Chase and Starbucks pour their partnership down the drain

Customers who hold Starbucks-branded Visa cards issued by Chase will soon have to find another way to get their caffeinated rewards. Chase recently announced that, as of the end of March, it's discontinuing the co-branded card, called the Duetto Visa, which has been around since 2003.

But their rewards won't disappear: Customers will get their reward points transferred to a Starbucks card, according to this account of the program-scrapping on Consumerist. The Seattle Timesreported that the Canadian version, issued by RBC, is also getting the ax.

The Duetto worked both as a prepaid Starbucks card as well as a regular Visa card, and customers earned points, called "Duetto Dollars," on everyday purchases that could earn them free coffees. (We're going to call out the Consumerist reader who shared this news for his admission that he put his children's tuition on his Duetto card. Really? We're all for reward cards, but are free $4 coffees the best perk you can find for that amount of money?)

A Chase spokesperson told WalletPop in an email that current cardholders will be issued ordinary Chase Visas "at their own discretion," leaving open the possibility that some cardholders will be left out in the cold. The spokesperson also didn't specify which card or cards would be issued to former Duetto holders, or what kinds of terms and rewards Chase is substituting for the soon-to-be defunct Duetto Dollars.

Readers, help us fill in the blanks. Did you have a Duetto card? What replacement card are you being offered? How do the terms -- interest rate, rewards and so on -- compare to what you were paying or earning with the Duetto card? Our curiosity is well, brewing.