Business briefs: Aegis Tactical sets open house Sunday; Starbucks changes loyalty plan

EAST MANATEE -- Aegis Tactical, 5103 Lena Road, is holding an open house 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday with special guest Bob Serva of Fusion Firearms. Serva is known for his expert advice on specific weapons, ammunition, and Colt style 1911 pistols along with professional custom 1911s.

Flitz Polish also will be on hand doing demos of their products for firearms, and attorney Jeff Young will be available to answer questions about federal NFA items and firearms trusts.

To view more about Fusion Firearms, visit FusionFirearms.com. For more information on the open house, visit AegisGuns.com.

Starbucks alters rewards system to dollars spent

Starbucks is changing how its customers accumulate rewards in its loyalty program, going from a system that rewards customers based on frequency of visits to one that's based on dollars spent.

Currently, in the My Starbucks Rewards program, customers earn one star per visit, regardless of how much they spend. Under the new program, which takes effect in April and will be named Starbucks Rewards, customers will earn two stars for every $1 spent. The stars can be redeemed for anything on the menu.

Starbucks' loyalty program, launched in 2009, has been a driver of the Seattle company's strong increase in comparable store sales. The 11 million members spend three times as much as nonmembers, company officials said.

Visit Orlando adding booths along turnpike

Visit Orlando will have a much more noticeable presence around the state starting this week, by setting up shop in service centers along the Florida Turnpike. The first Visit Orlando information booth will open Tuesday.

"It helps expand our reach to visitors not just in our immediate backyard, but beyond our borders in a very nice way," said George Aguel, president and chief executive of the region's tourism authority.

"When you go into any one of these plazas you will clearly come away with more top-of-mind awareness of Orlando as a result of it," Aguel told The Orlando Sentinel. "It's very exciting for our community to have this key, unique position."

Specifically, the initiative will put Visit Orlando in seven of the eight service plazas along the turnpike.

-- Herald wire, staff reports

This story was originally published February 22, 2016 at 7:59 PM with the headline "Business briefs: Aegis Tactical sets open house Sunday; Starbucks changes loyalty plan ."