Estate planning as a Starbucks account holder

Starbucks Rewards is the loyalty program tied to a Starbucks account and the Starbucks app. Two different estate-relevant assets sit under one account: Stars, the loyalty currency earned on purchases and redeemed for free food and drinks, and the stored Starbucks Card / app balance, which is prepaid money loaded onto a digital or physical Starbucks Card. The two are governed by separate terms. Stars are personal to the account holder and are not transferable; the stored Card balance is non-expiring prepaid value that Starbucks treats like cash but does not redeem for cash or refund except as required by law.

Starbucks Stars are forfeited at death under the program's terms. The terms explicitly state that Stars are not the account holder's property and cannot be inherited, transferred by will, or assigned through any estate planning mechanism.

The program allows Stars to be purchased as gifts, giving members a way to share value with others. Members can also redeem Stars on behalf of someone else.

What happens at death

Stars are forfeited. The Starbucks Rewards Terms of Use state that "Your Stars, Rewards, registered Starbucks Cards, and Starbucks Rewards account are personal to you and may not be sold, transferred or assigned to, or shared with, family, friends or others," and that "In the event that your participation in Starbucks Rewards is terminated, all accrued Stars in your account are void." There is no beneficiary designation and no published path to inherit Stars. The stored Starbucks Card / app balance is treated differently from Stars: the Starbucks Card Terms & Conditions state the balance "is nonrefundable and may not be redeemed for cash" except as otherwise required by law or permitted by the agreement, has "no expiration date," and carries "no activation, service, dormancy or inactivity fees." The Card balance is to be treated like cash, but its monetary value may not be transferred to another person — Starbucks permits transferring value only to another Starbucks Card registered under the same account or to replace a lost or stolen registered card. Because the Card balance is the deceased's prepaid money rather than a transferable account, it is property of the estate; an executor would pursue it through Starbucks Customer Service, and where a balance is left unclaimed it falls under the relevant state's unclaimed-property (escheat) rules, though Starbucks' own Card terms do not address escheatment. Starbucks publishes no bereavement or deceased-account procedure in its Rewards or Card terms.

Frequently asked questions