Personal Finance News
Starbucks and Marriott Bonvoy Announce Rewards Partnership
Two popular loyalty programs are joining forces to reward travelers (and keep them caffeinated).
About the partnership:
Starting this week, Starbucks Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy members will be able to link their accounts and earn bonus rewards. First, those with linked accounts will earn Double Stars during stays at participating Marriott Bonvoy properties. If a regular Starbucks Double Stars Day falls during one of these stays, members can earn Triple Stars on that day instead.
Additionally, the two companies have teased Marriott Bonvoy Weeks which will occur throughout the year. During these weeks, members with linked accounts who make at least three qualifying transitions during the week will earn 100 Marriott Bonvoy points. The first Marriott Bonvoy Week will take place between July 8th and July 14th, 2024.
To mark the launch of this partnership, Starbucks and Marriott Bonvoy are holding a special sweepstakes. Through July 7th, those who link their Starbucks Rewards and Bonvoy accounts will be eligible to win one of several prizes — including the grand prize, which will whisk winners to three Starbucks Reserve Roastery locations in Seattle, Milan, and Tokyo. Other prizes include visits to one of the Roasteries, bonus stars, and more.
Other Starbucks news:
This partnership with Marriott Bonvoy comes on the heels of Starbucks and Delta revamping their partnership program. Now, those who link their Delta SkyMiles and Starbucks Rewards accounts can earn up to 200 bonus SkyMiles when reloading their Starbucks cards. Customers also continue to enjoy Double Stars when making purchases at Starbucks on days when they are flying Delta.
My thoughts:
While I’m always excited about the potential to earn free rewards, overall, the details of this partnership are pretty disappointing when compared to Starbucks’ deal with Delta. The fact that point earnings are limited to Marriott Bonvoy Week and require three purchases during a week to earn 100 points (which is probably about a dollar in value) is honestly laughable. Therefore, although I went ahead and linked my accounts, I don’t foresee getting much out of this offer.
One minor redeeming aspect is that, as of now, you can link both your Delta and Marriott accounts to Starbucks rather than having to choose between them. However, since Delta offers Double Stars on days when you have Delta flights and Marriott Bonvoy offers the same during stays, I can’t help but wonder what happens if you fly Delta and stay at a Marriott property on the same day. I’d hope that it would be a Triple Stars situation, but I was unable to find confirmation of this.
I’ll also note that Delta and Starbucks offered a sign-up bonus rather than a sweepstakes when their partnership launched. In any case, here’s hoping that I at least win said sweepstakes as that would all make it worth it.
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