UPDATE 1-Starbucks tightens rewards program rules

(Adds details on program, analyst comment)
LOS ANGELES, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Starbucks Corp SBUX.O on
Monday announced changes to its loyalty program that will mean
some customers will have to spend more money at the coffee chain
to earn free food and drinks.
Under Starbucks' current rewards program, customers earn
redeemable points for every purchase. The new program will award
points for every dollar spent, a change that is sure to spark
complaints from customers who are used to accumulating points
with frequent purchases of drip coffee and other lower-cost
items from the Seattle-based chain.
The widely anticipated change to the Starbucks Rewards
program in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico comes as
airlines and other companies have been tweaking their rewards
programs to make them generally less-generous to consumers.
Starbucks customers now earn one "star" per purchase and may
redeem 12 stars for a free food and drink item. Starting in
mid-April, customers will get two stars for every $1 spent but
need 125 stars to get a free item.
Matthew Ryan, Starbucks global chief strategy officer, said
the change was not a way to weaken Starbucks' rewards program.
The vast majority of Starbucks customers will earns rewards at
the same pace they do today and the total percentage of revenue
that Starbucks will provide as rewards will remain constant,
Ryan said.
However, he acknowledged that the change will affect a small
minority of the more than 11 million active users of Starbucks'
reward program.
About 1 percent of the chain's total transactions now come
from "check-splitters," customers who request two or more
transactions in a single visit to earn stars more quickly, Ryan
said.
While the change could mean that some Starbucks customers
get less for their stars than previously, it will benefit those
who spend the most, said Patrick Surry, chief data scientist at
Hopper, who has analyzed airline miles programs.
"It aligns the incentives so the more you spend, the more
you get back," Surry said.