Monday, December 2, 2013

Starbucks Rewards Cards - Gold Cards, Availibilty and Expiration Dates

If you like coffee from starbucks, it really helps to get up to the gold rewards level.  It will not take that long to get 30 stars.  Then after you get there, the offers start coming.  

Make sure that you have a smartphone, you don't want to miss the deals that get delivered.  Getting that gold starbucks rewards card in the mail is a big deal.  You might have a lot of the regular gift cards with balances, but it is really easy to transfer the balances from one card to another.

Loading your card or using your smartphone to pay is real simple.  You will start to notice special codes in the deal messages.  Just make sure that you remember these codes at checkout time.  You tell them the number and they adjust your price.

The deals can be similar, but different.  Pay attention to the types of deals.   They might offer a percentage off or buy one get one.  Remember that starbucks has different kinds of drinks and food, so pay attention to the deal offer.

One thing that you will notice with the deal is the expiration date and the availability.  Sometimes a deal might be ready to expire, but it is still available.  Jump on it before the status changes, you might be able to get the deal.

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Starbucks Sweets

Now I just have to wait.  I didn't even buy a coffee today, but the day is still young.  I took the time to go inside a starbucks today.  I was hoping to see some of the sweets.

They had a few donuts, but I just went with the iced lemon pound cake.  It is good and it is expensive, but it is consistently above par.

The line was not that long when I walked in, but just like the drive through window, it started to fill up quick.  The cinnamon roll looked interesting, but it was kind of small.

I might roll through that starbucks again later.  I wonder how long it will take to get the new gold starbucks card?  

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Do you know what day it is?

Later on today, I will be crossing the finish line when it comes to getting the gold rewards card from starbucks.  

How did I get there?  I have cut back a lot on my starbucks coffee habit.  There was a time that I would go through there a few times a day.  Now, I drink more coffee at home.  I still enjoy getting a good mocha going through the drive through window.

One reason that you want to get a starbucks gift card and register it is because of the promotion codes that are offered.  Sometimes, they offer special promotions that you can use to save some money.  

I don't just get coffee.  I really like the pastries too.  They use to have a cinnamon twist, but now it is gone.  The twist was the perfect associate to the venti mocha.  They have some other good sweets at starbucks, but when I find something that I like, I tend to stick to it.

Checking the starbucks website gives you some clues to interesting items.  I might even venture into trying something new for the last order for the gold card.

What will it be?  A slice of lemon pound cake, a piece of coffee cake or something completely different?  It has been a really long time since I had a muffin.  

I will make up my mind before getting into the drive through.  You don't want to be one of those people that holds up the line.  It is best to go through there when there is no traffic.  

I hope that starbucks has a good deal for this month.  The last starbucks promo code was good. 

Monday, October 14, 2013

1 star away from a starbucks gold rewards card

I was going to go ahead and get a piece of lemon pound cake to cross the finish line.  I am only one starbucks star away from getting the gold rewards card.

It is not really a big deal in the scheme of things. You just get a gold rewards card to pay for your stuff.  They do give you a free drink on your birthday and I think they give you a free drink every 12 or 15 purchases.  I am not sure about the number of times you have to buy something before you get a free drink.  

One feature that I have to get clear is the free refills.  I think that you have to pay with your rewards card.  I might actually sit in a starbucks instead of rolling through the drive thru window for a refill.

You have to get 30 stars to get the gold card.  You can download the starbucks app on your smartphone and use that to pay also.

 

Friday, September 6, 2013

Starbucks Deals - Missed the buy one get one

It has been more than a few days since I have stopped off at starbucks. I did make it through there to pick up my free coffee for the year.  I didn't get through there to pick up on the buy one get one promotion.

I am still just a few stars away from getting up to gold status.  I don't go to starbucks everyday like in the past.  Sometimes I would go there in the morning and go back in the afternoon. 

If you have a smartphone, get the starbucks app.  They notify you of current promotions.  I have a bunch of those different starbucks rewards cards and it makes them easy to manage on the starbucks app.  You can transfer balances and pay with your smartphone at the store.

I should have bought during the buy one get one deal.  I didn't know if you could use it multiple times or just redeem it one time.  I hope that they run it again in the future. 

Starbucks did bring back the pumpin spice latte.  It is pretty good.  You know you are headed into the holiday season when this drink shows up.  They are great on really cold and rainy days.  I like to get them every once in a while, but my favorite is still the venti mocha. 


Friday, July 26, 2013

Starbucks - Cakes

There is more to starbucks than just the coffee.  There was a time that I thought the coffee was too strong, but they have always offered some really good items to eat.

I use to like to get the cinnamon swirl.  They would go really good with a venti mocha.  I would take my venti mocha and take it to another level by adding raspberry syrup.  It was the perfect drink for me.  Then all of a sudden, they decided to change the syrup.  I stopped adding it to my mochas in the morning.

The menu does change every now and then.  The cinnamon swirl pastries stop being offered and I had to find something else to get.  I just happened to see a piece of lemon pound cake.  One bite of that and it was all over.

The lemon loaf has a light frosting on the top that adds just a hint more of flavor.  The texture is great and it is a great tasty snack that goes well with the coffee.

I just checked the starbucks site to see what other food items they are offering.  Now I want to try a few of the other cakes.  The cakes are not cheap, but they are really good.

The next time that you are at starbucks, give one of those cakes a try. 

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Didn't Get the Starbucks Gift Card

I was at an organizational meeting.  The speaker asked everyone to get their business card.  Then the moment of truth. 

Everybody start passing their business cards to the center of the room.  The speaker then said what the prize was going to be.  

Yep, you guessed it.  A Starbucks Gift Card.

The meeting organizers collected all the business cards and went to the front of the room. 

They started to shuffle the biz cards.  I already have a bunch of starbucks gift cards, but adding another one would have been great.  Starbucks coffee is not cheap at all.  Getting a few free ones would just be great.

Well, I didn't get the free gift card.  Somebody else won it.  I am only few starbucks visits from getting up to gold. 

Even if you are not a big starbucks coffee drinker, they still have other stuff on the menu that is good.  Its good, but it is not cheap.  I like getting the cake and the coffees. 

I was going to try a few of the different cakes that they show on the website.  The lemon loaf and the raspberry swirl pound cake were in my sights.  I am trying to lose weight, so maybe it was good that I didn't win the free starbucks gift card.  

I don't think they even said what the balance was for the gift card that they gave away. 

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Starbucks prices going up and rewards cards

I am in the home stretch of attaining my starbucks rewards gold card.  It is not that many transactions needed to get there.  Just 30 transactions and you are home free.

You will get a gold card to use at the window.  There are some other little perks that you can find out at the starbucks rewards site.  

Starbucks is not cheap when it comes to coffee.  They do have some good stuff on the menu.  Recently, starbucks said that they are going to be going up on the prices.  That sucks.  Don't you wish they would go in the other direction with the coffee prices sometimes.  Well, I guess they did earlier this summer.  Sometimes they do have some promotions that reduce the cost of special beverages.

The gold starbucks card is not too far away now.  I already have a bunch of starbucks gift cards that I have collected over the years.  Do you get gift cards for starbucks?  Do you keep them or throw them away after using them?  I register them online and then transfer the balances onto the card that I use the most often.  Now you can even use your smartphone to pay for your coffee, so I guess the card is not really needed anymore.

Once the gold starbucks coffee card comes I will probably take a picture of it and post it.  
 

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Paying for Coffee with Mobile Apps

The weather has been a little strange lately.  You never know what will happen.  The coffee shop was running a special that could not be passed up. 

You have to jump on those deals when they have them.  This was the first time to try something new.  Everything is going mobile.  The coffee shop has coffee gift cards, but this time it was time to try the google android mobile app.

It was really simple to do.  Didn't have to pull out any of the many different gift cards that get reloaded all the time.  Placed the coffee order for something good and cold to drink. 

Pulled up to the window and a pretty young lady was ready to process the order.  Just hit the button and a bar code popped up on the google android phone.  She scanned it and the order was complete. 

This was the first experience using a mobile app to pay for something. Not to shabby.  Everything is going digital.

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Reloading Starbucks Card

It had been a while since I went to starbucks for coffee.  I have been through the drive thru window a couple of times in the last few days.  The weather has been changing each day.  I still get the favorite coffee drink the venti mocha hot.  

Reloading the card each time with just 5 bucks.  The extra money left on the starbucks card will eventually build up.  They are running specials to try to get you to buy more coffee.  I am not really concerned about that.  Right now I am at the green level.  I am not back to the free wheeling days, when I was getting starbucks coffee at least one time a day.  

The drive thru window always seems to have cars at the window.  The economy must be picking up.  Getting up there earlier before the long lines start to form is my best tactic.  Get in there and get out.  

Who knows?  I might even start writing some software again.  Right now, I am just doing some writing for blogs and writing sites.