RewardsWP can automatically award points whenever a customer completes a purchase. This guide walks you through enabling the earn action, configuring the points-per-dollar rate, and understanding how points are calculated, awarded, and reversed.
Enable the earn action
To let customers earn points from purchases, navigate to RewardsWP » Settings » Points and look for the Ways to Earn section. Find the Make a purchase action and toggle it on.
Once enabled, customers will earn points on every completed order based on the earn rate you configure below.
Configure the earn rate
The Make a purchase action has two settings that control how many points customers earn:
- Points per dollar – The number of points awarded per currency unit spent. The default is 5.
- Base amount – The purchase amount unit that the points are calculated against. The default is 1 (i.e., one unit of your store’s currency).
To adjust these values, click on the Make a purchase action to expand its settings, change the numbers, and click Save Changes.
For example, if you want to reward 10 points for every $2 spent, set Points per dollar to 10 and Base amount to 2.
Order statuses and when points are awarded
Points aren’t awarded the moment a customer clicks “Place order.” Instead, RewardsWP waits until the order reaches a qualifying status in WooCommerce:
- Processing – Points are awarded when the order moves to processing. This is the most common trigger for standard payment methods (credit card, PayPal, etc.).
- Completed – Points are also awarded when the order moves to completed. This is the typical trigger for Cash on Delivery (COD) orders, which start as “pending” and don’t reach a qualifying status until you manually mark them complete.
If an order moves directly from “pending” to “completed” (skipping “processing”), points are still awarded exactly once. RewardsWP tracks which orders have already been credited to prevent duplicate points.
Refunds and point reversals
When you refund an order in WooCommerce, RewardsWP automatically deducts the corresponding points from the customer’s balance. This happens whether you issue a full refund or a partial refund:
- Full refund – All points earned from that order are reversed.
- Partial refund – Points are recalculated based on the new order total, and the difference is deducted.
The reversal is logged in the customer’s activity log as a “Refunded” entry, so both you and the customer have a clear record of what happened.
Frequently asked questions
Do points apply to the entire order total or just the product subtotal?
Points are calculated on the order total after discounts and adjustments. This means coupon codes, loyalty discounts, and other reductions lower the points earned proportionally.
Can I set different earn rates for different products or categories?
Not currently. The earn rate applies globally to all purchases. Every dollar spent earns the same number of points regardless of the product or category.
What happens if a customer places an order while the earn action is disabled?
Orders placed while the action is disabled won’t earn any points, even if you re-enable the action later. Points are only awarded when the order status changes and the earn action is active at that time.
Can I manually adjust a customer’s points if something goes wrong?
Yes. You can manually add or deduct points from any member’s account in RewardsWP » Points .