Which Starbucks Credit Card Should You Get?

Summary - The Starbucks Card Duetto^TM Visa® is a visa card account and a Starbucks card account combined into one card. We recommend the Starbucks Card Duetto™ Visa® to the regular Starbucks customer who already owns a Duetto Card because they can earn faster Duetto Dollars. The key features of this card are

You earn 1% in Starbucks Duetto dollars for every dollar you spend

If you sign up for an optional gift subscription feature using the Visa account of your Duetto card, you can earn 3% in Duetto Dollars on Gift Subscription purchases

You earn 3% Duetto Dollars if you sign up for an auto-reload feature, which essentially uses your visa account to reload your Duetto account once your Deutto account falls below a certain threshold

Duetto Dollars you earn are automatically loaded into the Duetto card account which you can use at any Starbucks outlet for a hassle-free starbucks purchase

You can load additional Deutto Dollars into your card (much like a debit card)

Let us look at this card in more detail.

Reward Formula - The Starbucks Card Duetto^TM Visa® is actually a visa card and a Starbucks Duetto "debit" card combined into one. You can use the card like a visa card, earn "Duetto Dollars", which are transfered into the Duetto account. You can 1% Duetto Dollars on your visa purchases. If you subscribe to the auto-load service, which automatically loads your Duetto account if it falls below a certain threshold, you can earn 3% Duetto Dollars for every dollar that is "loaded" into your Duetto account. You can join the optional gift subscription feature and earn 3% Duetto Dollars each time you make a gift subscription purchase.

Fees and Rates - The Starbucks Card Duetto^TM Visa® has no annual fee. The apr is either prime rate plus 5.99%, 9.99% or 14.99% depending on your credit. This card uses the average daily balance method (including new purchases) of calculating monthly balances. You also get a 0% apr for six billing cycles on both purchases and balance transfers.

Other Cards That Let You Redeem For Starbucks Gift Card

If you are not really a starbucks junkie, but want to occasionally want to get free starbucks gift cards, there are a couple of reward programs that have Starbucks as their gift card partners. For example, the Citi ThankYou Rewards allow you to exchange ThankYou points for starbucks gift cards. Cards like the Citi ThankYou Preferred Card, Citi Forward Card, and their student cards like the Citi Forward Card For College Students and the Citi MTVU credit card all have ThankYou as their reward program.



The Chase Ultimate Reward program also has Starbucks as their gift card partner. Cards like the Chase Freedom have Ultimate Rewards as their reward program.

Starbucks Duetto Visa - Worth Getting

Verdict - Let's be upfront about this. The Starbucks credit card is a really niche credit card. You really have to be spending quite a bit at Starbucks everyday for you to make it worthwhile getting this card. And if redeeming rewards for Starbucks is all you care about, then this card is for you. But if you are really not a fanatic, then perhaps a card like the Chase Freedom, whereby you can exchange points for Starbucks gift card might be a better idea.

Update - The Starbucks credit card is no longer being offered.

Starbucks Card DuettoTM Visa
Reward Formula
Point Accumulation	Earn 3% Duetto Dollars when you auto-reload your Duetto account from your visa account Earn 3% Duetto Dollars when you join the gift subscription feature and make a gift subscription Earn 1% Duetto Dollars on regular visa purchases
Cost/Fees/Interest rates
Introductory rate	0% fixed APR for 6 billing cycles (purchases and balance transfers)
Annual Fees	No annual fee
Purchase APR	Prime Rate plus 5.99%, 9.99% or 14.99%
Balance Transfer APR	Prime Rate plus 5.99%, 9.99% or 14.99%
Cash Advance APR	Prime Rate plus 14.74%
Penalty/Default Rate	Prime Rate plus 23.99%
Min Finance Charge	$1.00
Grace Period	20 days
Balance Calculation Method	Average Daily Balance (including new purchases)
Balance Transfer Fee	3% min $5.00 max $75.00
Convenience checks fee	3% min $5.00 max $75.00
Cash Advance fee	3% min $10.00
Foreign Currency Conversion fee	3%
Over-the-credit-limit fee	$35.00
Late Payment fee	$15.00 - up to but not including $250.00 $39.00 - more than $250.00