Starbucks steel card: $450 stainless steel gift card offered by Starbucks for the holidays

Associated Press

NEW YORK -- First there was the $7 cup of coffee. Now Starbucks is offering a $450 gift card made of stainless steel.

The coffee company says the limited-edition card, which is good for $400 in store credit, will be available through the website Gilt.com and include gold level membership for the Starbucks rewards program. The cards will go on sale at noon ET on Friday and will be available until the supply of 5,000 cards is sold out.

Gold membership to the rewards program includes perks such a free birthday drink and a free drink or food item after the purchase of 12 drinks. Customers normally need to make 30 transactions a month to get gold membership.

The rollout of the new card, which can be reloaded with money, comes after Starbucks earlier this month introduced a line of rare coffee at select stores in the Seattle and Portland, Ore., areas. A large cup of the Costa Rica Finca Palmilera costs $7, compared with $2.20 for a large cup of regular brewed coffee.