Starbucks and Marriott Team on Loyalty Rewards

Starbucks has teamed with Marriott’s marketplace Bonvoy to offer benefits to loyalty members.

As the companies said in a news release Tuesday (June 18), Marriott Bonvoy members and Starbucks Rewards U.S. members who link loyalty accounts will get the chance to earn points toward free food and beverages, as well as rewards at Marriott destinations.

“Marriott Bonvoy’s commitment to enriching moments for their customers aligns with Starbucks’ customer promise to uplift the everyday, making them the perfect loyalty partner,” said Kyndra Russell, senior vice president, North America chief marketing officer, Starbucks.

“We’re continuing to develop our Starbucks Rewards program, and through this new collaboration, we are excited to offer members even more value and enhanced benefits through travel experiences,” Russell added.

As PYMNTS wrote in April, Starbucks’ loyalty program was one of the bright spots in a recent earnings report that showed the coffee retailer seeing a drop in “occasional customers.”

Starbucks Rewards had seen an increase in 90-day active members in the U.S., totaling 32.8 million during the quarter, a 6% increase year-over year. The company also launched a loyalty partnership with Bank of America in February, offering cardholders and Starbucks Rewards members in the U.S. additional benefits by joining accounts.

In another recent partnership, Starbucks teamed earlier with Grubhub to expand its order delivery options. The collaboration is rolling out this month to select markets in three states — Pennsylvania, Colorado and Illinois — but is expected to expand to all 50 states by August.

“Customer demand to get Starbucks delivered continues to increase, as evidenced by double-digit growth in the U.S. delivery business this past quarter, indicating that our customers continue to want convenience in their everyday lives,” Meg Mathes, vice president of digital experiences at Starbucks, said in a news release.

Elsewhere on the rewards front, recent research by PYMNTS Intelligence found that more consumers would use buy now, pay later (BNPL) programs if they knew there were loyalty rewards attached.

“The results showed that consumers increasingly opt for credit card installments for larger purchases because BNPL services lack common features of credit cards, such as reward programs and higher credit limits,” PYMNTS wrote last week. “Additionally, consumers reported that BNPL is not as widely available in stores. The study found that 38% of consumers expressed a desire for BNPL to offer more available and higher-quality rewards.”

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