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Setting Up User Point Expiration

Updated

Point expiration is designed to ensure that points awarded to users are utilized within a specified timeframe. This encourages the timely redemption of points and prevents them from sitting unused in user wallets. In this article, we'll show various use cases for point expiration, provide detailed steps on how to implement it, discuss best practices to ensure a smooth user experience, and address frequently asked questions.

Refer to the Managing Award Networks article for details on how point expiration settings interact with Award Networks. Also, check out What You Need to Know About Point Expiration to see common questions that end-users may have.

  1. Point Expiration Use Cases
  2. Creating Point Expiration Rules
  3. Considerations for Best User Experience
  4. FAQs

Point Expiration Use Cases

There are several reasons why organizations might want to implement point expiration:

  1. Incentivizing Usage: Points can accumulate in user wallets and remain unused. By setting an expiration date, users are encouraged to redeem their points sooner, thereby realizing their value more quickly.
  2. Lifestyle Spending Accounts and A-Pay: Many organizations offer Lifestyle Spending Accounts that provide stipends for wellness purchases, work-from-home expenses, groceries, childcare costs, financial education courses, or professional development. Point expiration can be particularly useful in these scenarios to ensure the allocated points are used for their intended purposes within a specific period. Point Expiration would also seamlessly integrate if an LSA is connected to the A-Pay feature.
  3. Encouraging Engagement: Expiring points can drive continuous engagement by creating a sense of urgency. Users are more likely to stay active and participate in programs if they know their points have a limited lifespan.
  4. Financial Planning: For the organization, point expiration can aid in better financial planning and accounting by reducing the liabilities of outstanding points.

Creating Point Expiration Rules

Navigating to Point Expiration Settings

To view and edit point expiration settings:

  1. On the homepage, select the Admin button at the bottom of the left navigation menu.
  2. Click Marketplace, and then Award Networks from the left-hand navigation menu.
  3. Select the desired Award Network tile.
  4. Click on the ‘Point Expiration’ tab.

Email Reminder 

  • Toggle "Email Reminder" to "On" to send users notifications about expiring points.
  • Ensure you have created an appropriate email template using the Email Template Easy Editor and categorized it with the "Points Expiring" email type.
  • Specify the number of days prior to expiration that the reminder should be sent.

Adding New Rules

  1. Click “Add New Rule”.
  2. Enter a rule name.
  3. Create specific groups based on metadata that point expiration will apply to (e.g., point expiration applies only to users with the #Sales metadata tag).
    • If multiple metadata are selected, the logic will assume AND statements (e.g., points will expire for users with #Sales AND #Denver metadata tags).
    • If metadata is not selected, point expiration will apply to all users in the award network.
  4. Specify when points expire:
    • Based on time since awarded: Enter the age of points when they expire using the “Expire Points Older Than” text box and dropdown. Time period options are: Week(s), Month(s), or Year(s).
      • Example: If you want points in this award network to expire 6 months from the time they were awarded, leave the “Eligible Metadata” blank (to apply the rule to all users), select “Based on time since awarded”, and input 6 month(s) in the “Expire Points Older Than” field.
    • On a specific cadence: Select the interval at which points expire. Options in the “Expire All Points” dropdown are: Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly (Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4), and Yearly.
      • For the specific cadences: Enter the cadence at which expiration will repeat using the “Repeat Every” text box, and the start date in the date selection box.
      • Minimum age before expiring (optional): When using a cadence rule, you can also set a minimum age that points must reach before they are eligible to expire. Each time the rule runs, Awardco will:
        • Look at all points that match the rule (Award Network, country, metadata, etc.).
        • Only expire points that are at least the minimum age you configured (for example, at least 2 years old).
        • Leave newer points in the user’s wallet until a future run, when they meet the minimum age.
  • Example: If you want points in this award network to expire yearly for all part-time employees, but only points older than 2 years expire, input #part-time in the “Eligible Metadata” field, select “On a specific cadence”, select “Yearly” from the “Expire All Points” dropdown menu, input 1 in the “Repeat Every” field, select a start date, and set the minimum age to 2 years.
  1. Click “Done”.
  2. Click “Save & Apply Rule(s)” and confirm the changes.
  • Important
    • Expiration rules take effect instantly when saved.
    • Existing points that meet the rule criteria will be impacted.
    • If your rule uses a minimum age with a cadence-based expiration, any existing points that already meet both the rule criteria and the minimum age will be eligible to expire the first time the rule runs after you save it. Newer points remain in the user’s wallet until a future run when they meet the minimum age.
    • Email reminders will start sending based on the number of days you set prior to expiration.

Managing Rules

Any rule created (in both “Not Applied” and “Applied” status) will appear in the Point Expiration rules section. The table will show the rule name, status, who it applies to, the point expiration rule details, and the next date the rule will run.

Click the stacked three dots to the right of the rule to edit, archive, or delete the rule. Archiving the rule will change the status from “Applied” and move it to the “Archived” tab.

Considerations for Best User Experience

To ensure a positive user experience, consider the following:

  1. Visibility of Expiring Points: Users will be informed of expiring points both in-platform and via email. E-mail reminders can be set to send a specific amount of days before expiration, and notifications in platform will be visible starting 30 days before points are set to expire. This can be seen on both the new homepage as well as on the Spend Points Landing Page.

  2. Communication:
    • Clearly communicate the point expiration policy within your organization.
    • Use the Email Template Easy Editor to configure a point expiration email. Add an email template, categorize it under ‘Points Expiring Email Type’, and customize the default template. This email will be sent 7 days before points expire.
    • Notify users about point expiration policies when points are awarded. Use the variable {{PointExpirationDate}} to include the expiration date in these email notifications attached to Recognition Programs, Earn Programs, etc. For example, “Be sure to utilize these points soon as they expire on {{PointExpirationDate}}.”
  3. Time Zone Awareness
    • Timezone Awareness
      • Points expire at 12:00 AM UTC on the first of the following month. For example, points set to expire on November 1 will expire at 7:00 PM EST on October 31. Ensure users are aware of this timing if they operate in different time zones, as it may impact the last opportunity to redeem their points.

FAQs

  • What happens if I’m invoiced for the redemption account on points awarded?
    • If you are invoiced on points awarded, any points that expire will be credited back to your organization on the next month’s invoice. 
  • Where do points go after they expire?
    • Expired points return to the Company Account at 12 am on the 1st day of the following month.
  • What happens if I add a cadence-based expiration rule with a minimum age?
    • When you save a new cadence-based expiration rule with a minimum age, Awardco evaluates all existing points that match the rule criteria. On the first time that rule runs after you save it, any points that are at least the minimum age you set will expire according to the cadence. Points that are not yet old enough will stay in the user’s wallet and will be picked up on a future run once they reach the minimum age.
       

If you have any questions, please contact Awardco Admin Support.

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