Starbucks will announce today a new Starbucks prepaid Visa card to be launched before year’s end, in conjunction with Chase, which will allow customers to earn Starbucks Rewards for purchases made anywhere Visa is accepted. Currently, ‘stars’ are only earned on purchases made at Starbucks.
Starbucks spokeswoman Linda Mills said in a statement to US News that details will come later on how stars will be earned for purchases made using the prepaid card. She added that Starbucks is considering other possible debit or credit card partnerships.
This announcement was made at Starbucks’ annual shareholders meeting. It comes on the heels of the news that Starbucks will change their rewards program in April from an item-based earning program to a revenue-based system. Some interpret the prepaid launch as a way to mollify upset customers over that change.
The new prepaid card will not have any monthly fees or reload fees, a Chase representative said to ABC News. The card will have just three fees: a $5 fee for a rush card replacement, a 3 percent foreign transaction fee, and a $75 legal processing fee, which would be triggered if the bank was required to hold or pay out funds from the account as a result of a legal action.
Chase already has their Liquid prepaid card, and the Starbucks card issued by Chase may piggyback on that system. The Liquid card does not have a reload fee but does have a $4.95 monthly fee.
