The Incredible Amount Of Unspent Starbucks Gift Cards People Are Hanging On To

For a seasoned coffee drinker, a Starbucks gift card is not only thoughtful, it's practical, too. Getting one of those coveted cards from a friend, a job, or even buying one for yourself can come in handy during a caffeine crisis. But for Starbucks, selling credit for its coffee and other offerings ahead of time is big business. We're talking billion-dollar business, because that's what customers routinely leave on their cards at any given time.

Quartr reports that, in 2023, the stored value of Starbucks cards sat at a whopping $1.6 billion. This includes both physical and digital cards, which are stored on the mobile app. So, it's safe to say that, much like the popular practice of customizing your drink order, Starbucks is a big fan of gift card purchases, because all that unspent Starbucks card money is like a loan that the company doesn't have to pay interest on. 

The Starbucks Q4 2024 fiscal report put the stored card value at $1.78 billion at the end of 2024, which means that the amount of money held on Starbucks cards has continued to increase every year except for a slight dip in 2019 and 2020 (per Quartr). To put this into perspective, that's enough money on Starbucks cards to buy every single person in the U.S. an Iced Tall Cinnamon Dolce Latte, though they'd have to cover their own tax.

Much of the Starbucks stored card value is actually the balance that customers keep on the mobile card on the app. That way, even if they don't have cash or available money on a debit card, they can still get that coffee fix. The Starbucks mobile app has been around for over 15 years now, and it's seen some massive changes. When it first started, the app could tell customers about store locations, the Starbucks menu, and had a drink builder to assist with ordering. Now, it serves as a mobile Starbucks card that you can use to pay for drinks in the app or in the store. It also tracks Starbucks Rewards that are earned when making purchases. 

You can add physical gift cards to the app, too, so that even if the card gets lost, the cash on it doesn't. While it's hard to say how much of Starbucks' stored card value comes from the mobile app, CNN Business reports that 70% of the coffee company's sales come through the mobile app and drive-thru. We can definitely see why using the app to order drinks and other items from Starbucks is so popular. Using the right tips and hacks can lead to more Reward points, which then leads to discounts and even free items.