From an app perspective, it is very aesthetic and clean so 2 stars for that in regards to visuals. However the new loyalty system is horrific. Rather than buying x amount of drinks and getting one free, you now need to spend $500 in one year just to upgrade to have the ability to get a free drink! This money also has to be loaded onto the app so you can’t buy using card or cash else it won’t count. I’d say I’m fairly loyal to Starbucks however this has completely turned me off- I can rationalise having drinks there every now and then because in this economy it is incredibly expensive, however I cannot rationalise spending ~$10 a week for a YEAR just to get one free drink a month. From there you have to continue spending large just to maintain the ability to get perks that were normally the base system. Sad to say this change has drawn me away from Starbucks rather than closer to it, even though it’s had a technological upgrade. I can see why it would be a wonderful app for people that regularly get multiple drinks a week, however I just do not see the point in it for a lot of people.

The app claims the store near me is closed despite their operating hours online saying their open, when I try change stores it tells me all other stores do not have the order online and pick up capability! This is also happening to my friend when she tried the app. As we’re in a lockdown and only able to click and collect and we can’t even place an order thanks to the app! And we can’t order on the site as it only lists Auckland shops which we are not anywhere near.

App has annoyingly strict password requirements given that this is a Starbucks account not online banking - and this is something the company has forced me onto from a physical stamp card which worked just as well from my perspective. The password prompt in this instance didn’t activate the apple password manager which would have made this easier. Also would rather pay with my usual method to earn points rather than load money onto the app specifically for coffees. Surely the cost structure is the same as you’re paying merchant fees regardless. Yet another case of a corporate trying to force its customers to do what it wants rather than doing what their customers want - something that is all too common in this country.

The app is incredibly slow to get started, the order button wouldn’t work so I had to exit out of the app and keep retrying until it would actually work which is just fabulous technology. It gives you the option to add your own debit or credit card which is great but you can’t actually use your own card to purchase anything. It forces you to pay with a Starbucks rewards card in which the minimum top up amount is $10 which is ridiculous if you’re paying for an $8.40 drink and just want to pay that exact amount. My $1.60 will sit there until the next time I have to make a $10 top up and even then it will still be useless to me.