Rewards and Benefits
Part of Points earning rules
Handling points on discounted orders
“Points per dollar spent” is ambiguous when a discount reduces the checkout total.
When a discount reduces item prices, calculate points from eligible item spend after the discount, not the pre-discount basket. In LoyaltyLion, points use item prices after discounts; tax earns points only when its setting allows it, and shipping never earns points.
Set the calculation base
For LoyaltyLion’s Make a purchase rule, use the post-discount item prices as the calculation base. Multiply eligible spend by the applicable points-per-currency-unit rate; subtotal is always included and cannot be turned off.
The rate is per single unit of store currency and can include decimals. LoyaltyLion advises setting between 1 and 5 points per unit spent; tiers can have different rates, and product modifiers can award more or fewer points for particular products, collections or subscription items.
Check the Award points for tax setting before launch. When it is on, tax earns points even if it is already included in the item price; when it is off, tax does not. The setting starts off for stores in US or Canadian dollars and on for every other currency; on Adobe Commerce (Magento), it is always on.
LoyaltyLion’s example shows how the tax setting changes the base: on a $100 item purchase with $20 sales tax added, the base is $120 with tax on and $100 with it off. The excerpt gives no points rate for this example, so the number of points depends on the store’s configured rate.
For an order-level coupon spanning eligible and excluded products, confirm how your platform allocates the discount before calculating eligible spend. Test an order with a percentage discount and one with eligible and excluded products, and check how the platform rounds small amounts. If a promotion offers extra points, record whether it stacks with the base rule and when it ends.
Do not advertise points on the original full basket if the rule calculates from discounted item prices. Check how your platform treats reward discounts in the earning calculation.
Points Calculation: With and Without Tax Setting Enabled
Steps to Configure Points on Discounted Orders in LoyaltyLion
- Set calculation base to post-discount item pricesUse the Make a purchase rule with discounted prices as the base
- Confirm tax setting for points eligibilityCheck if tax earns points—off by default for USD/CAD, on for all other currencies
- Test discount allocation across productsVerify how order-level coupons distribute discounts between eligible and excluded items
- Review point stacking rulesDetermine if extra points from promotions stack with base points and when they expire
- Avoid misleading customer messagingDo not advertise points based on original basket value if calculating from discounted spend
Key Configuration Settings for Points on Discounted Orders
- Tax Included in Points?
- Configurable – defaults to off for USD/CAD, on otherwise
- Shipping Earns Points?
- No
- Subtotal Inclusion
- Always included – cannot be turned off
Explain the result
Show the customer the eligible item spend after discounts, the points earned or pending, and the basis used to calculate them. In the customer’s points history, show the order’s eligible spend after discounts alongside the points result.
If points are pending, they are visible in the customer’s history but cannot be spent until the approval period ends. The period runs for a set number of days after the order is paid; it is optional and is empty on a rule created by the store.
Keep a versioned record of the rule so you can explain the calculation on older orders after the programme changes.
Pros and Cons of Calculating Points from Post-Discount Spend
- Pro: Fairer customer experience
- Customers earn points based on what they actually pay, not full price
- Con: Risk of confusion if not clearly communicated
- Without clear disclosure, customers may expect points on original basket value
- Pro: Compliance with ACCC guidelines
- Aligns with transparency requirements under Australian consumer law
- Con: More complex tracking for older orders
- Requires versioned rule records to explain past calculations after changes
