Burning Methods

Earning balance is only half the story — how customers spend it defines the loyalty experience. Loyal Guru supports four redemption methods, giving customers flexibility to choose what feels most valuable to them: an instant discount at checkout, a reward from the catalog, a coupon for their next visit, or a donation to a cause they care about.

Overview

Method	How it works	Who initiates
Cashback at checkout	Points converted to a monetary discount applied at the time of purchase	Customer at POS or online checkout
Rewards catalog	Customer redeems balance for a physical, digital, or experiential reward	Customer via app or loyalty portal
Coupons	Balance exchanged for a coupon that unlocks a discount campaign	Customer via app or portal
Donation	Customer donates balance to a partner charity or NGO	Customer via app or portal

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Cashback at checkout

The most common burn method. The customer spends points or wallet balance as a real-time monetary discount on the current purchase.

Cashback is usually handled directly at checkout: the cart is simulated first so the customer can see the discount preview, then the confirmed cart commits the balance spend. Cashback can be limited by balance availability, minimum thresholds, and the configurable combined discount cap.

For the full checkout flow, cashback_score_desired values, thresholds, cap behavior, configuration, and return handling, see Cashback.

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Rewards catalog

Customers redeem balance for items in the rewards catalog — physical products, digital rewards, gift cards, discount codes, or experiences.

Flow:

1. Customer browses the rewards catalog in the app or portal.
2. Customer selects a reward and confirms redemption.
3. Balance is deducted from score_available; a score_transactions: reward record is created.
4. Fulfillment is triggered — delivery, code issuance, or partner notification.

Configure the catalog in Loyalty → Rewards in the Owner App. See Rewards for the full reference.

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Coupons

Balance can be exchanged for a discount coupon. The customer spends points to unlock a voucher that applies a discount on a future purchase.

Configure coupon-linked campaigns in Loyalty and Promotional engine → Points & Wallet with the Coupon required option enabled.

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Donation

Customers can donate their balance to a partner charity or NGO. Donation programs are configured per company — contact your Customer Success Manager to enable this option.

Balance donated is recorded as an admin_adjustment (negative) in score_transactions.

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Balance lifecycle after burn

Event	Transaction type
Cashback at checkout	redeem
Rewards catalog	reward
Coupon exchange	redeem
Donation	admin_adjustment
Return / cancellation	return

Every burn event reduces the customer's balance immediately. On a return, the balance is fully restored with the original expiry dates. See Returns.