Starbucks is making some updates to its free refill policy in Canada, according to an email sent out to customers on Monday morning.
Starting January 27, 2025, if you’re not a Starbucks Rewards member (you need to show this through the Starbucks mobile app, for example), you can now get free same-visit refills of hot or iced brewed coffee or tea at participating stores.
But your original drink has to be served in a clean reusable cup or a Starbucks in-store mug. Some drinks like Cold Brew, Nitro Cold Brew, Iced Tea Lemonade, flavoured iced tea, and Starbucks Refreshers base won’t qualify.
Rewards members still get their same-visit refills, just like before.
If you are a Starbucks Rewards member, there’s one small change: to keep getting free refills, your initial drink will also need to be served in a clean reusable cup or an in-store mug, this starts on February 12, 2025. This means if you ordered a drink in a paper cup, you won’t be getting a refill anymore.
Both Rewards members and non-members can get free refills of hot or iced brewed coffee or tea during the same visit to a participating Starbucks. But refills only apply to brewed drinks.
Starbucks says it is pushing for more sustainability by encouraging reusable cups and cutting down on single-use items (it’s pushing to reduce waste by 50% by 2030). Essentially, everyone can get free refills but it has to be in a non-reusable cup. You can also get free refills at McDonald’s, for example, but in any cup.
Earlier this month, Starbucks announced that customers in Canada and the USA can now use their own clean, personal cups at stores in both the drive-thru and in-store. Canada is also the first to let customers use their own cups with mobile orders, saving you $0.10 off your bill (the US gets 25 bonus stars). How much coffee can your bladder handle in a single Starbucks visit?
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I love how they say it's "pushing for more sustainability" by now forcing you to buy another cup instead of being able to reuse your paper cup like they do now. lol
You don’t own a cup? Are you homeless? You can use any cup in your kitchen. While I agree it’s inconvenient, it’s not like they are forcing your hand. You still have the option to get a paper cup.
What do you think will happen in the real world though? Not everyone walks around with backpack to keep a cup in. You don't think that a business such as Starbucks perhaps had business reasons for the decision and greenwashed it to make themselves look good? You think Starbucks has our best interests at heart, and not maximizing shareholder value? Pretty sure they know most will buy their standard default coffee which comes in their iconic paper cup – and when they decide they would like another cup, instead of saving the environment and getting it refilled, Starbucks is saying, nah, buy another.
Do you hang around at Starbucks all day and milk them for free refills? I live right next to one and I don’t think I have ever gone back for a free refill in my life. I think you are working yourself up over nothing.
Not to mention it’s pretty easy to carry a cup in your bag. Almost every single person walks around with a purse, or a backpack, or a tote bag, or something they can carry a cup in.
Obviously if Starbucks is offering free refills, there is a demand for it that Starbucks wants to cater to. If you don't understand that, try to have some manners and ask nicely about it or google it rather than telling people that they're "working yourself up over nothing". Looks like you're worked yourself up enough to comment about it though. Maybe you're feeling a bit high-strung? Caffiene will do that to you 😉
There is no demand for free refills. They offer it because fat Americans became accustomed to getting things like bottomless soda during the 90's. That trend is long over – even McDonald's has eliminated free refills. But don't worry: next time you're planning to hang around at Starbucks all day, just bring a reusable cup and you can choke down their crappy coffee until you're bouncing off the walls.
If there is no demand for free refills then why would they bother restricting how you can get one brainiac?
So that rare, annoying customers like you will bring a reusable cup instead of ruining our only environment.
Your argument was that there is no demand for free refills. I showed that there IS demand. Why are you going on about this? What are you trying to prove? That corporations have your best interests in mind? That people can't voice their opinion about corporate decisions? That people can't point out corporate greenwashing? Do you really think that Starbucks loves you, wants to do what's best for the earth and doesn't care about maximizing shareholder value? Why is it so important for you to squash a consumer opinion and trumpet corporate propaganda? Why go out of your way to defend mega corporations? They do just fine without your help. There is a demand. Starbucks made a change some did not like. And you think your job is to belittle anyone that voices an opinion? You know who those "annoying customers" are that ask for a refill? Usually those less fortunate than us. I've personally not gotten a refill in years – maybe a decade. But I'll stick up for those that feel the difference in their wallet to pay for a coffee. If those customers are too "annoying" to you, then why don't you just buy yourself a coffee somewhere more snobby where you'll better fit in.
As I understand the change in policy, the free refills are served in either your reusable clean cup or the store’s mug, so one doesn’t have to carry their own. I wouldn’t use the paper for refills anyway because it might become soggy depending on for how long I would linger around the store and how many refills would go in the same paper cup. In my mind, paper is for the coffee to go.
You were always able to get a refill in your reusable clean cup or the store’s mug just as you are now. The only difference is that now you can't get a refill if you happened to order in a paper cup. In that case you need to buy ANOTHER paper cup and throw the other one in the garbage.
And your view of the paper cup being one-time use only is disingenuous. I've reused mine many times getting refills at Starbucks and can guarantee you there is zero issue. They've been doing it for years without issue.
I have to trust you on sturdiness of a paper cup for multiple use as I rarely drink coffee and Starbucks even less often. It was not my intention to be disingenuous, I just said for what I would and wouldn’t use the paper cup. It’s a personal choice. Really no need to slap labels on my character for such a trivial thing. My point was not about paper cups anyway but about not having to carry your own container if you want free refills now that they stopped offering it for paper cups, because the in store mugs are available as usual.
read more carefully before complaining you can still use starbucks cup just not paper order for in store in a glass cup
Read more closely yourself. It's only once sentence – not too hard.