A HIGH street coffee chain has announced a major shake-up to its loyalty scheme for good.
Fans of Costa Coffee can now enjoy an extra benefit while sipping on their favourite barista-made hot drink.
Members of Costa Club get one “bean” point for every drink they order – and get two if they bring in a reusable cup.
However, the coffee giant has announced a new change to this scheme.
Customers can now use the new “Swaps” feature to get extra top-ups like syrups, cream or an extra shot of coffee in exchange for two “bean” points.
The brand says this will allow coffee drinkers to further personalise their hot drinks.
Costa Club members can still redeem a free handcrafted drink in exchange for ten “beans” in-store, but Swaps offers the added flexibility of using collected beans sooner for delightful extras.
And members can enjoy a variety of treats and rewards, including a free cake on their birthday and exciting offers and surprises through Treat Drop.
Patrick Steele, Head of Loyalty and Customer Engagement at Costa Coffee said: “At Costa Coffee, we understand the importance of providing our customers with a personalised experience.
“With the introduction of an extra benefit – Swaps, we’ve re-imagined our loyalty rewards to allow our Costa Club members to use their beans at an earlier stage to ‘Costa-mise’ their favourite beverage.”
If you are not part of Costa’s loyalty program, you can sign up here.
Customers must now buy an extra two coffees to get a free one at Costa – after a change last August.
They get a freebie after buying ten now, rather than eight.
And get an extra bean for a reusable cup.
Beans can be collected in any of the chain’s 2,800 coffee shops, as well as around 12,000 machines in petrol stations and convenience stores.
How it works:
Costa Coffee’s latest announcement comes after Pret – one of its major rivals – announced a huge change to its subscription program.
Club Pret at Pret a Manger currently costs £30 a month, or £360 a year, and members can get five free hot or iced barista-made drinks each day.
The scheme also offers 20 per cent off the rest of the food and drink menu.
But under changes coming in September, subscribers will instead get 50 per cent off five barista-made drinks a day instead.
Discounts on the food menu through the scheme will also end.
At the same time, the price of the scheme will fall to £10 a month – with a reduced rate of £5 a month available until the end of March 2025.
Furious customers have taken to X, formerly known as Twitter, to slam the decision.
One subscriber said: “Have a word I will be cancelling as I think many others will be!!! Shame on you.”
SUN Savers Editor Lana Clements gives her verdict on the changes to the Club Pret scheme.
The Club Pret subscribe and save scheme has been hugely popular among coffee lovers.
If you enjoy treating yourself to a hot or iced beverage every day, the savings were well worth it.
The £30 a month price-tag may sound fairly hefty but it works out as up to five drinks every day for just £1.
Now the cost of the scheme is falling to £10 a month which would work out as roughly 33p a day. But you now have to pay half the cost of your drink of choice.
If you buy a flat white, medium size, at £3 a go. You’d pay £1.50, plus the 33p in membership working out at £1.75 for one coffee. If you ordered another four on the same day, it would cost another £6 working out at a total of £7.75 for five drinks in one day.
To soften the blow, Pret has reduced the price of its no frills filter coffee to 99p, down from £1.80.
But those who enjoy a drink with the added extras could find that other coffee chains are now a better deal. For example, you can sign up to chain Leon’s Roast Rewards for £25 a month and get five barista-made drinks a day. This works out at roughly 83p a day for five drinks. Not bad, not bad at all.
