Reward customers with loyalty points when they reach a subscription payment milestone. This earning rule tracks successful subscription billing attempts and awards points once the configured threshold is met.
How it works
This is a one-time award per subscription contract — after the milestone is reached, further payments on the same contract will not trigger additional points.
If the customer subscribes to a different product (creating a new subscription contract), the tracking starts fresh and they can earn the milestone reward again.
Flow
Customer subscribes to a product and their first payment is processed
Each successful payment increments the renewal counter for that specific subscription contract
When the counter reaches the threshold, points are awarded
Future payments on that contract are tracked but no longer award points
Note: The first subscription payment counts as renewal #1. Setting the threshold to 1 means points are awarded immediately when a customer first subscribes.
Form fields
Earning rule name
The display name shown to customers in the rewards center and sidebar widget. Keep it descriptive so customers understand what they need to do.
Example: "Subscribe & Save Bonus" or "Loyalty Subscription Reward"
Points to award
The number of loyalty points the customer receives when the milestone is reached. This is the base amount before any VIP tier multipliers or bonus campaign multipliers are applied.
Subscription renewal threshold
The number of successful subscription payments required before points are awarded. This counts all successful billing attempts, including the very first payment when the customer initially subscribes. (E.g. set to 5 if a customer needs to be make 5 subscription payments to receive their reward)
Approval time
An optional delay (in days) before points are credited to the customer's balance. Use this to add a buffer period for refunds or cancellations. When set to 0, points are awarded instantly. It's recommended to set to at least 30+ days to allow time for returns/refunds.
Real-world examples
Example 1: Reward on first subscription
A coffee brand wants to give customers 100 points just for subscribing to their monthly coffee delivery.
Setting | Value |
Name | Subscribe & Earn 100 Points |
Points to award | 100 |
Renewal threshold | 1 |
Approval time | 0 days |
Result: The customer subscribes, their first payment processes, and they immediately receive 100 points. No further points are awarded for subsequent monthly payments on that subscription.
Example 2: Reward loyal subscribers after 6 months
A skincare brand wants to reward customers who stay subscribed for 6 months (6 monthly payments) with a generous 500-point bonus.
Setting | Value |
Name | 6-Month Subscriber Reward |
Points to award | 500 |
Renewal threshold | 6 |
Approval time | 7 days |
Result: The customer's subscription renews monthly. After the 6th successful payment, 500 points become pending. After the 7-day approval window, the points are added to their balance. If the customer cancels before reaching 6 payments, no points are awarded.
Important notes
One-time per contract: Points are awarded once per subscription contract. Subsequent payments after the milestone continue to be tracked but do not award additional points.
Independent tracking per product: Each subscription contract is tracked independently. If a customer subscribes to multiple products, each subscription has its own renewal counter.
Cancellation and resubscription: If a customer cancels and later resubscribes to the same product, a new subscription contract is created and the counter starts fresh.
VIP tier multipliers: If VIP tiers are enabled and the customer's tier has a points multiplier, the multiplier is applied on top of the base points. For example, 100 base points with a 2x Gold tier multiplier = 200 points awarded.
Bonus campaigns: If an active bonus campaign includes this earning rule, the campaign multiplier is also applied.
Points expiry: If the store has a points expiry policy, the awarded points will follow the standard expiry rules.
Supported subscription apps: This works with any subscription app that uses Shopify's native subscription billing system (e.g., Shopify Subscriptions, Skio).