Starbucks free refills

I’m addicted to coffee. I’m specifically addicted to Starbucks coffee. I love it all: caramel macchiatos, mocha frappuccinos, even the new Starbucks bottled ice coffee (it’s inexpensive and amazing!). Because your caffeine fix could either cost you a ton of money or save you a ton of money, depending on how much coffee couponing savvy you’ve acquired, it’s worth it to investigate all the ways your smart phone can save you money on one of what I consider life’s essentials. Just in case you haven’t read my recent posts on how to save a ton of money with SnipSnap and other simple strategies at Starbucks, here is a quick recap:

Today, I’m talking about Starbucks’ free refills. If you’ve registered a card with My Starbucks Rewards and use it to purchase your beverages, you’ll earn a star for every drink you purchase (limit one star per transaction). Once you earn a certain amount of stars, you’ll earn green status, and then gold. Once you’ve reached green status, you’ll earn a free refill of lower-cost Starbucks beverages (iced tea, iced coffee, and hot brewed coffee) after after every drink you enjoy (in-store; if you leave, you can’t come back and get your refill). Previously, the language of the Starbucks refill policy was very vague and it was believed A) you could only receive a refill if you originally ordered a tea/brewed coffee beverage and B) you had to have originally ordered a tea/brewed coffee beverage to qualify for a refill of the same beverage you originally ordered. However, this is not true! I read this fabulous post by Melody from StarbucksMelody today, which points out that Starbucks has recently cleared up its refill policy and the language is now crystal clear:

This means that you qualify for a coffee/tea refill no matter what drink you originally purchase and enjoy in-store. Want some passion tea after your frappuccino? Go for it. Want some brewed coffee after your passion tea? Go for that too.

I’m pretty stoked about this news and I’ve already tried it out (it’s not hard for me to earn Starbucks refills because I can work at just about any Starbucks location for hours on end). So, next time you buy any coffee treat at Starbucks for a work/study date, friend date, or date date, make sure you leave with something delicious to take home.