State of rewards and loyalty programs on everything from coffee to travel amid inflation
Loyalty programs for everything from coffee and fast food to flights have long given members perks to look forward to, earning points for purchases to ultimately get more back.
But in the wake of the pandemic as the cost of goods has fluctuated, mostly trending pricier for the same products, some customers have noticed a shift.
Lizzy Laufters, a loyalty customer at Dunkin' told "GMA" she used to get about two free drinks a month.
"Now I'm barely getting one free drink per month -- I was like, 'Oh my God, I can't believe they've done this to me,'" she said.
According to the New York Times, at Dunkin', customers used to spend roughly $40 to earn a free drink like specialty lattes, but now they need to spend nearly $90 for the same reward.
In a statement, Dunkin' told ABC News, "Since we launched Dunkin' rewards in October we've seen positive consumer sentiment and strong results. Our loyalty members have redeemed over 25 million rewards and welcomed over 3 million new members."
Laufters said she thought switching to Starbucks could help, but then the Seattle-based coffee chain changed the details of its star bonus program.
On Feb. 13, Starbucks announced an increase to the amount of stars -- points -- needed to redeem a free perk. In some cases, that amount doubled.
Chipotle Mexican Grill also updated their rewards program, telling ABC News in a statement that like most retailers, the cost of doing business has largely been impacted by inflation.
"In September 2022, we marginally increased point values for menu items in the Chipotle Rewards Exchange to account for the additional cost of our real ingredients," the statement said.
The Points Guy, a website that tracks travel rewards and elite status thresholds, explained to ABC News that the shrinkflation of reward programs could reach beyond coffee and fast food.
"It's getting harder for these programs to actually deliver on the benefits," Zach Griff, senior reporter for The Points Guy, told "GMA." "So they're making it harder to achieve these statuses and earning these perks and benefits."
