Starbucks fans, big news: The Starbucks Rewards program is rolling out some major updates, including a return of elite status tiers. Until 2019, Starbucks had Green and Gold status tiers in the U.S. Then, it moved to the everyone-is-treated-equal rewards program, which has been in place for the past seven years. Here's what we know about the upcoming Starbucks status tiers and Starbucks' plans for the rates at which you earn and redeem Stars. Starbucks Gold statusStarbucks Gold status is unlocked by earning 500 Stars within a rolling 12-month period. In other words, if you get an average of two Starbucks items per week, you'll likely be a Starbucks Gold member.