Costa Coffee is changing its loyalty scheme and shoppers will need to spend more money before they qualify for a free drink.
At the moment, customers who use the Costa app get one “bean” for every drink they purchase, or two “beans” when you use a reusable cup.
Once you have collected eight “beans” you then get a free drink.
But from August 1, the amount of “beans” you need to collect will rise to ten - meaning you will need to buy two extra drinks to collect your freebie, or one extra with a reusable cup.
Any free drinks you earn before this date will be saved in the “Rewards” section of your app, while any “beans” you’ve also collected will remain in your account.
Alongside this change, Costa says it is introducing a new rewards feature called “Treat Drop” with personalised offers every month.
We’ve asked Costa for some examples of the offers customers will be offered and we’ll update this article when we know more.
An email sent out to customers describes the new feature as follows: “Every single month we’ll be dropping a little surprise, just for you.
“It could be a special offer or something new landing straight into your Costa Club app - so keep your eyes peeled!”
A Costa spokesperson said: “We’ve made some changes to Costa Club, including how many beans customers need to collect before they can redeem a free drink in store.
“They’ll still collect one bean for every handcrafted drink they buy in a store or from a Costa Express machine but will need to collect ten beans to get a free drink.
“Customers will continue to collect an extra bean in store when using a reusable cup.
“As part of the changes we’re also launching ‘Treat Drop’, a new reward feature designed to provide customers more personalised offers, more often, reflecting the food and drink they love at Costa Coffee.”
It comes after Costa came under fire for adding an extra 10p to its drinks at its hospital sites compared to its normal high street cafes.
The popular coffee chain has been accused of adding a "hospital tax" on those who work at hospitals and those who are visiting loved ones there.
