Starbucks is a well known brand of coffee shops. So you may wonder if Starbucks has a credit card. Yes, it does and if you are a fan of Starbucks – you may want to apply for a Starbucks Credit Card issued by Chase Bank.
To get this Starbucks credit card you need a good to excellent credit score. It means people with credit scores above 700 points can apply. Having a high credit score is not the deciding factor. Your debt to income ratio, credit utilization, and number of recent credit inquiries can affect your approval odds. To check these parameters you can use credit score tracking tool called Chase Credit Journey.
Starbucks Rewards program
Starbucks has its Rewards program that uses stars instead of points or miles. For 50 stars you can get a coffee with a pastry. If you go to Starbucks often this may sound like a good deal. Is it?
Starbucks Credit card offers 4,500 stars after you spend $500 within the first 3 months. The stars are worth 90 lattes with croissants. By some measurements the value of one star is around 3 cents. So if you want to measure value of Starbucks stars in cash, the bonus is worth approximately $200 at a Starbucks store. However, stars cannot be converted to cash. Beside signup bonus you earn 1 star for every $2 spent with the credit card in grocery stores, ride-sharing, public transit expenses, internet, cell phone and cable. 3 stars for every $1 spent for Starbucks purchases and 1 star for $4 on everything else.
| Category | Cashback |
|---|---|
| Grocery store | 0.5 stars |
| Transportation | 0.5 stars |
| Starbucks | 3 stars |
| Everything else | 0.25 stars |
You cannot cash the stars and cannot transfer the Starbucks Rewards anywhere else. Even though stars do not expire, don’t hoard them. Starbucks is known for devaluing its start from time to time.
Other benefits Starbucks Credit Card
Other benefits of the Starbucks Credit Card include purchase protection, extended warranty and trip cancellation insurance. These are valuable benefits, but Starbucks card is not the only card that offers such a perk.
The Starbucks Credit Card has no annual fee for the first year and $49 after that. It means that for the first year this credit card maybe a good one, but on the second year it becomes a burden to your budget.
For purchases in other currencies, credit card charges 3% foreign transaction fee. It means you should take some other card when you travel outside of the US.
The final conclusion is that a Starbucks credit card is fine for Starbucks fans and only for the first year. For everyone else it is not worth the annual fee.