Who can say no to a free Starbucks drink?
From Mocha Frappuccino to Very Berry Hibiscus Lemonade, I love them all, especially when they’re free!
I have tried frappucinos at various other places and none of them can compare to Starbucks. Starbucks is not just an overpriced coffee shop, it really is good (at least I think so).
While I am a big fan of Starbucks, it is hard for me to justify a drink that can cost just almost as much as a meal.
The average American spends about $1,100 a year on coffee or $3/day. According to Acorns Money Matters report, 34% spent more on coffee than investing.
Sure, $3 a day might not seem like much on the surface, but what if you were to invest it and assuming the return rate is 10%, you would end up with $230,000 in 30 years!
It’s hard choosing between having that delicious Starbucks drink and saving for retirement, right? Now you can have both.
How To Get Free Starbucks Drinks
Here are the 10 different ways to get free Starbucks coffee so that you can enjoy your favorite coffee without hurting your wallet.
1. Earn Free Starbucks Gift Cards With Swagbucks
This is one of the easiest ways to earn Starbuck gift cards.
Swagbucks is one of the best sites to get free Starbuck gift cards as well as other gift cards for completing simple tasks using your phone. Swagbucks has paid more than $412 million so far to its members and gives out 7,000 free gift cards daily.
Some of the ways you can earn free Starbucks gift cards on Swagbucks include answering short surveys, playing games, browsing the Internet, watching videos, and any of the normal stuff you do online.
Swagbucks is a 100% legit survey site and has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.
2. Join Starbucks Rewards
Starbucks has a great rewards program where you can earn points and get free drinks.
To get started, download the app, create an account, and link your Starbucks card or a gift card. I get a lot of free Starbucks $5 gift cards doing surveys and I link them all in my app to earn more points.
You will automatically receive a Green Level status upon joining and can start collecting stars right away. You earn 2 Stars for every $1 spent.
Once you earn 300 stars within 12 months (after spending $150 a year or $12.50 per month), you will receive a Gold member status and be rewarded even more perks and benefits.
Redeem your drinks and food as follows:
- 25 Stars to add an extra espresso shot or syrup to your beverage.
- 50 Stars for a brewed hot coffee, bakery item or hot tea.
- 150 Stars for a handcrafted beverage, a hot breakfast or parfait.
- 250 Stars for a lunch sandwich or protein box.
- 400 Stars is an equivalent of 8 free cups of coffee, or you can redeem for a Starbucks signature merchandise or a bag of Starbucks coffee.
3. Free Starbuck Drink On Your Birthday
I try to get as many free things as possible on my birthday and Starbucks is on top of that list every year.
To qualify, you must join the Starbucks Rewards at least 7 days before your birthday and make at least one purchase before your birthday each year.
You don’t have to limit yourself to a handcrafted beverage, you can also redeem it for a food item or a bottled drink. And since there is no size limit or what you want in your free drink, you can go nuts.
Starbucks used to be generous and gave up to 30 days to redeem the freebie. But they changed the policy to 7 days, then 3 days, and now only on your actual birthday!
4. Buy One Get One Free From Starbucks
Starbucks runs special promotions and discounts such as buy one get one free (BOGO), especially during the holidays. Sometimes they even have 50% off on their specialty drinks during happy hour.
If you’re registered for the Starbucks Rewards program, you can also get exclusive member deals to collect more Stars to earn more free drinks (4 stars for every $1 spent instead of just 2 stars). Double the stars to earn faster free drinks.
5. Collect Starbucks Stamp Cards
If you didn’t know, Starbucks hands out free stamp cards during the holiday season.
When you get enough stamps on your card, you can get a free Starbucks drink. For example, for every 5 holiday beverages, you get a free one. You can also exchange your stamp cards for other freebies such as Starbucks planner.
6. Earn A Free Drink By Being Environmentally Friendly.
You can save 10 cents on every purchase of fresh brew if you bring in your own travel mug. Sure, 10 cents doesn’t sound like it’s worth the trouble, but if you’re a frequent Starbucks customer, that could add to a few free drinks.
If you go to Starbucks daily, you can save $36.50 annually or about 10 free drinks.
But more importantly, you’re also helping the environment by reusing the mug.
7. Free Starbucks Refills
Another perk of having a registered Starbucks card (I registered my gift card on the app) is that you can get free refills at Starbucks.
All you have to do is purchase your drink with your registered Starbucks card or mobile app, then present that same Starbucks card or mobile app to get your free refills of brewed coffee (hot, iced, or cold brew) and tea (hot or iced) during the same store visit regardless of the original beverage.
In other words, you can buy a hot coffee, but then get an iced tea as your refill.
8. Use Drop App To Get Free Starbucks
If you’re not using Drop app to turn your purchases into rewards, then you’re missing out! Drop app is a free popular cash back app that allows you to earn points.
How to earn free gift cards and get cash back with Drop app:
- Download the app, link your debit and/or credit cards to passively earn points. Drop uses the same encryption as your bank to ensure that your data is always safe. Your bank login credentials are never stored on Drop’s servers.
- Chose your top 5 favorite retailers (Amazon, Starbucks, Walmart, Target, etc)
- Points are automatically credited to your account when you shop online and in-store.
- Redeem your points for Starbucks gift cards or any other gift cards.
You can stack up your Drop points with other cash back apps such as Rakuten (formerly called Ebates) and credit card rewards!
9. Free Starbucks With Survey Junkie
Survey Junkie is another great site to earn free Starbucks gift cards. It is a market research company with over 10 million members.
Brands want your opinions on their products and you earn points for doing just that. Redeem your points for PayPal cash or choose a gift card of your choice starting at $10
10. Other Rewards and Points
Here are some other strategies I have used to get free gift cards:
MyPoints app has awarded over $236 Million in gift cards and cash since 1996. You can earn Amazon gift cards, cash, and travel miles by taking surveys, watching videos, searching the web, playing games, reading emails and shopping at 1900+ top retailers. Claim your FREE $10 Amazon gift card after spending $20.
Rakuten (formerly Ebates) is my go-to cash back site when I shop online, especially when I do my Christmas shopping. I have since cash back as high as 11%, that’s $11 back for every $100 you spend. You can also rack up points from your credit card on top of Ebates. You can read my review here.
Ibotta is a great app to help cut down your grocery bills. Instead of the old traditional clipping coupons, now you can redeem coupons right from the app. You can earn up to $20 bonus by signing up today!
There you have it – 10 easy ways to get a Starbucks free drink. Are you ready to go get yourself that free drink?
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