Stealing Starbucks Stars?

Over the summer, Starbucks expanded its Rewards program where you can earn stars at the grocery store. No longer limited to Starbucks locations, certain Starbucks products have redeemable codes good for Rewards stars. Here’s how it works.

Very easy, right? Buy a qualifying product, look for and remove the sticker, enter the code at starbucks.com/entercode, and watch your stars accumulate. But will this convenience allow for the stealing of stars?

Look at this bag of Starbuck coffee beans recently bought at Costco. I didn’t even notice the sticker in the upper right corner until I reached home. It’s relatively easy to stand in Costco and peel off a few more of these stickers since there’s no indication that a sticker had been removed. Although the adhesive is fairly tacky, the sticker comes off cleanly. As a general consumer, you probably wouldn’t realize your bag is missing its Rewards sticker.

Of course, I’m not advocating stealing stars, but I can see how it’s so easy. Keep your caffeine addiction in check, and do the right thing.