Starbucks offers $5 to customers sending gifts via iMessage app

Posted:
in iPhone
Starbucks has launched a promotion to try and encourage its customers in the United States to use its new iMessage app, with the coffee chain providing app users who send a digital gift card to their friends with a free $5 gift card of their own.




Launched this month, the Starbucks Gifts iMessage app is used to provide gift cards to a user's contacts through iMessage itself. The gift cards are paid for via the sender's Apple Pay account, with the recipient then able to use the eGift card from their iPhone to pay for coffee and other goods.

Under the promotional terms, customers in the U.S. have to use the iMessage app to send a gift card of at least $5 in order to receive their own $5 gift card. Limited to one $5 gift card per person, the offer will run until April 23 or until 45,000 cards have been redeemed.

Users need to install the Starbucks Gifts app in order to send the gift cards, which is included as part of the main Starbucks app, though other users can access it via the iMessage store. An Apple Pay account is also required in order to buy and redeem the gift cards.

Starbucks first announced plans to offer an iMessage app for gift cards during its annual shareholders' meeting in March. Starbucks Gifts is the company's second major foray with iMessage, following after the coffee brand's official sticker pack.

The firm has been a close partner to Apple, supporting Apple Pay in stores and within its apps, and has previously provided free iTunes and App Store downloads to its customers.

Starbucks has also worked on providing new features to its iOS apps, such as the "My Starbucks" virtual barista it launched in January. Providing the ability to place orders via voice and messaging instead of using the app's menu system, the feature is currently limited to about 100,000 users, but the company intends to expand its reach to more customers in the future.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 10
    I get a "credit card declined" error from Apple Pay when attempting to send a gift. (I tried several types of cards, all know to be good, that have been used regularly through Apple Pay.)
    edited April 2017
  • Reply 2 of 10
    metrixmetrix Posts: 256member
    Sorry my $.02 worth. If you order a plain black coffee from Starbucks you are treated like a second class customer. I switched to Dutch Bros. Coffee and never looked back.
    edited April 2017 coolfactor
  • Reply 3 of 10
    supadav03supadav03 Posts: 503member
    Worked great for me last night. Me & the wife exchanged $5 gift cards and each scored a $5 card. Took 2 seconds. Like that more things intergrating into iMessage. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 10
    dws-2dws-2 Posts: 276member
    I get a credit card error when I try (before I've even entered a credit card). Normally, I pay with Apple Pay, but the Starbucks app has always been pretty poor.
  • Reply 5 of 10
    I was able to send $5, but did not get the freebie.
    jkelker
  • Reply 6 of 10
    coolfactorcoolfactor Posts: 2,239member
    metrix said:
    Sorry my $.02 worth. If you order a plain black coffee from Starbucks you are treated like a second class customer. I switched to Dutch Bros. Coffee and never looked back.

    Yah, Starbucks is all about status. Sad when that's the case.
  • Reply 7 of 10
    supadav03 said:
    Worked great for me last night. Me & the wife exchanged $5 gift cards and each scored a $5 card. Took 2 seconds. Like that more things intergrating into iMessage. 
    How long until you got the free cards? By email? I sent a card and haven't received anything yet (about 2 hours). 
  • Reply 8 of 10
    I cannot figure it out, I have the Starbucks app installed, but never can get the iMessages app to show up!  Help?  So much for easy to figure out.  *rolls eyes*


    Update:  Figured it out, but not very intuitive!  Sent a $5 gift, but did not get the return $5 gift to me -- how long does that take?!
    edited April 2017
  • Reply 9 of 10
    metrix said:
    Sorry my $.02 worth. If you order a plain black coffee from Starbucks you are treated like a second class customer. I switched to Dutch Bros. Coffee and never looked back.

    Yah, Starbucks is all about status. Sad when that's the case.

    Especially when their coffee actually sucks. Every coffee I ever had at Starbucks tasted burnt.
  • Reply 10 of 10
    metrix said:
    Sorry my $.02 worth. If you order a plain black coffee from Starbucks you are treated like a second class customer. I switched to Dutch Bros. Coffee and never looked back.

    Yah, Starbucks is all about status. Sad when that's the case.

    Especially when their coffee actually sucks. Every coffee I ever had at Starbucks tasted burnt.
    So stop buying dark roasts, try a light roast instead.  * rolls eyes*
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