Everybody loves a free coffee, especially when all it takes is a few purchases and a loyalty account. But what happens when someone else’s spending starts earning you the rewards?

One man is questioning whether he’s crossed an ethical line after accidentally collecting loyalty points from a friend’s purchase at their local coffee shop.

The 35-year-old regularly visits the cafe, which offers customers free drinks after they’ve spent a certain amount of money.

During a recent visit with a friend, she purchased several items before walking away from the register without entering a phone number to collect her points.

Without thinking much about it, he entered his own number instead.

What initially seemed like a harmless opportunity for extra rewards has since turned into something considerably more interesting.

His friend’s payment card apparently became linked to his account, meaning her subsequent purchases have continued earning him points.

Now, with two free coffees already under his belt, he’s wondering whether he should come clean or keep enjoying the unexpected perks.

AITA for stealing my friend’s loyalty points at a local cafe?

So a couple weeks ago I (M35) was at a coffee shop with my friend. I frequent this place a couple times a week.

They have one of these loyalty point systems that is connected to your phone number (after you spend like $50, you get a free coffee, pretty basic).

My friend bought a coffee, a bag of beans, and a coffee cup as a gift for her sister. Then she walked away from the cash register. The screen had a prompt to include your phone number for loyalty points. Unthinkingly, I put my phone number in and got her points.

Seems reasonable.

A week later, my friend visited that same coffee shop and because her card is linked to my loyalty account, I got her points again. It seems like my friend has started going to this cafe regularly now and each week I get a few more points.

I have contemplated telling her what’s happening, but I feel like it would be too awkward to explain since almost a month has gone by.

To be fair, there are signs around the cafe advertising this system. If she wanted to sign up it would be quite easy for her to make her own account, but she has not. For that reason, I do feel like these points would be going to waste otherwise.

Hmmm…

Is it wrong to keep collecting my friend’s points? Unbeknownst to her, she has already bought me two coffees.

Now here is my other problem.  Every time I am in line in this cafe and someone in front of me doesn’t collect their loyalty points, I am tempted to put my own phone number in! I can imagine how this could spiral into an issue. At the same time, if all these points are going uncollected, is it such a big deal?

If I played my cards right, I could end up getting a free coffee every week! Am I on the wrong path?

The man’s initial decision to enter his phone number might have been an innocent mistake, but continuing to collect rewards from his friend’s purchases without telling her is considerably harder to defend.

While she may not have enrolled in the loyalty program herself, that doesn’t automatically mean she’s given him permission to benefit from her spending.

The fact that her card is now linked to his account makes the situation particularly awkward. She could eventually decide to sign up, only to discover that someone else has been collecting rewards from her purchases.

His reluctance to say anything because too much time has passed is understandable, but the longer he waits, the more deliberate the arrangement becomes.

And his growing temptation to collect points from strangers suggests he’s beginning to see the system as an opportunity rather than an accidental benefit.

He should explain what happened, ask the cafe to unlink her card and offer to make things right.

After all, saving a few dollars on coffee probably isn’t worth damaging a friendship.

This person says YTA.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a person who changed their minds about donated items, only to return to the shop to find them all sold.

This person has a suggestion.

And this person offers up an idea.

He started with a little loyalty point mix-up, but now his friend’s the one paying for his loyalty to free coffee.