Starbucks just made free coffee more expensive

Inflation has hit Starbucks’ loyalty program.

Starting today, the Seattle-based coffee chain is making it more difficult for customers to redeem their rewards points, or stars, for free coffee drinks, pastries, breakfast and lunch items.

New redemption levels in some cases require double the number of points.

For example:

— Customers used to be able to redeem 50 stars for a brewed hot coffee or tea, bakery item or packaged snack. Those items now require 100 stars.

— No longer can 150 stars be redeemed for a free hand-crafted drink (latte, mocha, cold brew, etc.) or hot breakfast item (breakfast sandwiches, egg bites). Those now require 200 stars.

— Sandwiches and salads previously at the 200-star level are now 300-star items.

A few tiers have stayed the same or, in some cases, gotten cheaper:

— The lowest tier remains unchanged. Customers may still customize their drink by adding syrup, an extra espresso shot or a non-dairy alternative for 25 stars.

— Iced tea and coffee, which used to require 150 stars, have become 100-star items.

— Packaged coffee now requires 300 stars rather than 400.

Starbucks Rewards members got the news via email in December, with a reminder this weekend.

Customers earn one star for every dollar in purchases, or two stars if they use a registered Starbucks card.

For details on the new tiers. see the explanation on the Starbucks customer service page.