How do you get a free drink at Starbucks? Let’s face it, it’s not the cheapest coffee shop around but it can be nice to grab a treat or fancy drink there even if you are watching your budget.
If you are trying to cut back, your latte habit doesn’t have to end, follow the tips below and you will be enjoying a free Starbucks drink for as long as you want.
It’s easy to rack up the Starbucks gift cards if you are willing to put in the time.
By answering surveys and making the most of Starbucks own programs, you may never have to pay for Starbucks again.
I first started getting free Starbucks drinks when I was on maternity leave.
Three of us liked to walk with our strollers to Starbucks and back every morning and I found the costs really added up.
Then I discovered that I could get free Starbucks gift cards with a little bit of savviness and some screen time.
I never ended up paying for my Starbucks again.
Free Starbucks gift cards mean you can indulge guilt free without worrying about throwing your life savings away on a cup of Joe.
They also mean you can treat friends and family and look super generous when really you are just a super saver!
Read on for the top 10 places to earn your free Starbucks drink in 2024.
This post contains affiliate links. Please read my Disclosure for more information.
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10 Ways To Get A FREE Starbucks Drink
While you can definitely get paid to drink tea or coffee, nothing is better than getting a free cup of joe whenever you like.
In no particular order, here are the top 10 places to get a free latte or cappucchino at Starbucks.
1. Starbucks Rewards
The most obvious way to get your free Starbucks drink whenever you want is to take advantage of Starbucks rewards.
This is a “frequent flier” program that offers various benefits, the main one being free Starbucks!
The Starbucks Reward program is very simple to sign up for.
You must make a purchase with your registered Starbucks card, or use the app in order to get rewarded.
To redeem you’ll receive stars automatically for every purchase made and they will show up as treats loaded into your account.
In 2019 the rewards program was changed and now you can earn a free Starbucks drink such as tea in as little as 2 or 3 visits.
How it works
Earn 2 stars for every $1 you spend in a Starbucks cafe or online.
Once you hit 25 stars you can get a free customization to your drink (soy milk etc), 50 stars buys you a free tea, coffee or bakery item.
Redeem your Stars for free food and drink as follows:
- 25 Stars to add an espresso shot or syrup to your beverage.
- 50 Stars for a free hot brewed coffee, cake pop, croissant, bagel, or a slice of cake.
- 150 Stars for any of your favourite handcrafted drinks or a breakfast sandwich.
- 250 Stars for lunch sandwich or salad.
- 400 Stars for a bag of coffee or select merchandise
It might seem that it would take forever to build up to 50 stars but there are double star days all the time plus bonus star offers weekly (for example, buy two teas in a week and get 75 bonus stars).
Make sure to check your email and the Starbucks app regularly for offers as they load new ones at least once a week.
2. Free Starbucks Drink On Your Birthday
I love getting free stuff on my birthday and what is better than a free cup of coffee or tea?
You also get a free Starbucks drink on your birthday.
Back in the day Starbucks used to mail out a card about a month before your birthday and you could redeem it in store but now everything happens on the app.
Can you get a free Starbucks drink on your birthday in 2023?
Yes! Starbucks is still running the popular free birthday drink program in 2023.
In order to get a free drink on your birthday, you must be a member of the rewards program and have at least one star-earning purchase before your birthday.
You can join the Starbucks Rewards Program online or in the app.
3. Swagbucks
Starbucks is how I funded my maternity leave Starbucks habit!
By taking surveys, watching videos and using the Swagbucks search engine, you can easily rack up the points (Swagbucks) to get a Starbucks gift card a couple of times a month.
If you are not already a Swagbucks member, sign up at this link and get $5 to start you on your way to your free Starbucks gift card that much quicker.
You need 1000 Swagbucks to redeem for a $10 Starbucks gift card so the $5 bonus will get you halfway there!
For a full tutorial on making the most money possible from Swagbucks, make sure to check out my top 10 Ways To Earn Money With Swagbucks.
4. Survey Junkie
Do you love sharing your opinion on Facebook and social media?
Why not turn your wisdom into cash or free Starbucks drinks with Survey Junkie?
There are a bunch of online survey sites that will give you Starbucks gift cards in exchange for earned points and out of all of them, Survey Junkie is one of the best.
To get started, sign up for a free Survey Junkie account and verify your email address.
Once you are verified, simply answer surveys on your phone or computer and then exchange the points for a Starbucks gift card or PayPal cash.
5. Drop
Drop is a grocery shopping app that allows you to earn Starbucks gift cards passively!
All you have to do is download the Drop app, link your credit cards and shop as normal.
Drop will automatically award you with points as you use your cards – you don’t need to do anything.
You can also get bonus points every month just for checking the app and also a welcome bonus of 1000 points for joining via my invite link.
Once you have enough points ,you can redeem for a Starbucks gift card or other gift card of your choice.
6. Microsoft Rewards
Microsoft rewards is a program that allows you to earn by using the searching the internet, using your Xbox or shopping online at the Microsoft store.
It is free to join and a really easy way of getting some free gift cards.
You can win free stuff by searching, shopping, and gaming with Microsoft.
It’s also easy to earn points for fun activities like taking quizzes and polls.
Even if you just use the Microsoft search engine, Bing, instead of your usual search engine, you can easily rack up the points and get some free Starbucks drinks in no time at all!
7. Receipt Pal
Use ReceiptPal to snap your paper receipts, or connect your email or and shopping accounts and you’ll earn points for every receipt.
For example, if you connect your Instacart, Walmart or Starbucks account to Receipt Pal, you will be rewarded with points for every purchase you make.
You can redeem your points for visa gift cards and retail gift cards from great places including, of course, Starbucks.
8. Prize Rebel
With Prize Rebel, you can answer surveys, take offers and watch videos for points which you can redeem for gift cards.
You can redeem for a $5 Starbucks gift card meaning you can start drinking that free coffee even sooner.
Surveys are available for the USA, Australia, Canada and the UK but everyone can earn points through playing games, watching videos and completing offers where applicable.
9. Starbucks Credit Card
If you are a Starbucks power user and want to really turbocharge your free Starbucks drinks, then the Starbucks Visa card is the way to go.
How it works
Earn Stars everywhere you go—including 4,500 Bonus Stars after you spend $500 anywhere in the first 3 months from account opening.
4500 bonus stars would give you a cool 130 free cups of coffee right off the bat!
You will also get 3 stars per $1 spent at any Starbucks store (as opposed to the regular 2 stars) plus 1 star for every $2 spent at grocery stores or other bills like your cable and phone services.
sign up for the Starbucks Credit card here
10. Free Starbucks Refills
Did you know that you can get free refills at Starbucks of hot and cold brewed tea and coffee?
The only catch is, you need to grab your refill during the same Starbucks visit. If you are heading to drive-thru or just nipping into Starbucks it won’t really work but if you spend a while there it might!
If you are hanging out for a while or shopping at a Target store that has a Starbucks, you can really get your money’s worth.
How do I get my free refill at Starbucks?
There are two ways to become eligible for your free Starbucks drink refill:
Scan your Starbucks rewards card
We’ve already discussed how the Starbucks rewards program is your golden ticket to free Starbucks drinks.
But did you know it is also essential for your free refills at Starbucks?
You must scan your Starbucks Rewards Card barcode in the App prior to purchasing your beverage. You must also scan it again when you request your refill.
Pay for your drink with your registered card
If you have a registered Starbucks gift card, use it to pay for your drink.
That way you can get a free refill during the same visit.