Starting today, Starbucks Rewards members in the U.S. can link their account to the Marriott Bonvoy program to earn more points or Starbucks Stars.
Here are the main advantages of this new partnership:
Members will therefore be able to earn up to 4 Starbucks Stars per US dollar spent by paying with an electronic Starbucks card linked to their US account (which already gives 2 Stars per dollar).
To take advantage of this partnership, you must have a Starbucks Rewards account in the United States. In other words, it is not possible to connect your Starbucks Rewards Canada account and enjoy the benefits of the partnership at this time.
Marriott Bonvoy and Starbucks Rewards members can connect their accounts from the Starbucks.com/MarriottBonvoy page.
If you’re not yet a member of either of these programs, you’ll need to create an account first, and then link them.
For Canadians (or anyone else living outside the U.S.) who frequently stay in the U.S. at Marriott Bonvoy properties, a U.S.-specific Starbucks Rewards account must be created in order to receive benefits.
During your stay, you’ll also need to make sure you’re logged into your U.S. account in the app so that your transactions are eligible for Starbucks Stars or Marriott Bonvoy points.
I did the test and managed to create a U.S. account on a different email address than the one from my Canadian account, and was then able to link my Marriott Bonvoy account to my American Starbucks Rewards account.
If you already have a Starbucks Rewards account in Canada, you can also use it in the U.S. to earn and redeem points. It’s up to you to decide whether you’d rather keep all your Starbucks Stars in the same account, or use your U.S. Starbucks Rewards account to take advantage of Marriott Bonvoy benefits.
A similar partnership had been announced in 2023 between Uber and Marriott Bonvoy. Again, this partnership applies only to Uber rides and orders in the U.S., but does not require the creation of a specific Uber account for the U.S. (unlike this partnership with Starbucks Rewards).
As a reminder, you can link your Aeroplan account to your Starbucks Rewards account in Canada to earn more rewards with both programs. Right now, you can earn a welcome bonus of 500 Aeroplan points by making a purchase at Starbucks within 7 days of linking your account.
The Starbucks Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy loyalty programs continue to evolve and give their members more opportunities to earn rewards by forming strategic partnerships. Coffee lovers can look forward to this one when staying at Marriott Bonvoy hotels in the USA. It will be interesting to see whether this partnership extends to the Starbucks Rewards program in Canada, as this is not yet the case for Uber (which has linked up with Aeroplan instead).
Savings are here: