Starbucks is discontinuing its Gold Card program which offered a 10% discount for an annual fee of $25.

I do go to Starbucks but my local coffee house which roasts their own beans and is independently owned. When you buy a pound of coffee you get a free cup of drip coffee free. When you buy loose tea, you get a free cup of tea. If you don’t want the coffee, you can get the discount instead. Recently I went to Starbucks and used a gift card for my purchase and discovered that my local coffeehouse had spoiled me for better coffee.

Some people liked the discount but didn’t want to spend $25 to get the perks. Starbucks isn’t the only retailer that offers a paid membership discount program. Even if you go to a place once or twice a year and purchase the membership you can reap big benefits.

Paying to get discounts can actually work in your favor. I purchased a membership card for a store for $10 and have definitely received more than my $10 worth from the card. The free item that I received for my birthday and the discounts that I received for Christmas presents have definitely exceeded the $10 I paid. If the card cost more, I am not so sure that I would have purchased the membership if the discount I earned wouldn’t have been greater than the cost of the membership and offered free items.

People who reaped the benefits from the program and were frequent patrons of Starbucks might definitely be dismayed at the change in the program. The benefits might not be as great but there might be more participants if the program becomes free.