A former Starbucks barista has revealed what customers should stop spending their money on while visiting the coffee chain.
Inga Parkel broke down seven spending mistakes with Business Insider this month, after working at Starbucks for a year.
Parkel, who calls herself a “stingy spender,” says she paid close attention to clients while working and noticed that they sometimes shelled out more money than they really needed.
“I realized how expensive the popular coffee chain is,” he said.
Parkel shared her tips for ensuring customers save money and get what they want from their Starbucks orders.
Don’t pay more for cold drinks with little ice
Customers who order cold drinks have an easy option to get more drink for their money.
The former barista told Business Insider that the key is to “specify that you want light ice.”
“Baristas are aware that an oversized scoop of ice in a drink can be frustrating,” Parkel said.
“But many are happy to replace leftover ice with liquid upon request.”
The former barista added that the light ice option for drinks is available on the Starbucks app.
Don’t pay for a shot of vanilla syrup in a soy latte or cappuccino
Adding vanilla syrup to a Starbucks coffee drink might make it sweeter, but it’s a small mistake that unnecessarily costs the customer money.
According to Parkel, the soy milk Starbucks uses is vanilla flavored and “more subtle” than a syrup bomb.
Parkel’s solution is to order a coffee sweetened with soy milk instead of paying for unsweetened oat milk, almond milk or vanilla syrup.
Unfortunately, this solution will not work for customers who order drinks with a pump of caramel, hazelnut, or mint syrup.
Join the rewards program
Starbucks regulars who buy merchandise are making the mistake of not taking advantage of the coffee chain’s rewards program.
To join Starbucks Rewards, customers must create an account online or in the app.
From there, they can earn reward points every time they purchase something at Starbucks and redeem them for complimentary items.
“If you have 400 points, you can select any merchandise worth up to $20,” Parkel said.
If an item costs more than $20, the customer will have to pay the difference, but it still saves money.
Stop asking for Americans
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Americano coffees at Starbucks can be iced or hot, and ordering a large coffee that could cost around $4 is a costly mistake.
Parkel described the Americano as a drink with “three shots of espresso and water.”
The former barista suggested that customers who want to save money on an Americano order a custom drink.
“Order a doppio or triple espresso (whichever you prefer) in a large cup and then ask for water to be added,” Parkel told Business Insider.
“Basically, you can get an Americano for almost a dollar less.”
Don’t buy hot lattes to get a caffeine fix
One mistake customers may not realize they are making is not realizing that hot cappuccinos and venti lattes only have two shots of espresso.
Parkel noted that grande lattes have the same number of espresso shots as a venti.
“In some ways, buying a venti latte means paying half a dollar more for a more diluted caffeine-to-coffee ratio,” he said.
He noted that this does not apply to iced lattes because a grande comes with two shots of espresso and a venti has three.
Customers can optimize their caffeine-to-money ratio by ordering large hot lattes instead of a venti.
Take advantage of the “bring your own mug” discount
Customers who don’t take advantage of the coffee chain’s reusable cup program are losing money and the opportunity to help the environment.
Starbucks customers can fix this mistake by bringing their own cups to a participating location.
The program began on January 3 in the United States and Canada. Allows customers to bring their clean personal cups to any participating store for in-store, mobile or drive-thru orders.
Not only would this be the most environmentally friendly option, but the customer would also save 10 cents on their drink order.
Rewards members will also earn 25 bonus stars when they use their own personal mug.
Stop buying bottled water
Starbucks sells Ethos bottled water in its branches for as little as $2.45, but there is another option that won’t cost you a cent.
The easy solution to saving money on water is to order a glass of water of any size.
Customers can also request that baristas add ice to their water.
“I can understand needing something unopened, but other than that, there’s no reason to pay full price for the only thing the chain offers for free,” Parkel said.
