Starbucks® Rewards Visa® Credit Card Review: A retired coffee shop staple exchanged for a rewards-earning powerhouse

If you still want the perks of a retail card, the Prime Visa is one of the best around. It skips an annual fee for Amazon Prime members, unlike the Starbucks Rewards Visa, while still touting a valuable welcome offer, more competitive rewards rates and an impressive suite of travel protections. You’ll earn your highest rewards rate on purchases at Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market (similarly to how you’d earn your highest rates on Starbucks purchases with the Starbucks Rewards Visa). If you’re an Amazon or Whole Foods fan and you don’t mind taking on an Amazon Prime membership, the Prime Visa is a worthwhile alternative. 

People who formerly had the Starbucks Rewards Visa might have had their card switched to the Chase Freedom Unlimited, one of the best no-annual-fee rewards cards on the market. The Chase Freedom Unlimited’s bonus categories are much more well-rounded and its base rewards rate of 1.5 percent cash back on all other purchases is hard to beat. 

The Chase Freedom Unlimited also comes with a host of valuable perks and benefits, which are noteworthy for a card with no annual fee. Unlike the Starbucks Rewards Visa, the Chase Freedom Unlimited has an intro APR offer on both purchases and balance transfers, saving you on interest charges. Other valuable perks include extended warranty coverage and trip cancellation and interruption insurance. Former Starbucks Rewards Visa cardholders may have just lucked out with this major card upgrade.

The primary criteria for a rewards or cash back card’s rating is its rewards value. This includes the card’s average rewards rate, estimated annual rewards earnings, sign-up bonus value and reward redemption value.

To estimate a card’s average annual rewards earnings, we first calculate its average rewards rate based on how much it earns in different bonus categories and how closely its categories align with the average person’s spending habits, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

Based on this data, we determine a “chargeable” spend (which purchases are likely to be put on a credit card and earn rewards). This includes the following spending by category:

• Groceries: $5,200
• Dining out: $3,000
• Entertainment: $2,500
• Gas: $2,100
• Apparel and services: $1,700

Using this data, we assign a weighting to each of a card’s bonus categories. For example, a card’s grocery rewards rate receives a 23 percent weighting based on how much of the average person’s budget is spent on groceries. We also estimate the redemption value of points or miles from various issuer, airline and hotel rewards programs.

This weighting and rewards valuation allows us to estimate a card’s average annual rewards earnings — how many points or miles you’d earn with a given card if your spending was about average and you used the card for all of your purchases, as well as what those points are worth. We also use point valuations to determine a card’s sign-up bonus value

With these calculations complete, we assign each card a score based on how its average rewards earnings, sign-up bonus value, rewards rate and redemption value stack up against other rewards cards.

We also rate cards based on how much it costs to keep them in your wallet or carry a balance. 

To start, each rewards or cash back card is scored based on whether it offers an intro APR and how its ongoing APR compares to the rates available on other rewards or cash back cards. 

We also score each card based on how its annual fee influences its overall value. 

We consider a card’s annual fee in two ways — how it ranks relative to the fees you’ll find on other cards in the category and how it impacts a card’s overall rewards value. Cards with an annual fee will always be at a slight disadvantage in our scoring system since annual fees inherently cut into your rewards value, but if a card offers terrific value via its ongoing rewards and perks, it can earn a high score even if it carries a high annual fee. 

With this in mind, we rate a card based primarily on how its ongoing rewards value and ongoing perk value (such as annual credits or bonuses) stack up against other cards in the category when you subtract its annual fee.

We rate each card’s flexibility based on the restrictions it imposes on earning and redeeming rewards and factor this rating into a card’s overall score. 

Flexibility factors include whether a card only allows you to earn a high rewards rate on a small amount of spending or requires you to meet a certain earning threshold before you can redeem rewards. We also examine whether your points are worth less when you redeem for some options versus others and whether a card gives you the flexibility to transfer rewards to airline and hotel partners. 

We also score each card’s set of features – its perks and benefits — against five tiers of features to provide a rating. 

We break down these tiers as follows:

• Tier 1 has less than standard card features (an ultra-streamlined card that offers basic utility and next to nothing in the way of ancillary benefits. 
• Tier 2 includes the benefits you’d expect on standard Visa or Mastercard credit cards, such as free access to your credit score, car rental insurance and $0 liability for fraudulent charges. 
• Tier 3 includes “prime card” or better-than-average card features like cellphone insurance, lost luggage insurance, concierge services and purchase protection. 
• Tier 4 includes luxury features such as airport lounge access, elite status with an airline or hotel and credits for expedited security screening membership programs. 
• Tier 5 includes the sort of exemplary benefits you’ll find on top-tier luxury cards, such as high-value travel credits, cardholder memberships and other unique and valuable perks.

Reward stars earned on your Starbucks Rewards Visa through July 19, 2023, will not expire until August 2024, so make sure to use them before they expire. 

Your account numbers and credit lines should all remain the same, but double check with your issuer to ensure they are carried over.

If you paid the $49 annual fee for the Starbucks Rewards Visa, then you should receive a pro-rated refund.