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Topic: Apple

How-to add your Starbucks card to Passbook

Summary: In one of the biggest and most anticipated iOS app updates in recent memory, Starbucks tonight pushed version 2.4 of its app with support for Passbook.

Jason D. O'Grady

By for The Apple Core |

Coffee junkies rejoice! The Starbucks iOS app (free, App Store) was just updated to include Passbook support:

Passbook is Apple's new iOS 6 app that allows you to store boarding passes, movie tickets, retail coupons, loyalty cards, etc. When you arrive at a relevant location the pass or coupon appears on your iPhone's lock screen. While sure to be welcomed by many, the update comes three days later than Starbucks' self-imposed deadline for Passbook support which came and went on Sunday.

Here's how to enable Passbook in Starbucks 2.4:

  1. Update to iOS 6 (if you haven't already)
  2. Update to Starbucks 2.4 via the App Store
  3. Launch the Starbucks app and touch Card > Manage > Add Card to Passbook
  4. Optional: Select Stores > Set a Favorite Store
  5. Walk into your local Starbucks and look on your iPhone lock screen.
Add your Starbucks card to Passbook - Jason O'Grady

9to5Mac reports that Starbucks 2.4 (curiously) doesn't support the iPhone 5's additional 176 vertical pixels and Passbook doesn't work in Canada and the United Kingdom.

Further Reading:

Topics: Apple, iOS, iPhone

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Talkback

23 comments
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  • Any reason for the lack of Canadian and UK support?

    Is it a Starbucks based restriction or a Passbook based restriction?
    Ben_E
    Reply Vote

    • RTFM

      If you have read the information provided on iTunes, it's a "restriction" based on Starbucks.

      I would assume because the other countries do not have the equipment to read the barcodes (at least that's how it is here in Australia) but I have been told that Starbucks AU is working towards rolling this feature out.
      jrgibson1
      Reply Vote

      • Nope. The equipment is already there

        In Canada you can already use the Starbucks app at the terminal. You can add multiple local Starbucks cards to the app.

        You can even make a working passbook card based on your Starbucks physical card number via passsource.com. It just doesn't auto update the value.

        If there's a technical reason not to include Canada it's pretty obscure.
        CraigBowers
        Reply Vote

  • Any reason for the lack of Canadian and UK support?

    Is it a Starbucks based restriction or a Passbook based restriction?
    Ben_E
    Reply Vote

    • laziness

      It's a Starbucks restriction - the Passbook APIs have been ready and waiting for any application developer to make use of them for the last six months.
      HappySpaceInvdr
      Reply Vote

  • No UK support !

    Another US centric solution. Some of these companies should realise that the US is not the only country in the world !
    scruffybike
    Reply Vote

    • Wah

      Somebody call a wahhhmbulance.

      You have to start somewhere, and they are a US-based company.
      lizardspock23@...
      Reply Vote

      • Thank you

        I was about to say the same thing.
        cebbe
        Reply Vote

      • Except

        That Starbucks in the USA, Canada and UK all share infrastructure. I can use my UK based Starbucks card in the States or Canada and vice versa.

        UK and Canada already have the barcode reader technology required, so there is no reason not to implement it across all three countries.
        LukeHB
        Reply Vote

    • Not to jump on the bandwagon here

      Because the ones who have thus far seem to be trolls - but do you really expect them to roll out such a program to everyone in the world at the same time without testing? And since both Apple and Starbucks are US-based companies why would they start elsewhere? Ideally how it works is that they do a trial run in a small area - say Seattle, then roll out to a larger area say Washington State, then a larger area - let's say the US for the sake of argument, then fully implement it when all of the bugs and kinks are worked out. I don't know for sure if this is the case but even so just think, when you guys across the pond get the solution the kinks will be worked out already. We have to deal with any issues that rise up.
      athynz
      Reply Vote

      • I wasn't trolling...

        ...although the double post was accidental! It occurred to me that there may be some licensing issues from either Starbucks or Apple. Having said that it'll be interesting to see how long it is until it gets rolled out into non-US territories.

        Also for those guys above who were making the points about it being a US based company - Passbook is advertised globally by Apple, iOS devices are pretty much global as well. The rollout needs to happen pretty quickly.
        Ben_E
        Reply Vote

        • Sorry Ben_E

          I wasn't referring to you being a troll but the 2 above me that replied to scruffybike. Like I said in my post I'm not sure if SB or Apple is doing a more structured rollout or is rolling out to the US first to work out kinks... Being as how are both global businesses I agree it has to happen quickly although I'm not sure what the real attraction is - I'm assuming the Starbucks app works just as well in areas outside the US as it does in the US and not being on iOS 6 I have yet to try it out.
          athynz
          Reply Vote

          • No

            I wasn't trolling, I was just more succinct than you.
            lizardspock23@...
            Reply Vote

      • There's no "program" to be rolled out.

        That all sounds very good but the fact is that you can already use the barcode on the Starbucks app in stores in the UK and Canada. That's the only complex system and it was introduced a long time ago. We're not talking about rolling out an e-payment system to the world. This is just taking the barcode that's already in the Starbucks app and displaying it in passbook instead! Literally just displaying an image. Sorry, but that's not a system, it doesn't need to be "rolled-out". Apple have provided the APIs to is display your barcode in Passbook and you either use them or you don't.
        dansheffrin
        Reply Vote

        • The feature has been available for months!

          +1

          In fact, we've all had the facility to add a working Starbucks card to Passbook since before iOS6 was even launched - just visit the PassSource website, and fill in the form for Starbucks card, and you'll get a slightly better card than the one the Starbucks app generates (i.e. you can actually specify a Nickname).
          HappySpaceInvdr
          Reply Vote

  • Not supporting Canada is a deliberate decision. Possibly training issue.

    The app itself has a screen to display your stored Canadian card but they decided not to publish it to Passbook for some reason. You can even use your card on the app equivalent in the US and even reload it there.

    There is no technical reason to not offer support.
    aristotle_z
    Reply Vote

  • Missing a crucial step

    You have to have a Starbucks account for it to offer to add the card to your Passbook app. I was trying with a gift card I had, which the Starbucks app recognized without an account, but wouldn't add to Passbook until I created an account as well.
    djr12
    Reply Vote

    • And be in the US

      Even with an account in the Starbucks app and both a US based card, and local Canadian card, neither values can produce a passbook equivalent. The option doesn't exist in the manage card menu.
      CraigBowers
      Reply Vote

  • Workaround for Canada

    It does work in Canada, just tried this workaround and it was successful!!

    http://www.iphoneincanada.ca/how-to/how-to-add-passbook-to-the-starbucks-app-in-canada-workaround/
    beau parisi
    Reply Vote

    • Easier workaround

      There's no need to do all of this - just Google "PassSource Starbucks" and fill in the very very simple web form.
      HappySpaceInvdr
      Reply Vote
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