What To Know About The New Starbucks Rewards

We're well into April now, which means the new Starbucks Rewards program has officially rolled out, rewarding patrons with stars for each dollar spent rather than its old per-visit model. How does the new Starbucks Rewards program work, fans might be asking? Not to worry — assuming your Starbucks habit is anything like mine, your path to Gold membership won't change too much. You may even spend less time waiting in line than in past years.

The new system rewards visitors two stars for every one dollar spent at Starbucks stores rather than one star per visit. Members reach "Gold" status when they accrue 300 stars instead of the old 30, at which point they are eligible for even more perks like Monthly Double-Star days, and an eventual free beverage. That means no more waiting in line behind some guy using three separate payment methods to rack up more stars, which, frankly, is a huge plus.

So, let's break it down by beverage — if a customer only orders one grande black coffee each day, that customer would receive a little more than four stars per visit (the app keeps track of fractions for you). A tall Frappuccino, which runs around four dollars, would tally up to eight stars.

But wait! There's more! In honor of the new program's launch, Starbucks announced that any purchase made between now and May 2 would elevate the program participants to Gold status immediately, and keep them there through 2018. So if you weren't planning a trip to the 'Bux today, maybe reconsider that decision. Gold status awaits!

I'm sure, like with every update to our digital lives — just like with changes to the Facebook interface and Instagram's algorithmic announcement — it will only be a matter of time before people acclimate to the new status. Until then, make sure you go to Starbucks between now and May 2 to cash in on its Gold-in-one promotion.

Images: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images; Starbucks