Dunkin’ is ditching DD Perks.
The coffee chain on Thursday said that it is revamping its loyalty program, renaming it Dunkin’ Rewards and upgrading the rewards its customers can earn for their loyalty.
Customers will now receive 10 points for every $1 they spend, as compared with 5 points with the old DD Perks program.
Rewards also start at 150 points rather than 200, so customers can redeem an award after spending just $15.
Customers will now also be able to get food, as customers can redeem points for donuts, hash browns, bagels, breakfast sandwiches and other items. Customers can also stack their points and redeem multiple items in a transaction. The points also don’t expire so long as loyalty members make one or more purchases every six months.
There is also “Boosted Status,” a new loyalty tier for the most loyal customers. Those who visit 12 times a month can get more points and benefits after three months.
“When we set out to improve DD Perks, we asked our members what they wanted to see in a new program,” Scott Murphy, president of Dunkin’, said in a statement. “They told us three things: flexibility, variety and recognition.”
The revamped loyalty program comes as restaurant brands of all kinds are either introducing or upgrading such programs.
For brands, the rewards are a carrot that gives them valuable marketing insight onto customers and their behavior. And they work: Companies with successful loyalty programs have generated stronger sales of late.
Dunkin’s rival Starbucks, for instance, generated traffic growth in its fiscal third quarter in part because of the regular use of its 27.4 million U.S. members of its Starbucks Rewards program. Those members accounted for 53% of the revenue generated by the chain’s company-operated locations.
Dunkin’s program is also notable in that it came less than two years after it was sold to Arby’s owner Inspire Brands, which was created in part to push brands further into technology. Dunkin’s revamped loyalty program, with that boosted tier, takes a page directly out of the loyalty programs developed in other industries such as hotels and airlines, which routinely give more rewards to their most frequent users.
To welcome new members, the company plans to give freebies through the end of the month. Members can earn 10-count Munchkins donut holes, earn double points on donut holes and espresso drinks and earn 100 bonus points when they order ahead on Mondays. Boosted Status members will get double points on breakfast sandwiches and beverages.
Current members, meanwhile, will get a welcome gift of 150 points.
Members also can earn a free breakfast sandwich with any full-priced medium or larger beverage purchase.
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