--- title: Dunkin' Donuts Upstages Starbucks with Quick, Easy Free Coffee Rewards description: Timed with the launch of changes to Starbucks' rewards program, Dunkin' Donuts' updated app will allow customers to earn free drinks faster. authors: - name: Kerry Close url: https://money.com/author/kerry-close/ at_money_since: 2016 articles: 182 covers: - Lifestyle - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology social: - https://x.com/kerryclose former_staff: true published: '2016-04-12T14:58:14.000Z' modified: '2024-04-16T10:36:09.000Z' section: Lifestyle tags: - Coffee - Dunkin' Donuts - pubdesk - reward programs - Starbucks word_count: 533 canonical: https://money.com/dunkin-donuts-starbucks-rewards-program/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![160412_EM_DunkinDonuts](https://img.money.com/2016/04/160412_em_dunkindonuts.jpg) Your move, Starbucks: Dunkin' Donuts has just launched a new mobile app to allow customers to earn free drinks faster. On the eve of Starbucks' planned roll-out of its new loyalty program, Dunkin' Donuts launched its counterstrike Monday by rolling out a new version of its mobile app, [*Nation's Restaurant News* reported](http://nrn.com/advertising/dunkin-donuts-promotion-aims-steal-thunder-starbucks-loyalty-shift). The updated app allows users to pay with a virtual card using Apple Pay at participating locations. Customers can also manage and load their cards from the app, as well as earn loyalty offers and rewards, including free beverages. The app is available for iOS devices and Android smartphones. What's especially interesting is that the introduction of Dunkin's new app coincides with new promotions that make it exceptionally easy to snag free beverages in the near future. Anyone enrolling in the [new DD Perks program](http://news.dunkindonuts.com/news/dunkin-donuts-brews-a-strong-reward-for-joining-dd-perksR-rewards-program-in-april) in April automatically gets one free beverage. Starting this Thursday, members should also enter the special code "STARS" to get a bonus of 125 points. Members will then get an extra 125 points during their second and third visits when making a purchase with an enrolled card. That's a total of 375 bonus points, plus whatever points have been accrued with normal DD purchases, which add up at a rate of 5 points for every $1 spent. A free beverage in any size is granted to members once they pile up 200 points. So it's easy to see how new app members can snag easily three free Dunkin' drinks in the coming weeks. ***Read next:* [Winners and Losers in the Latest Cheap Fast Food Battles](https://money.com/fast-food-deals-winners-losers/)** Earlier versions of Dunkin' Donuts app have been downloaded more than 16 million times. Still, the coffee chain trails behind caffeine competitor Starbucks, which launched mobile ordering and payment services in 2015. In response, Dunkin' is testing mobile order and pay-ahead features that will let customers in some markets to skip the line. The chain expects to roll out the feature later this year. Dunkin' Donut's improvements to its app are likely a response to [Starbucks' changes to its rewards program](https://money.com/starbucks-new-loyalty-program-hate/) that rolled out Tuesday. Previously, My Starbucks Rewards gave customers one star for each purchase. After they earned 30 stars, participants earned Gold Status. As Gold members, they were eligible for a free drink of any type or size after gaining 12 stars. The new system now gives customers two stars for every dollar spent. Additionally, they'll now need 300 stars to become Gold members and 125 to earn a free reward. The changes have caused some caffeine fiends to complain that the rule change favors those who make more expensive purchases—and Dunkin' Donuts hopes to take advantage of their discontent. Nigel Travis, chief executive of Dunkin' Brands Group Inc., said in March that he believes disgruntled Starbucks customers will [switch their loyalty to Dunkin' Donuts](https://money.com/starbucks-loyalty-program-dunkin-donuts/). He added that the company plans to entice them to do so by occasionally passing out $5 gift cards. [![Best college education image](https://content.money.com/wp-content/themes/money2018/img/college-site-banner-02.png)](https://best-colleges.time.com/money/search-colleges/?xid=cm-mcpFindTheCollegeWidget) However, Starbucks claims that customers requested the change and most will get better deals under the new system, though a [customer satisfaction poll](http://www.brandindex.com/article/starbucks-perception-scores-drop-after-loyalty-program-changes) says otherwise. Regardless, it's up to coffee connoisseurs to decide which chain offers them the best value for a cup of joe. ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/dunkin-donuts-starbucks-rewards-program/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Lifestyle", "item": "https://money.com/lifestyle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Restaurants", "item": "https://money.com/restaurants/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Dunkin' Donuts Upstages Starbucks with Quick, Easy Free Coffee Rewards" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/dunkin-donuts-starbucks-rewards-program/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/dunkin-donuts-starbucks-rewards-program/", "name": "Dunkin' Donuts Upstages Starbucks with Quick, Easy Free Coffee Rewards", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2016-04-12T14:58:14.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/dunkin-donuts-starbucks-rewards-program/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/dunkin-donuts-starbucks-rewards-program/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-04-16T10:36:09.000Z" }, { "@type": "Article", "headline": "Dunkin' Donuts Upstages Starbucks with Quick, Easy Free Coffee Rewards", "articleSection": "Lifestyle", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2016/04/160412_em_dunkindonuts.jpg", "width": 2100, "height": 1398, "caption": "160412_EM_DunkinDonuts" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kerry Close", "url": "https://money.com/author/kerry-close/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/kerry-close/#author", "sameAs": [ "https://x.com/kerryclose" ] } ], "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization", "datePublished": "2016-04-12T14:58:14.000Z", "description": "Timed with the launch of changes to Starbucks' rewards program, Dunkin' Donuts' updated app will allow customers to earn free drinks faster.", "abstract": "Timed with the launch of changes to Starbucks' rewards program, Dunkin' Donuts' updated app will allow customers to earn free drinks faster.", "@id": "https://money.com/dunkin-donuts-starbucks-rewards-program/", "inLanguage": "en-US", "dateModified": "2024-04-16T10:36:09.000Z", "wordCount": 533, "keywords": [ "Coffee", "Dunkin' Donuts", "pubdesk", "reward programs", "Starbucks" ], "about": [ { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Lifestyle", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifestyle" ] }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Restaurant", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restaurant" ] } ] } ] } ```