Opinion

Rewards Systems: A Pyramid Scheme

We’re losing more than we gain

Ryan Rolle, A&E Editor

September 16, 2025

The scanning-feature of a rewards app.

I went to Dunkin to get a free birthday coffee, which is a feature of their reward system. Rolling up to the window, I discover they secretly deleted the birthday reward from their app and instead I get extra points from my purchase. First of all, I have to pay for a drink on my birthday? Second of all, the point system is already cheap enough as is, the last thing they should be doing is taking away the one reasonable offer they have.

All sorts of restaurants and cafes are really starting to cheap out on the “rewards” part of their beloved rewards systems. Within the past couple years, it seems like every restaurant these days has their own special app where you scan it every time you purchase something, getting points that can be cashed in later. It sounds amazing in theory, but I feel like these apps are just taking up space on my phone, and I’m getting almost no “rewards” in comparison to how much I’m spending.

Another very popular coffee shop, Starbucks, still does the birthday gift, however their little point system genuinely deserves jail time. Each dollar you spend is 1 dollar back in points. One enjoyable drink from Starbucks is 200 points in their reward system, or 200 dollars. On top of this “free” drink costing 200 dollars, Starbucks added a feature where the points expire every couple months. Awesome, now not only do I have to spend ridiculous amounts on coffee if I want any reward, but I also have to do it in a timely manner according to the app.

All sorts of restaurants are adding these points systems and creating apps, and to be honest I don’t even want to go down the rabbit hole of every single issue with each system. To me, it feels like being a loyal customer and eating somewhere regularly should earn someone a little more than an extra-small bag of fries. The point of a reward is to convince people to come to a restaurant, not to imprison them into spending hundreds a month in hopes of getting something “for free,” when the reality is that everyone would be saving a lot more money by just staying at home.

These chain companies should be grateful to have supportive customers, instead of continually skimping out on the fun parts of purchasing.

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About the Contributor

Ryan Rolle, A&E Editor

Ryan Rolle is a senior at Robinson and is the A&E editor for the Knight Writers. This is her third year on staff. Rolle decided to join Knight Writers, as she always adored reading and writing and wanted to communicate her thoughts from pop culture to school issues, while also deepening her involvement with the school. “I joined when I was a sophomore and I decided to join because I’ve always had a passion for reading and writing and I thought it would be fun to be able to voice my opinion to the school while getting involved in something academic,” Rolle said. Outside of the school newspaper, you can likely find Rolle spending her free time on the water, rowing for the varsity team at the Tampa Bay rowing club. “Two of my closest friends have been rowing since sixth grade and our team is small, so they were asking new girls to come out and try it. So, my sophomore year I decided to give it a try, and I loved and have been doing it ever since,” Rolle said. Whenever she’s not rowing, Rolle greatly enjoys using her time making matcha and listening to various genres of music, with her tastes changing depending on the time of year. “I listen to different music genres throughout the seasons but right now, since it’s fall, I’m listening to a lot of Smashing Pumpkins and Radiohead,” Rolle said. This being her third year on the Knight Writers staff, Rolle has formed many unforgettable experiences but of all the memories, her favorite has to be when she attended the Florida Scholastic Press Association competition last year in Orlando. “We got to stay near the SeaWorld for a weekend, and we just had so much fun entering competitions and hanging around the hotel,” Rolle said. Part of the class of 2026, Rolle plans to attend college after high school either furthering her passion in journalism by majoring in biology or furthering her passion in journalism by majoring in creative writing. “My biggest dream ever would be to get into Dartmouth and major in biology or journalism/creative writing with a minor in Spanish, then go on to become an orthodontist,” Rolle said. (Profile by Avani Madabhushanam)