I was annoyed enough to write all of this up. I used to go regularly, and the rewards program was genuinely a good deal, and made it worth going to Starbucks. Now, even if I set aside all of the horrible things they're doing, I wanted to show just what an absolute shit program this is, and why there is absolutely no use in trying to "gain starbucks status".
I like their chai lattes. I can't get the same taste anywhere else, and if I try to make it it's a "we have mcdonalds at home" result.
So about twice a year, now, I get a fucking c$6 latte as a treat. I miss 2019 with the many locations - one 80m away in my walkable block - and a really nice barista who made the effort to smile and chat directly. Now I have none of those things and this is like dia de los muertos.