You Can Get A Free Starbucks Tumbler With This Epic Update To Their Rewards Program

If you're an avid Starbucks fan like me, you know there's really nothing better than the Starbucks Rewards program. You earn Stars every time you pick up your favorite drinks and pastries, you get free same-visit refills on coffee and tea, and you get a special birthday reward. Once you get to Gold status (which took me a scary short amount of time), you get a free drink or food item for every 125 Stars you earn. What's better than that? Well, I'm about to tell you. This Starbucks Rewards program update just made earning Stars so much easier, and you'll be able to use them on so many different things. This is about to take my Starbucks addiction to another level, guys.

Currently, with the Starbucks Rewards program, you have to be a Gold member in order to redeem Stars for free drinks. So, that means that customers need to earn 300 Stars within 12 months in order to become Gold before they have the opportunity to start earning for a free drink or food item. But that's about to change. Beginning on April 16, all Starbucks Rewards members will start earning Stars towards rewards the moment that they join the program. Customers will still earn two Stars for every $1 spent, so the Stars will come in much sooner, and so will the free frapps and cake pops.

Oh, and it's not just free drink and food items that customers will be able to redeem their Stars for now. With this update coming in April, the program will now be tiered to include different free items depending on how many Stars you have. For example, you can add an extra espresso shot to your drink for 25 Stars, get a free hot tea or coffee for 50 Stars, a free sandwich for 200 Stars, and even redeem select merchandise, like a tumbler or mug, for 400 Stars. With this update, customers can start earning rewards in as little as two to three visits. Count. Me. In.

If you're looking for something new to order at Starbucks to start earning those Stars, look no further than the new Cloud Macchiato. The new drink comes in two different flavors, Caramel and Cinnamon, and you need to try both immediately.

Both drinks are made with a bold macchiato espresso base and their Cloud Foam on top. The foam is like a cross between whipped cream and Starbucks' cold foam, so it's super fluffy and sweet. The Caramel Cloud Macchiato foam is sweetened with vanilla, and the Cinnamon Cloud Macchiato foam is mixed with a combination of cinnamon and lemon (sounds weird, I know, but the flavors are unreal). Both drinks are finished with the signature caramel cross-hatch, and the cinnamon version also gets a pinch of the spice on top as well.

All of this to say that if you're not already part of the Starbucks Rewards program, this update is a great reason to join. And for me, it's basically just reinforcing my already-unhealthy obsession... and I'm very much OK with it. See you at Starbucks on April 16!