Use cases · Restaurants & takeaway

Restaurant loyalty program ideas,
worked end to end.

A restaurant loyalty program that works pairs a points card with two automatic vouchers. Guests earn 10 points per dollar and climb a reward ladder from free dessert at 900 points to dinner for two at 6,000; a nightly sweep sends the birthday and win-back vouchers without staff effort. Servers add points from the check amount in one scan.

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The restaurant in this playbook.

Basil & Thyme Kitchen is a fictional farm-to-table restaurant from our demo world, run here by an owner we call Elena, with six front-of-house staff and a takeaway counter. Nothing on this page is a customer story. The settings are the values we would enter on day one.

The problem: delivery apps own the repeat relationship and charge for it. The restaurant has no direct channel and no idea who its hundred best guests are. The goal: move repeat orders direct, name those guests, and fill the weeknights.

Still comparing software rather than planning a program? Start with loyalty software for restaurants, then come back for the setup.

$34

average check, dine-in

$22

average order, takeaway

1-2

visits a month, good guests

60%

Tuesday, against a Friday

The restaurant's public page where a guest lands after scanning the table code

The plan: points, then automations.

Points, because restaurant spend varies too much for stamps: a $12 lunch and an $80 dinner should not earn the same. The two voucher automations ride along from day one because, once configured, a nightly sweep runs them without anyone thinking about it.

Day 1

Points + two automations

The Table Rewards card at 10 points per dollar, a birthday dessert, and a win-back voucher for quiet guests.

Day 30

Tiers

Regular, VIP at $500 lifetime spend, Elite at $2,000. The top hundred guests identify themselves.

Day 45

The takeaway batch

500 voucher codes on bag flyers. Takeaway customers join from their sofa.

The points card and reward-catalog walkthrough shows the tool itself; this page shows one restaurant running it. Prepaid passes wait: they fit fixed products, not a varied menu. Browse program routes for other industries when the purchase rhythm changes.

Achievements

Achievement strategy for Basil & Thyme Kitchen.

Points price the check, vouchers handle birthday and win-back moments, and tiers recognize spend. Achievements should cover return cadence and real use across those tools. They should not become another menu of discounts.

Reward Loyalty provides a curated catalog of predefined, one-time milestones. Names, thresholds, measured events, and formulas stay fixed. The business chooses which achievements to activate and whether to attach a reward; reward dates and grant caps remain configurable. Read the achievement setup guide before switching the program on.

5 loyalty days

A diner records qualifying activity at Basil & Thyme on five different dates.

Five dates identifies a repeat guest across dine-in and takeaway without treating one large dinner as stronger loyalty than five returns.

Reward or recognition: Recognition in the wallet. The points ladder remains the financial reason to keep scanning.
Guardrail: One date counts once even when the guest earns points and redeems a voucher at the same meal. The milestone is one-time by design and needs no reward.
30-day check: Compare five-day awards with members who earned First step. A weak ratio points to first-to-second-visit conversion or missed scans.

4-week regular

A diner records at least one loyalty day in four weeks in a row.

A four-week run supports a weekly dinner or takeaway habit without pretending the product can require a particular day or order type.

Reward or recognition: A personal after-dinner coffee voucher, valid for 21 days. The food cost is small and the reward brings the guest back to a full table.
Guardrail: Use a single-use voucher, set a grant cap, and avoid sending a midweek campaign in the same reward window.
30-day check: Read weekly participants, four-week awards, and voucher use. High awards with low use means the perk or validity window misses the visit pattern.

First reward enjoyed

A diner completes the first points reward or voucher redemption.

This is the first proof that dessert, dinner, birthday, or win-back value moved from the wallet to the table.

Reward or recognition: Recognition. Do not stack another free course on a reward the guest has received.
Guardrail: Staff must scan and complete the claim. A generated reward code that expires unused does not earn the achievement.
30-day check: Compare first-reward awards with members who hold enough points for the first rung. If the gap grows, tighten the claim instructions before changing prices.

Launch order: Run the points card and table scan first. Add achievements after staff close one month of clean checks. Keep 5 loyalty days and First reward enjoyed as recognition, then test one capped reward on the four-week run.

If you attach a reward, set its dates and grant cap before launch, then check delivery and usage in the partner dashboard. The achievement reward limits guide explains the exposure preview, delivery rules, and repair path.

Set it up: eight steps.

1. Business page and staff accounts

Branding first: name, logo, brand color, hours. Then one staff account per server; undo rights are per person, so shared logins make corrections untraceable. Docs: business settings · staff accounts

2. Create the rewards first

A card needs at least one reward to exist, so the ladder comes first. At 10 points per dollar, each rung prices at about 10% of the spend it represents:

Reward	Points	Represents
Dessert on the House	900	$90 of visits
Free Main Course	2,500	$250 of visits
Chef's Dinner for Two	6,000	$600 of visits

Photos on every reward; a dessert with a picture outpulls a paragraph. Docs: manage rewards

3. Create the points card

Title "Table Rewards", description "Earn on every visit, dine-in or takeaway. Points buy dessert, mains, and a dinner for two." The rules:

Setting	Value	Why
You receive	10 points for 1 USD	A $34 check earns 340. The math stays readable at the table.
Round points up	On	The guest never loses the cents.
Initial bonus points	200	Joining feels paid without discounting the bill.
Points expire after	12 months	The default. Long enough for a monthly guest.
Max points per purchase	2,000	Caps a $200 banquet check. Applies after tier multipliers.

Docs: set up a loyalty card

4. Print the table QR

Brand the card's code in the QR studio: table tents for the dining room, a sticker for the takeaway counter. Docs: brand your QR code

5. Arm the two automations

Create two vouchers: "Birthday dessert" (a free product, single use) and "We miss you: 15% off your table" (percentage, capped at $25, single use). Then pick both on the club form: birthday validity 14 days; win-back after 45 days of silence, valid 14. A nightly sweep sends them from then on. Docs: birthday rewards · win-back rewards

6. Day 30: tiers

Spend-based, straight from the docs' own restaurant example. Lifetime spend qualifies a guest; the multiplier pays out on every later check:

Tier	Lifetime spend	Multiplier
Regular	$0	1.0×
VIP	$500	1.3×
Elite	$2,000	1.75×

Docs: membership tiers

7. Day 45: the takeaway flyer batch

Template voucher "Welcome back: 10% off", single use. Generate a batch: 500 codes, prefix BASIL, one claim QR printed on the bag flyers. The batch dashboard shows claimed and redeemed counts per code from day one. Docs: generate a voucher batch

8. Save two segments

"Weeknight regulars" (at least 4 visits in the last 180 days) and "Going quiet" (no visit for 45 days). Both become audiences for email campaigns later, with a live member count as you build them. Docs: member segments

Launch: dinner pays for dessert.

Table tents in the dining room, one server line at check drop. The offer explains itself because tonight's check already covers most of the first reward.

The table tent

Every visit counts.

Scan, join with your email, and tonight's check starts you at 540 points. Dessert is on us at 900.

The server's line

"We started a rewards card. Scan this and tonight's dinner counts toward a free dessert. Takes ten seconds."

Joining: the guest scans the table QR and joins with an email; the server scans the guest's code with the check, and the points land with the 200-point welcome bonus on top. A $34 check reads 540 on the walk out.

Redeeming: the guest picks the reward on their phone and shows the reward QR (valid 15 minutes). The server scans, taps Claim reward, and the kitchen fires the dessert.

Phone at home: staff print a 4-digit code on the receipt; the guest enters it later. Docs: redemption codes

Mistakes to avoid

Printing the win-back discount on the flyer. The batch is the welcome offer; the win-back stays personal.
Letting servers type points by hand. The check amount calculates and locks the points; the manual switch is for corrections.
Promising tier perks in week one. Tiers arm at day 30, once there is data to qualify anyone.

The staff screen that turns a check amount into points, with the guest's tier bonus

The guest points card with balance, tier, and the reward ladder

During service.

Identify: the guest shows their code, or the server searches by name.
Add: scan, type the check amount, the points calculate and lock. A VIP's 1.3× bonus previews on screen before the tap.
Vouchers at the till: scan the voucher QR, enter the purchase amount, and the discount and final total calculate on screen.
Fix: undo your own last entry from the card history. Older corrections go to the owner's dashboard.
Rush rule: table QRs do the recruiting. Servers scan at check drop, not at order.

One guest, worked forward.

Tuesday. Tom orders takeaway, scans the bag flyer at home, claims 10% off his next order, and joins.

Visit two, dine-in. He shows his code with the $38 check: 380 points plus the 200 welcome bonus puts him at 960. Dessert unlocked, and the server says so.

Month two. His birthday voucher lands by email. He books a table for four.

Month four. He crosses $500 lifetime spend; the tier email congratulates him and VIP multiplies his next check by 1.3.

Month six. He goes quiet. On day 45 the win-back voucher goes out on its own; he is back the following week.

The birthday dessert voucher a guest receives from the nightly sweep

Read the numbers.

The card dashboard tracks points issued, points redeemed, rewards claimed, and the share of points that come back as redemptions. Healthy sits at 60 to 80%; under 40% means the ladder's first rung hangs too high.

The members list shows every guest with a tier chip. The voucher dashboard reports each voucher's uses and total discount given, and the batch page tracks claimed against redeemed per flyer code.

Every transaction exports as CSV, TSV, or JSON.

30, 60, 90.

Day 30

Redemption under 40%? Lower the dessert from 900 to 700; cutting a reward's point price is safe and members close to it get there sooner. Then arm the tiers. After one month of clean checks, enable 5 loyalty days, 4-week regular, and First reward enjoyed; cap only the coffee voucher.

Day 60

Flyer batch claiming under 8%? The offer or the placement is weak: move the QR to the bag seal before printing more. Check win-back conversions on the voucher dashboard.

Day 90

Email "Weeknight regulars" a Tuesday-only voucher with a two-week window. There is no double-points campaign switch; a dated voucher does the same job. First tier review: did Elite checks grow?

Questions

Before the table tents go out.

How many points per dollar should a restaurant give?

Ten per dollar keeps the math readable: a $34 check earns 340 points and the first reward sits at 900, about three visits away. The exact number matters less than the ratio between earn rate and reward cost. Aim for rewards worth about 10% of the spend they represent.

What rewards work best in a restaurant loyalty program?

A ladder. Something close (free dessert at 900 points), something worth chasing (a free main at 2,500), and something to talk about (dinner for two at 6,000). Kitchen-cost rewards beat discounts: a dessert costs you $3 and reads as $9.

Should a restaurant use points or stamps?

Points. A $12 lunch and an $80 dinner earn the same stamp, which shortchanges your best tables. Points scale with the check. Stamps fit fixed-price, high-frequency counters; for that case, read the coffee shop playbook.

How do birthday rewards work at a restaurant?

You pick a voucher once and the software does the rest. On the guest's birthday a nightly sweep drops a personal single-use copy in their wallet and sends one email, at most once per guest per year. This playbook uses a free dessert, valid 14 days.

How does a win-back voucher bring guests back?

You set a silence threshold, 45 days for a monthly-visit restaurant, and a voucher, 15% off with a $25 cap. When a guest crosses the threshold the sweep sends it once. It re-arms only after a real return visit, so nobody gets nagged.

How do takeaway customers join the program?

From the bag. A 500-code voucher batch prints one claim QR on flyers; the customer scans it at home, claims 10% off the next order, and lands in the program with a wallet and an email address the restaurant owns.

What if a guest leaves their phone at home?

Staff print a 4-digit code on the receipt. The guest enters it at home and the points land on their card, with the welcome bonus on top if it is their first transaction. Codes are single-use and expire, by default after 3 days.

Loyalty software for restaurants How to start a loyalty program The coffee shop playbook All playbooks

Own the guest list.

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Points · Vouchers · Tiers · One install

Restaurant loyalty program ideas,worked end to end.