Tiers and Rules
Part of Loyalty programme operations
Training staff to explain programme rules
Train loyalty staff with a dated rule card, realistic member questions, account states and a clear escalation route.
Train staff to answer a member's immediate question from the applicable terms and account record: what qualifies, what is available now, why a result changed, and who can resolve an exception. They also need to recognise when they cannot yet verify a transaction, date or channel condition.
Build a rule card around member questions
Give staff a dated, searchable card based on the approved offer. It should answer who can join, what earns value, when it becomes usable, where a reward works, and how returns, expiry and exclusions apply.
Include the rule's effective date and owner. Make older versions retrievable for earlier activity.
The ACCC accepts reports about possible misleading or false claims and can require businesses to back up claims about their products or services. Staff wording should match the actual offer, including stock, booking and channel limits.
Teach the account states
Show the difference between earned, pending and available points; a reward eligible for claim; a voucher issued but unused; and a completed benefit. Use only the states the programme actually records. Staff should find the source purchase or claim before explaining a balance change.
Practise with an eligible purchase whose points are pending, a mixed basket with an excluded item, a partial return, a reward unavailable in one channel, and a transaction near a rule change. For each scenario, ask staff to find the governing rule, identify the account state, and say what evidence they would check.
Account States in Loyalty Programmes (Australia)
- Earned PointsPoints allocated after a qualifying purchase; visible in balance but not yet usable.
- Pending PointsPoints awaiting verification (e.g., post-purchase validation); may be subject to return or exclusion.
- Available PointsPoints confirmed and ready to redeem; no restrictions apply.
- Issued VoucherReward voucher generated but not yet used; may expire if unused.
- Completed BenefitReward fully redeemed or fulfilled; no further action required.
Give staff an answer when the record is incomplete
For a missing award, staff can explain that they will check the purchase and whether the award is pending, posted or excluded. They should not promise a credit before checking for an existing award or an approval delay.
Define who can adjust a balance, who approves the change, and which case reference is required. Give frontline staff a route for stock problems, disputed eligibility and system incidents. Record what has already been checked so the member does not have to repeat the account at each hand-off.
Frontline Staff Response Checklist for Incomplete Records
- Check for existing awardConfirm whether the reward was already issued before promising a credit.
- Verify approval statusDetermine if a delay is due to internal approval or system processing.
- Document actions takenRecord all checks performed to avoid repetition by subsequent team members.
- Escalate appropriatelyFollow defined route for stock problems, disputes, or system errors with required case reference.
Check understanding and update the material
Ask staff to explain a scenario in their own words while finding the relevant rule. Check whether they can reconcile the answer with the account state, not merely repeat a script. Review escalations for recurring confusion and update the card when an approved rule or system behaviour changes.
Before a change takes effect, align the staff card, account labels and customer explanation with its effective date. Remove the old card from everyday use while retaining it for earlier transactions. A member should receive an explanation consistent with the applicable terms whether they ask at the till, online or through support.
