(Updated) Cava Rewards: We Unpack these Pita Points

Restaurants

Oct 19

Cava is one of the fastest-growing quick-service restaurant brands in the U.S., with over 350 locations nationwide. Often compared to Chipotle—just swap the burrito bowls for Mediterranean bowls and pita chips—it brings its own spin to the scene. In late 2024, Cava launched its latest iteration of Cava Rewards, which bears a striking resemblance to Chipotle’s program and in October 2025 they updated it with the addition of Tiers, among other changes. We took a relook.

Cava Rewards Review — *Image Credit: Shutterstock*

How it works:

Cava Rewards is a free program running digitally via their app or website. Customers earn 10 CAVA points per $1 when they transact as a member (online logged in, mobile order, or app scan in store). Cava also runs promotions and challenges.

They also added tiers to the program: Sea, Sand, and Sun. We are not a fan of the naming convention as why is Sand higher than Sea? Or Sun higher than Sand? Too obtuse. Keep it simple Cava!

Sea:
- $1=10 points
- Birthday gift: Drink, Pita Chips, or Dessert
- End of year Gift
- Multiplier Events (2x points)
- Offers & Challenges
Sand: Earn 1,500 points ($150) to qualify. All Sea benefits plus…
- $1=11 points (10% increase from Sea)
- Multiplier events (3x points)
- $0 Delivery fee 1x/quarter
Sun: Earn 4,500 points ($450) to qualify. All Sea and Sand benefits plus…
- $1=$12 points (20% increase)
- Birthday gift: Half off Bowl or Pita
- Mulitplier events (4x points)
- $0 Delivery fee 3x/quarter

The point multipliers for the various levels are not huge increases, but the birthday gifts and multiplier event increases and free delivery are good benefits. So at least the higher tier benefits are better than the naming.

How you Redeem

Like their menu, Cava keeps their reward chart simple (we like this), offering only 10 redemption categories that cover their entire menu.

Avocado Add-On- 500 points
Classic Pita Chips- 500 points
Drink- 500 points
Whole Side Pita- 500 points
Cinnamon Sugar Pita Chips- 600 points
Dessert- 700 points
Half off Bowl or pita- 1200 points
Kids Meal- 1200 points
Bowl- 2100 points
Pita- 2100 points

You can convert points to a reward in the app and then apply them at checkout no matter how you order.

What’s the value?

(💡When we calculate “return value”, we mean how much you got free relative to how much you had to spend. For example, if a redemption gives 10% return value, it means for every $100 spent in earning points, you got $10 worth in free redemption.)

Here at Points Insider we believe a strong return value for QSR (Quick Service Restaurant) reward programs should at least be in the 8%-10% at minimum. However, with rising food cost, many programs (hello again, Chipotle), have been slowly squeezing customers—offering less bang for your loyalty buck.

We assumed an average Cava order is ~$20 per visit and here’s what we found:

· After 2-3 visits, you can redeem for an Avocado Add-on, Pita Chips, a Drink, a Whole Side Pita, or Cinammon Sugar Chips. The return value varies from 5%-7% for Sea tiers, but Sun tiers see 6%-9% return value, so much better.

· Want a free bowl or pita? Be prepared to drop $210 (~9 trips) before you earn one. If you pick the priciest menu items, you can squeeze out a 9%-11% return, which is good.

Major downside: Cava copied Chipotle’s worst fine-print rule—you can’t stack rewards. If you have enough points for a free bowl and a free drink, tough luck. You can only use one reward per checkout. This is stingy and reduces the program’s value.

(Disclaimer: Menu prices can vary among different Cava restaurants. The prices we used are estimated based on what we are seeing in our home city and available internet information. So return value is approx).

  
    
        Reward
Item
        Points
Req.
        Spend
to Earn
(Sea)
        Menu
Price
        Sea
Return
        Sand
Return
        Sun
Return
      

    
        Avocado Add-on
        500
        $50
        $3.45
        7%
        8%
        8%
      

        Classic Pita Chips
        500
        $50
        $2.75
        6%
        6%
        7%
      

        Drink
        500
        $50
        $3.65
        7%
        8%
        9%
      

        Whole Side Pita
        500
        $50
        $2.35
        5%
        5%
        6%
      

        Cinnamon Sugar
Pita Chips
        600
        $60
        $3.50
        6%
        6%
        7%
      

        Dessert
        700
        $70
        $2.75–$3.35
        4–5%
        5–6%
        6–7%
      

        ½ Off
Bowl or Pita
        1200
        $120
        $6–$9
        5–8%
        6–9%
        7–10%
      

        Kids Meal
        1200
        $120
        $7.45
        6%
        7%
        7%
      

        Bowl
        2100
        $210
        $13–$18
        6–9%
        7–10%
        8–11%
      

        Pita
        2100
        $210
        $12–$15
        6–7%
        7–8%
        8–9%
      

  

Ease of Use

Cava’s app is super easy to use for ordering, tracking points and redeeming rewards. You control when to convert points, which is always a plus. Also, the app keeps tabs on promotions, which might help make up for the lack of frequent bonus offers.

🕵️‍♂️ ANY Fine Print?

· Good news: If you buy multiple entrées, the reward applies to the most expensive one.

· More good news: Cava catering is eligible for point earning. Treat your whole corporate team!

· Points expire after 6 months of inactivity (most programs allow 12 months—slightly restrictive).

· Once converted, rewards expire in 60 days.

And, again, you CANNOT stack rewards (sigh)

summary:

From an earn/burn perspective, the main entrees, Bowls and Pitas, have the better return value (7%-11%), which is good news. But it will still take ~9 trips to earn enough to redeem. And we (for the third time) will complain about the inability to reward stack.

If you are a 2x+ week visitor to Cava we recommend the program for its simplicity and ability to earn enough to redeem more frequently. Anything less than that we wouldn’t see huge value, but as with most quick service restaurants, it could be worth it to take advantage of sporadic deals and promotions.