In the news:
Originally published December 5, 2012 at 11:12 AM | Page modified December 6, 2012 at 6:48 AM
Corrected version
Starbucks to offer $450 stainless-steel gift card
The Associated Press
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NEW YORK — First there was the $7 cup of coffee. Now Starbucks is offering a $450 gift card made of stainless steel.
The coffee company says the limited-edition card, which is good for $400 in store credit, will be available through the website Gilt.com and include gold level membership for the Starbucks rewards program. The cards will go on sale at noon Eastern time Friday and will be available until the supply of 5,000 cards is sold out.
Gold membership to the rewards program includes perks such as a free birthday drink and a free drink or food item after the purchase of 12 drinks. Customers normally need to make 30 transactions within a year to get gold membership, then continue making 30 transactions a year to keep the status.
The rollout of the new card, which can be reloaded with money, comes after Starbucks earlier this month introduced a line of rare coffee at select stores in the Seattle and Portland areas. A large cup of the Costa Rica Finca Palmilera costs $7, compared with $2.20 for a large cup o f regular brewed coffee.
This story was originally published about 11:15 a.m. Dec. 5, 2012, and was corrected within two hours. It originally said Starbucks customers need to make 30 transactions a month to get gold membership. But customers normally need to make 30 transactions within a year to get gold membership, then continue making 30 transactions a year to keep the status.









