Starbucks Red Cup Day happens every November. For years, we saw it on the third Thursday in November, but in 2024 they bumped it up a week earlier. This year, as we predicted, it's been confirmed for Nov. 13 — the second Thursday in November.
Order your favorite Starbucks holiday drink to grab a FREE reusable holiday red cup. The cups are grande size (that's 16 ounces), and you can bring them back every visit to earn the Starbucks personal refill cup perk: double Starbucks Stars and a $0.10 discount.
Red Cup Day shouldn't be confused with the early-November Starbucks holiday menu and Starbucks holiday cups release (which is on Nov. 6 this year). True Red Cup Day is when you get a free cup just for buying a holiday drink.
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Starbucks Red Cup Day is an annual event where you'll get a free reusable red cup with the purchase of a holiday drink.
When you order any of the limited-edition drinks available on the Starbucks holiday menu , you’ll get a free 16-ounce (Grande) reusable red cup, while supplies last. You can get the freebie regardless of how you order: in-store, drive-thru, app, or Uber Eats/DoorDash.
The next Starbucks Red Cup Day is Nov. 13, 2025.
Starbucks has officially announced on its Instagram the date for Red Cup Day 2025; you can score your free cup on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025. The date's become pretty predictable in the past few years.
Check out our video to see how we got the cup early in the morning last year:
Get to Starbucks early on Red Cup Day — supply's limited.
If you wait until late morning on Red Cup Day, you might be out of luck. The annual event is known to draw a crowd, and cups disappear long before the end of the day. In fact, Red Cup Day hype is even bigger than PSL hype, according to Placer.ai. In 2024, Starbucks locations saw an almost 13% increase in foot traffic on Red Cup Day (compared to just under 10% on PSL launch day).
Most Starbucks cafes open at 5 a.m., and we suggest getting there bright and early to get your hands on a cup.
The cups are also available at Starbucks inside Target stores.
If you get your Starbucks at Target , you can afford to sleep in a little. Target typically opens at 8 a.m., so that’s the earliest you can grab your red cup. And, yes, Target locations have the cups.
PRO TIP : Last year, I was able to grab two more free red cups at 7 p.m. at my Starbucks Target location. I find they typically still have things when my standalone store is sold out.
You have to buy one of their holiday drinks to get the free cup.
The holiday menu changes every year, and here is the holiday drink lineup for 2025. Most drinks are around the $6 price point, but a tall hot chocolate will be the most affordable option at around $3.
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Peppermint Mocha
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Caramel Brulee Latte
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Iced Sugar Cookie Latte
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Iced Gingerbread Chai
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Hot Chocolate
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White Hot Chocolate
After Red Cup Day, use your new cup to get $0.10 off and earn double Bonus Stars.
Starbucks allows customers to get any drink in a personal cup to score a $0.10 reusable cup discount and double bonus Stars on your entire order. This is a recent change to their old reward system that offered 25 stars when you bring your own cup.
Free hot or iced coffee or tea requires 100 Stars. With the new change, that means instead of just bringing your cup to Starbucks four times, you'll have to spend at least $50 to earn a free coffee or tea. Unfortunately, this is a slower way to earn your next cup. On the bright side, 100 Stars will still get you a free coffee.
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