Setting up a fixed amount discount reward

Would you like to let your customers trade their points for a set amount off their next order? A fixed amount discount reward turns points into a coupon worth a dollar amount you choose, such as $10 off.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through adding a fixed amount discount reward and choosing which items it applies to. We’ll also show what your customers see when they redeem it. All you need is RewardsWP and a WooCommerce or Easy Digital Downloads store.

• Adding a Fixed Amount Discount Reward
• Setting the Reward’s Cost, Value, and Expiry
• Choosing Which Items Get the Discount
• Saving the Reward
• What Happens When a Customer Redeems the Reward?
• FAQ

Before you get started, make sure RewardsWP is installed and activated on your WordPress site.

Adding a Fixed Amount Discount Reward

To get started, we’ll add a new reward to the list of ways customers can spend their points.

From your WordPress admin sidebar, go to RewardsWP » Settings and click the Points tab.

Further down the tab, find the Ways to Redeem section. Then click Add ways to redeem.

In the list of reward types that opens, click Fixed amount discount.

The drawer now shows the settings for your new reward, which we cover next.

Setting the Reward’s Cost, Value, and Expiry

The General part of the drawer sets what the reward costs and what it’s worth.

Here’s what each of these settings does.

Status

Status turns the reward on or off. A new reward starts turned on. To pause a reward without deleting it, turn its status off.

Points Required

Points required is the number of points a customer spends to claim this reward. The default is 500. When you pick a number, weigh how valuable you want the reward to feel against how quickly customers earn points.

Discount Value

Discount value is the dollar amount of the coupon your customer receives. The default is $5. This is the amount the customer saves when they use the coupon at checkout. If the reward covers only some items, the amount comes off those items only.

Reward Expiry

Reward expiry sets how long the coupon stays valid after the customer redeems their points. You can choose one of these options:

• Never expires (default): the coupon has no end date. It’s a good choice if you want customers to save their reward for a large order.
• 30 days: the coupon expires 30 days after redemption. It’s a good choice to bring customers back soon after they redeem.
• 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, or 2 years: the coupon expires that long after redemption. These options give customers time to shop while still setting a limit.

An end date gives customers a reason to come back and use their reward. That can bring in repeat purchases.

With the cost, value, and expiry set, the next step is to choose which items the reward covers.

Choosing Which Items Get the Discount

Below the General settings, the Applies to section sets which items in the cart get the discount. By default, the reward covers the Entire order.

To keep items such as gift cards out of the reward, leave Entire order selected and click Exclude items.

In the Exclude field, search for the products, categories, or tags to leave out. Then click a result to add it. WooCommerce stores can exclude brands too.

Each item you pick appears in the Exclude field. Excluded items don’t get the discount.

On WooCommerce, you can also turn on Exclude sale items. Items already on sale then keep their sale price. The rest of the cart still gets the discount. It’s useful if you don’t want a reward to add a second discount on top of your sales.

To give the discount to only the items you pick, select Specific items instead. Then add at least one product, category, or tag to the Include field.

At checkout, only the matching items get the discount. If no item in the cart matches, the customer sees a message that says why.

The discount stays on the matching items on WooCommerce 8.8 or later, or Easy Digital Downloads 3.5.1 or later. On older versions, the discount is spread over the whole cart. The reward’s settings also show a warning.

For how the rules match and what your customers see, read Excluding products from rewards and points.

Once you’ve chosen the items, the reward is ready to save.

Saving the Reward

The Summary at the bottom of the drawer describes the reward as you set it up. When it looks right, click Create.

Create adds the reward to the Ways to Redeem list. It doesn’t save the reward yet. After that, click Save Changes in the bar with the settings tabs.

Your reward is now saved. Members can redeem it from the Rewards Widget.

What Happens When a Customer Redeems the Reward?

From your customer’s side, redeeming the reward takes a few steps:

1. They open the Rewards Widget and go to the rewards they can redeem.
2. They see the fixed amount discount reward with its points cost and discount value.
3. They click to redeem. Before any points are spent, the widget lists the reward’s terms under “Before you redeem”, such as which items it applies to. It also shows how many points they’ll have left.
4. Once they confirm, the coupon code is generated straight away. The widget shows the code. They can copy it with one click.
5. At checkout, they paste the coupon code into the discount field. The fixed amount comes off the matching items in their cart.

Customers can find the coupon again later under Your rewards in the widget. The coupon shows its code, an Apply to cart button, and terms that say what the reward applies to.

Behind the scenes, RewardsWP does three things when a customer redeems the reward:

1. Deducts the points: the points required come off the customer’s balance right away.
2. Creates the coupon: RewardsWP generates a unique code for the dollar amount you set. On WooCommerce, it appears in your coupon list like any other coupon. On Easy Digital Downloads, it’s a discount code.
3. Adds it to the customer’s rewards: the code appears under Your rewards in the customer’s Rewards Widget.

If you set a reward expiry, the end date counts from the moment the customer redeems their points, not from when they use the coupon.

That’s it! Your customers can now trade their points for a fixed dollar discount at checkout. Next, to offer a percentage off instead, read Setting up a percentage discount reward.

FAQ

Below, we’ve answered some of the most common questions about fixed amount discount rewards.

Can I create several fixed amount discount rewards at different point costs?

Yes. You can add as many fixed amount discount rewards as you’d like, each with its own point cost and coupon value. For example, you might offer a $5 reward for 500 points and a $15 reward for 1,200 points to give customers options.

Can my customers use the coupon more than once?

No. Each coupon works for one order. Once it’s used, it can’t be used again. For another discount, the customer redeems more points for a new coupon.

Why does my customer see a message that the reward doesn’t apply?

The reward only discounts the items its Applies to rules cover. If nothing in the cart matches, the cart shows a message that says why. For example, a cart with only gift cards gets this message when gift cards are excluded. To change which items the reward covers, see Choosing Which Items Get the Discount.

What happens to the points if my customer never uses the coupon?

The points come off the balance when the customer redeems them, not when they use the coupon. The points stay spent, even if the coupon expires unused. To give them back, you can adjust the customer’s points balance.