Starbucks: home of the unsubstantiated “$5 cup of coffee”. Although many people complain about how expensive Starbucks is, the facts are 1) it’s really not and 2) it’s really delicious. Anyway, it wouldn’t matter if Starbucks did sell a regular coffee for $5, because I’m about to tell you how to get almost anything on the menu completely free. Yeah, you want to read this article.
So, how do you get to eat and drink at Starbucks cafes for free? The equation is relatively simple: coupons + grocery store + Starbucks reward card = free Starbucks.
This week, starting Sept. 14, 2014, Target is running a sale on Starbucks coffee: buy 3 Starbucks coffee products, get a free $5 Target gift card. At Target, a bag of Starbucks coffee retails for $6.99/each. If you subtract the value of the Target gift card, that makes each bag $5.33. Wait, you’re saying, that’s not free! No, it’s not. Not yet.
In order to make the most out of your Target deal, you can use Starbucks coupons on top of the $5 gift card promo. Coupons.com is offering $2 off Starbucks coffee coupons when you buy 2 packages. This brings the cost of coffee down to $4.33/bag. Buy 6 bags of coffee, get $10 in gift cards and $6 in coupon savings. You can buy enough Starbucks and earn enough Target gift cards to make buying the coffee with the coupons and the deal completely free, or you can buy other gift card promo products and use your gift cards to buy the coffee. Either way, this will make your Starbucks grocery store coffee free.
So, how does this translate to free food & drinks at Starbucks locations?
Well, first, you need to get a Starbucks rewards card. How do you do that? Simple. Sign up here. In fact, if you sign up, you’ll get a free Starbucks drink when you purchase 2 packages of Starbucks coffee in the grocery store (which you’re already doing). And then you’ll be eligible to earn free food & drinks every 12 stars earned (1 star per purchase). But wait, there’s more: this week, Starbucks is offering its reward card members a very special promo:
This means instead of getting 1 star for every Starbucks grocery store purchase, you’ll earn 2.5 (as long as you buy in increments of 2). So, if you buy 6 packages of Starbucks coffee at Target, you’ll “spend” $25.98. You’ll also get $10 in Target gift cards, bringing your cost down to $15.98. But, you’ve already earned a free Starbucks drink just buy signing up for a rewards card. You can get any size, any kind handcrafted Starbucks beverage for free. Order a Venti (20oz) or a Trenta (iced only, 31oz), go crazy with extra shots of espresso, syrups, and other add ons, and get yourself a $8 latte or frappuccino. This brings your “cost” down to $7.98. And, now that you’ve bought 6 packages of coffee with 2.5 times the rewards, you’ve earned 15 rewards Stars, which means you’ve brought your total cost to -$0.02. You could also use your reward to purchase any food or beverage, and you’ll earn a free food or drink for every 12 Stars. Tip: don’t order large, expensive drinks to earn your 12 Stars; get a regular hot or iced coffee or tea, and spend less than $2. Take advantage of other reward options and perks Starbucks gives card holders, like 50% off food or 50% off espresso to get your rewards. Order what you like, do every transaction separately, and even out the cost by using your free rewards to your advantage. Most of all, enjoy your Free Starbucks experience! 🙂
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