Loyalty program Tiered Cashback

Tiered Cashback

Higher Spend, Higher Cashback — Automatically

BonusQR's tiered cashback program rewards customers with a higher cashback % as they climb tiers (e.g. Bronze 2% → Silver 4% → Gold 6%), credited as store credit on every payment. It's fast, automatic, and easy to use. Customers show their loyalty QR code, your staff scans it, enters the bill, and the right tier's credit is instantly added. Once enough is collected, customers can pay with their credit. A proven way to boost customer loyalty and drive more return visits.

Familiar to All

Rewards for Everyone

Highly Motivating

Watch & learn

See how tiered cashback works

A short explainer on how tiered cashback rewards turn occasional buyers into loyal, higher-spending regulars.

See how tiered cashback works
Tiered Cashback

What is a tiered cashback loyalty program?

A tiered cashback loyalty program rewards customers with a percentage of their spend back — and the percentage grows as customers move up to higher tiers.

Instead of giving every customer a flat 2% back, you set tiers based on cumulative spend or visits. A new customer might start at 1% cashback in the Bronze tier, climb to 3% in Silver after reaching a spend threshold, and unlock 5% in Gold for your most loyal regulars. With BonusQR, the cashback balance lives directly in the customer's mobile wallet pass — no plastic card, no separate app to download. Customers see their tier, current balance and progress toward the next level every time they open their Apple Wallet or Google Wallet.

Tiered cashback loyalty program shown inside a mobile wallet pass

What can be set up in loyalty program tiered Cashback?

01
Pick a Program

Choose between a simple cashback or a tiered loyalty program – the more loyal the customer, the higher their cashback.

02
Create Your Own Tiers

Set your own cashback levels, for example: Basic: 5% Gold: 10% Platinum: 20%.

03
Define the Rules

Define how much a customer needs to spend to move up a level and earn more credit.

💡 Pro tip: Learn how to design a points program that boosts repeat visits and revenue in our blog: Read BLOG.

Why tiered cashback works

Tiered cashback combines the simplicity of a percentage refund with the motivation of clear progress milestones — celebrating customers at every level they reach.

Higher average spend

Customers close to the next tier tend to add one more item to qualify for a higher cashback rate — lifting the average basket without you discounting.

Rewards your best customers most

Top spenders unlock the highest cashback rate, so the people who matter most to your revenue feel recognised — not treated the same as a one-time visitor.

Always-visible progress

The wallet pass shows current tier, cashback balance and how far is left to the next level — every glance at the phone is a soft reminder to come back.

Built-in retention

Earned cashback and an earned tier are reasons not to switch to a competitor. Customers don't want to start from scratch somewhere else.

Predictable margin

You define each tier's percentage, so you know your maximum cost per customer. Cashback is a controllable line item, not an open-ended giveaway.

Easy to communicate

"Spend more, get more back" is a sentence anyone understands in two seconds — no point-to-currency conversion, no expiry confusion.

Customer’s perspective of Tiered Cashback loyalty module

Customer’s perspective of
Tiered Cashback - loyalty module

  • Customers always see their current cashback percentage.
  • With tiered cashback, they also see how much more they need to spend to reach the next level.
  • They can check their credit balance anytime and use it instantly to pay.
How will your employees see Tiered Cashback loyalty program

How will your employees see
loyalty program: tiered cashback

  • Scan and Enter Amount: Staff scans the customer’s loyalty QR code and enters the bill total – the cashback is added automatically.
  • Scan to Redeem: When a customer wants to pay with credit, they show a special credit redemption QR code, and staff quickly checks and deducts the available credit.
  • Staff-Friendly: Everything is clear and easy – cashback is automatically calculated, and staff see a success message - no extra training needed.
Manager’s view of Tiered Cashback

Manager’s view of
Tiered Cashback

  • Customer Credit Balance: See a full overview of each customer’s credit balance – with the ability to adjust it.
  • Cashback Overview: Track total cashback earned and redeemed by all customers.
  • Reports, Stats & History: Access detailed customer visit history, payment records, credit usage, most active days, and helpful charts and tables to guide your strategy.

Tiered cashback vs. flat cashback vs. points

Three of the most common loyalty mechanics — here's how they actually behave in day-to-day operation and which one fits which type of business.

Flat cashback

Flat-rate cashback

Every customer gets the same percentage back — for example 2% on every purchase, no matter how much or how often they spend.

  • Very simple to explain and run
  • Predictable cost per transaction
  • Treats a once-a-year visitor the same as a weekly regular
Recommended

Tiered cashback

Cashback percentage grows as customers reach higher tiers based on cumulative spend or visits — Bronze, Silver, Gold and beyond.

  • Motivates customers to climb to the next level
  • Rewards your top spenders most generously
  • Still simple — "spend more, get more back"
Points

Points-based program

Customers earn points per purchase and redeem them for rewards or discounts from a catalogue you define.

  • Flexible — many reward options
  • Great for catalogue-style redemption
  • Conversion rate (points → value) is less intuitive
AspectFlat cashbackTiered cashbackPoints
Easy to understandVery easyEasyNeeds explanation
Rewards top customers moreNoYesPartially
Drives bigger basketsWeakStrongMedium
Cost predictabilityHighHighMedium

Tiered cashback works for these industries

Anywhere customers come back regularly and spend variable amounts, tiered cashback fits naturally.

Want to launch a loyalty program for your business?
Set it up in just a few minutes!

Loyalty program Tiered Cashback - suitable for industries

Why You Need a Loyalty APP?

  • Increase Repeat Visits
  • Enhance Sales & Customer Spend
  • Gain access to powerful features
See all features

Loyalty Programs

Choose the loyalty program that fits your business. Points collection, Stamps, Cashback, Rewards for regular visits, Discounts, Coupons ...

– it’s all up to you!

Analytics & Insights

Get to know your customers better. Track visit history, see which offers perform best, and identify your most loyal customers. Build your database and watch your business grow!

Push & Email Notifications

Stay on your customer’s minds. Send them regular updates and news, special discount coupons, or request feedback after repeat visits.

Coupons & Surprises

Automate promo coupon distribution for special occasions – Birthdays, Valentine’s Day, Childrens Day... Or boost sales with pre-sale coupon offers.

Important features of the loyalty application

Frequently asked questions

Everything small business owners usually ask before launching a tiered cashback loyalty program.

A simple example: a coffee shop sets three tiers — Bronze (any new customer, 1% cashback), Silver (after €100 of cumulative spend, 3% cashback) and Gold (after €300 spend, 5% cashback). Every purchase the customer makes earns cashback at their current tier, and the wallet pass shows progress to the next level. In BonusQR you define the thresholds and percentages yourself.

Tiered programs increase repeat visit rate and average basket size because customers have a visible reason to keep coming back to the same place — they don't want to lose progress toward (or fall out of) a higher tier. They also let you reward your best customers more generously without overpaying low-frequency ones, which keeps the program's cost under control.

Anything that scales with the customer's tier is a tiered benefit. Common examples: cashback percentage that rises from 1% to 5%, free birthday reward only for top tiers, early access to new products, priority booking, or a free welcome drink for Gold members. With BonusQR you can combine cashback tiers with perks like push-notification offers and special-occasion rewards.

No. BonusQR works fully standalone — your staff scans the customer's wallet QR code in the BonusQR business app, enters the purchase amount, and cashback is credited automatically at the customer's current tier. A POS integration is available as a separate custom project if you want it, but it is never required and never bundled into the plan price.

Customers add their loyalty pass to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet directly from a QR code — no app to download. The pass shows their current tier, cashback balance and how much spend is left to reach the next level. Every change updates in real time on the lock screen.

BonusQR has three plans: FREE FOREVER, BASIC at 19 €/month and PREMIUM at 69 €/month. You can launch and run a tiered cashback program on a paid plan; check the pricing page for the full feature comparison.

Ready to set up your own tiered cashback program?

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Want to launch a loyalty program for your business?
Set it up in just a few minutes!