgrade-to-gold offer—you still have to stay several nights."
Following the move to require a purchase to sit in, Starbucks has now made a major adjustment to its membership tiers that had been in use for over a decade. It can be seen that the brand is gradually paying more attention to the consumption experience of loyal users, hoping to use new membership benefits and exclusive services to retain fans' loyalty and encourage them to keep spending in order to maintain or upgrade their tier.
However, loyal users believe that the new benefits added by the brand appear "high-end" but in reality are difficult to cover for most people, greatly reducing their practicality and even making people lose the motivation to continue spending. They would rather the brand design membership benefits based on users' real needs, so that membership services truly feel worth the money.
Image source: Xiaohongshu
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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
