The Starbucks coffee chain has launched Duetto, a new translucent card which combines the firm's reloadable store card with credit card functionality through an alliance with Visa and Bank One.
The combined mag-stripe card features a customer loyalty programme, rewarding cardmembers with 'Duetto Dollars' for every Visa purchase and providing gifts and benefits with store card account purchases.
Cardholders will earn one per cent back in Duetto Dollars that will be automatically loaded on their Starbucks Card Account after each billing cycle. Duetto Dollars can be used for instore purchases of beverages, food and store merchandise.
Cardmembers will also receive a one-time pre-load of $10 to their Starbucks Card Account after their first Duetto Card Visa purchase. In addition, users may earn three per cent in Duetto Dollars with each automatic reload of the store card from their Visa account.
More than 11 million of the instore cards have been activated since their introduction in November 2001. In 2002, almost seven per cent of Starbuck purchases were paid for using the cards and the firm says tens of thousands of customers have already pre-registered for the new combined card.