My boss gave me a $25 gift card to Starbucks. Very nice, but I’d like to just transfer the $$ onto my main gold card, rather than hassle with multiple cards. Is that possible?
With millions of downloads and a crazy number of customers who enjoy digital access and app ordering, it’s no surprise that the Starbucks app is sophisticated. Whether you’re an Android fan or an iPhone owner, Starbucks might well be one of the key programs on your device, and with its support for digital wallets and smart wearables like the Apple Watch, it’s dangerously easy to buy just one more latte!
What you might not realize is that there are over 27,000 Starbucks stores in over 75 countries now, and that there are 13.3 million active Starbucks loyalty program members. In total, Starbucks customers use 2.3 billion cups per year, filling them with coffee and over 93 million gallons of milk per year. That’s just a lot, there’s no way around it, particularly considering that most estimates say that only 52% of adults consume coffee. Then again, Starbucks has lots of tea and other beverages too.
Anyway, back to your question. I received a Starbucks gift card myself, and once I’d rubbed off the secret PIN on the back, here’s what I had:
Before you get too excited, realize that I’ve already used this card so the balance is now $0.00, no free drinks here!
Armed with the full card number and PIN number, it’s time to pop into the Starbucks app on your favorite device. I’ll use Android since that’s the phone I have handy. You’re likely quite familiar with this interface, and the iPhone version is just a little bit different:
You can see that my current balance is $46.24 and that I’m 81 points away from my next reward.
Tap on the so-called “hamburger” menu (three horizontal lines) button on the top left and a menu of choices and options appears:
Tap on “Cards” here in the Starbucks App to proceed. It’ll show you any cards you already have set up and ready to go. In my case, my main card is my “gold card” and it’s all ready to go:
On the Android version of the Starbucks app you can see that Add money and Pay in store are both floating buttons. Behind the Pay in store button, however, is the one you want: “Add card”. On the iPhone version, the layout is a bit different: You’ll want to go to Pay then Manage to find the “Add Card” option. Either way, you’ll end up here:
Easy enough, though a bit fussy to enter all those digits perfectly. Once you’re done and you’ve checked it twice, the app will show you a summary:
Does it work? Let’s find out! I tap on “Add” and it checks the card info against the master Starbucks database. If there’s a balance it’ll show that as it adds the card to my app database:
You can see that it’s easy to make it the primary card and to even set up auto-reload. But I don’t want any of those. What I want to do is to transfer the $10.00 balance directly onto my other card, the primary card for this account.
To do that I’ll utilize the logically named “Transfer balance” feature. It guesses the correct cards and transaction details:
Looks perfect. I’m going to just tap “Transfer” to make it so!
Well, not quite. The Starbucks app has one more question:
Sounds like a plan because I don’t really need the card in the app if I’ve already used it all up or transferred its balance to my gold card!
A tap on “Remove” and it’s done. Now, as you’d hope, the balance of my other card has jumped up $10.00:
And that’s all there is to it. Easy.
Now, while we’re talking about Starbucks, please don’t hesitate to buy me a latte while you’re here too, if you’d like. I promise I’ll drink it!
Greeting fellow Bouderite, I have added a $30 card to my IOS Starbucks App but can figure out how I could gift that to someone else – I’m a bit of a coffee snob and so was the person who gave me the card as they too felt it wasn’t up to their loft tastes 🙂
I guess you can’t buy a physical gift card with another gift card. I could print out the screen shot of the back of the virtual card but that a little tacky for the recipient!
Suggestions or should I just suck it up so to speak?
You are correct that you can’t buy gift cards with other gift cards. Both the Starbucks app and the Starbucks Web site offer the ability for you to buy and email a virtual gift card at any time, however!
This was super helpful, thanks.
One final step is missing from your instructions and as much as it embarrasses me to say, it is the one missing link that I scoured the internet looking for. Your tutorial did get me where I needed to go, when I saw the screen shot with the transfer button, something finally clicked. But one must click on “details” in the android version of the app to get to the screen where you do the transfer. I know…but that is really the step I was missing and the last bit missing from your excellent step by step with pictures! Thanks!
So how do I download Starbucks app as what you explain above had that old app was simple. But my screw up for not transfer old app to new phone. Getting complicated just to get Regular app. Been using it for 4 yrs transfer from HI to Colorado. Grandchild in college. Tract it to be sure he has something to eat. Troubleshooting is a pain. Go around the world to get something simple. Wish tech give us elder people a break.
I need to know how to get reg app. To many apps. Does not make sense to me new app is ??do I need to download to get response on this app Share care.?or Band? Yes complicated marketing for us elders to understand. No young generation at home. use ipad to get thru if I’m bless iPhone safari does not open hate to drive down apple store waiting 2 hrs
Let’s address this backwards, Sailau. Go online and make a ‘genius bar’ appointment at your local Apple store before you go in for help. It might be a day or two out, but that 2-hour wait becomes 5 minutes. WAY better. But if you get the Starbucks app and log in to your Starbucks account, you should be good to go with all your data. Not sure what’s happening?
Dave Taylor: When it comes to the clarity of “how to” directions, Starbucks is downright lazy. To compensate for their laziness, they offer the obligatory question, “Was this helpful?” The Chinese have an expression. “There is but one rule for writing. Be clear.” And let me tell you. You were surely clear, to say nothing of your helpfulness. You have the gift of NOT making assumptions. THANK you.
I noticed in your screenshot you have two different gold cards. What’s the difference and how’d you get two?
Thanks for the question, Stephen. I think one is just a gold colored gift card design…