'Starbucks for Life' contest launches with 10-karat gold card

A Starbucks 'card for life' is pictured. (Photo from Starbucks)

Starbucks has officially launched its long-awaited Starbucks for Life promo that will give 14 winners around the world a free pass to their stores for the next 30 years.

The estimated retail value? A whopping $54,000 in the U.S. That’s not including the card itself, made of 10-karat hammered gold which has an estimated retail value itself of $5,000.

The card will entitle winners -- 10 in the U.S., 3 in Canada and 1 in the U.K. -- to be able to walk into any Starbucks store and choose a free food or beverage item every day for the next 30 years.

That's through 2045.

From now until January 5, 2015, customers who pay using a registered Starbucks card or their mobile app will receive a receipt with a unique sweepstakes code that can be entered online for their chance to win the gold card, or one of 482,000 instant prizes.

A card like this could have come in handy for Beautiful Existence, a Seattle blogger who made it her mission last year to eat every meal at Starbucks as part of a personal challenge.

The mother of two said she spent between $500 to $600 a month on food and drinks at the coffee chain.