If you’d like to allow users in your organization to supplement purchases with their personal debit or credit card, Awardco has released a capability called Purchase Points. The enablement of this feature requires the involvement of your Awardco point of contact. Reference the article below to discover more of what Purchase Points has to contribute to your organization’s recognition programs. This one sheet also provides more information on the feature.
Use Cases
Some users don't spend their points because they don't have enough for items they want. Often, users will spend most of their points and sit on a small number remaining in their wallet with nothing to spend them on. Other times users want something new but have no points to spend at all. These use cases are exactly why Purchase Points was created. At checkout, users can complement purchased points to their existing point balance to redeem for items they want. The following sections outline qualifications to keep in mind when considering Purchase Points.
Important Details to Note
User Experience
- Purchase Points are currently only available for redemption Amazon, Awardco managed Swag Store items, Best Buy, Experiences, and Priceline hotels. The feature is not available for redemption of eGift cards, Virtual Prepaid cards, Lazada Wallets, Tickets, and Cash.
- If there's an existing point balance in your platform wallet, the feature will always use the first points available and then supplement with purchased points.
- It's possible to utilize this feature with a zero balance in your platform's wallet. Users can completely pay for purchases with their personal debit or credit card even when they have no points.
- The user will assume a processing fee on their points purchased. The platform will prompt the user to accept this amount in the checkout process.
- Fees consist of a base charge of $0.40 USD plus 5% of the points purchase total.
- For international users whose currency differs from the platform's base currency:
- The payment amount will be displayed in both their local currency and USD
- The displayed amount in their local currency is based on current exchange rates and may vary slightly at the time of purchase
- Users must acknowledge they may incur additional fees or charges based on their card issuer's terms
- Awardco does not store any card information, with all payment processing handled securely through Stripe
- This feature is powered by Stripe, a global payment solution. All debit and credit cards accepted by this integration are listed here.
- If an order where purchased points were applied is returned, the points will be refunded to the user’s platform wallet and not their personal card.
- Purchasing points for redemptions on Amazon, Experiences, Hotels, Swag Store, and Best Buy items in the United States and additional select countries. The points purchased will always be in U.S. Dollars ($). Users will incur any conversion fees from their debit or credit card charges.
Admin Considerations
- This feature is Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliant.
- Your recognition platform must have a tax buffer set.
- Companies that implement Purchase Points must have the U.S. Dollar ($) as their base currency for all finance related billing. Users in other countries are able to purchase points but they will always be charged in USD. Users will incur any conversion fees their credit card charges.
- You're able to only allow a certain subset of users the ability purchase points by utilizing metadata. Additionally, metadata will allow you to limit the redemption option (e.g. Amazon and/or Swag Store items) certain users are able to purchase points for.
- The Points Redeemed report has the following columns available to show details on points purchased:
- User-Funded Points, Price, Shipping, Tax, Customs, Currency Code
- Total Points
- Company-Funded Points, Price, Shipping, Tax, Customs, Currency Code
- The Redemption FIFO report will have entries with NO RECOGNITIONS due to them being created as part of the purchase points process. If Purchase Points is enabled, the Redemption FIFO report will no longer be accurate.
Set Up
Configuration of Purchase Points will require the involvement of your Awardco point of contact. Before contacting your Implementation Consultant or Client Success Manager, have an idea of which countries you want to make purchasing points available in and for what redemption options. Keep in mind that Purchase Points is currently only available for redemption of Amazon, Awardco managed Swag Store items, Best Buy, Experiences, and Priceline hotels.
If you have any questions, please contact Awardco Admin Support.