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Starbucks Corp. is hopeful about the success of its loyalty and stored-value cards despite the poor economy. The Starbucks Card Rewards program gives discounts on purchases made with Starbucks prepaid cards. The company has more than 5 million customers signed up for the loyalty program, CEO Howard Schultz told analysts during a conference call this week. "While we are still in the early days, we are seeing encouraging results, the most compelling being that we have an incremental $70 million versus this time last year loaded onto cards and ready to be spent in the coming months ahead," he said. Starbucks this month also launched its Gold Card, which requires customers to pay $25 per year for a richer loyalty program that includes free WiFi access, 10% off on all purchases and other exclusive offers, said Schultz.
