Buyer guide · Expiry policy
Set a points expiry policy customers have time to use.
Expiry changes the value of points customers have already earned. Set the lifetime from real earning behavior, then make the deadline visible before it matters.
- Expiry model
- Per earned points batch
- Customer notice
- Wallet and loyalty update
- Policy owner
- The business operator
Short answer
Set the lifetime from the earning rhythm.
Set a loyalty points expiry policy from how long a typical member needs to reach and use a worthwhile reward. Reward Loyalty assigns each earned batch an expiry date from the card rule, removes expired value from the spendable balance, records expiry in the ledger, shows a wallet notice inside the 30-day window, and sends one reminder per entering batch when loyalty updates are enabled. The operator still owns policy fairness, terms, support, and legal review.
Decision criteria
Choose an expiry rule customers can use.
Earning cadence, reward reachability, liability, communication, and local law determine whether the policy is supportable.
Earning cadence
Estimate how many eligible purchases and calendar days a typical and slower member needs to reach the first useful reward.
Liability and behavior
Model outstanding points and fulfilment exposure without assuming that expiry creates profit or healthy engagement.
Communication and law
Write the rule before launch, show the deadline where members can act, preserve preference choices, and obtain advice for the markets served.
Decision framework
Test reachability before choosing the lifetime.
A round number of months has no meaning without the program earning rate and customer visit rhythm.
Time to first reward
Calculate eligible spend or visits to the first useful threshold, then convert that path into calendar time for the target member and a slower member.
Use after earning
Leave time between reaching the threshold and the expiry of the batches needed for the reward. Per-batch dates can make the oldest value expire while newer points remain.
Season and interruption
Account for seasonal closure, long booking cycles, illness, travel, and low-frequency services. A short window can punish customers for the purchase rhythm the business designed.
Support and exceptions
Decide who can explain a ledger entry, whether the business allows a documented goodwill remedy, and how staff avoid making promises the product does not encode.
Visible assumptions
Model the slow member, not only the frequent one.
This example shows the policy test. Replace every assumption with real behavior.
Earning rule
Assume a member earns 10 points per visit and the first useful reward needs 120 points. The member needs 12 eligible visits.
Visit rhythm
At two visits a month, the earning path takes about six months. At one visit a month, it takes about twelve months before any missed visit or closure.
Policy test
An expiry lifetime shorter than the slower earning path makes the first reward unreachable for that member. A longer lifetime may increase outstanding liability and should enter the cost model.
Customer consequence
Because each batch has its own date, the member needs a clear balance and deadline view. Staff should not describe the rule as one annual reset.
Implementation
Make the configured rule and public promise agree.
Changing the setting later preserves existing balances, but policy changes can still create customer confusion and support work.
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1
Write the policy
State which points expire, how the lifetime starts, where the date appears, which messages can arrive, and how questions or disputes are handled.
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2
Configure the card
Set the issued-points lifetime with earning rules, purchase limits, rewards, content, visibility, and translated customer text.
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3
Test the lifecycle
Use safe test data to inspect batch dates, spendable balance, wallet warning, loyalty-update preference, scheduled sweep, ledger entry, and support explanation.
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4
Review the first 30 days
Check whether members start earning, see deadlines, receive eligible reminders, ask questions, or abandon progress. Do not conclude long-term breakage, retention, or fairness from one month.
Operating ownership
Assign the promise before launch.
Expiry touches economics, customer service, communications, and system operation.
Operator
Owns the lifetime, terms, legal review, reward reachability, liability model, translation, exception policy, and change approval.
Staff
Explains the visible rule, avoids invented exceptions, directs members to their wallet and history, and escalates disputes with the member and card identified.
Installation owner
Keeps scheduled work and email delivery healthy, reviews failed jobs and service health, and maintains the environment that records expiry.
Member
Can review the wallet and ledger, use valid points under the program terms, and control loyalty-update email preference. The wallet notice remains the in-product signal.
Product and operating limits
Expiry is a customer promise, not a cleanup shortcut.
- Reward Loyalty applies the configured lifetime to each earned points batch. It does not choose a fair term, write program terms, assess consumer law, or decide a goodwill exception.
- A 30-day reminder helps members act. It does not make an unreachable reward or an unfair lifetime acceptable, and members who disable loyalty updates receive no expiry email.
- Expiry can reduce outstanding points. It can also reduce trust and future participation. Do not count expired value as incremental profit without the wider behavior and cost evidence.
Implementation guides
Use current documentation for changing details.
Requirements, interfaces, settings, limits, and release behavior belong in the maintained product documentation.