--- title: "Loyalty Rewards glossary" slug: "loyalty-rewards-glossary" updated: 2026-03-06T19:05:13Z published: 2026-03-06T19:05:13Z --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.skio.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Loyalty Rewards glossary > [!NOTE] > This glossary covers the key terms and concepts used across Skio's Loyalty features, including tiers, credits, rewards, and referrals. Use it as a reference when configuring your loyalty program or reviewing analytics. ## A ### Anniversary credits A credit reward earned once per year on the anniversary of a customer's loyalty membership. Configured under global credit earning rules. ### Available (reward state) A reward that's ready to be applied. Rewards with no expiration stay in this state indefinitely until they're used. ### Applied (reward state) A reward that was successfully applied to an order or subscription. ## B ### Birthday credits A credit reward earned once per year on the customer's birthday. Requires the customer to have a date of birth on file. ## C ### Cancel Flow A feature in Skio that helps you reduce churn by presenting targeted offers, like discounts, pauses, or product swaps, when customers attempt to cancel their subscription. Learn more about [Cancel Flow here](/help/docs/getting-started-with-cancel-flows). ### Create Account credits Credits automatically awarded when a customer signs up for a loyalty account. ### Credit (variable order credit) A reward type where customers earn credits proportional to how much they spend. You configure this as a number of credits per $1 spent (for example, "5 credits per $1 spent"). Reward type: `CREDIT`. ### Credit (fixed order credit) A reward type where customers earn a flat number of credits per order, regardless of order value. For example, "50 credits per order." Reward type: `FIXED_CREDIT`. ### Credit application type The source of a credit change in a customer's account. Common types include `ORDER_REWARD`, `BIRTHDAY`, `EXPIRED`, `REFERRAL`, and `CREDITS_PER_DOLLAR_SPENT`. ### Credit delta The change amount in a single credit transaction. A positive value means credits were earned; a negative value means credits were spent or expired. ### Credit expiration An optional setting that causes unused credits to expire after a configured number of months. When credits expire, a negative credit delta is recorded with the `EXPIRED` application type. ### Credit history A log of all credit transactions for a given customer, including credits earned, spent, and expired. Each entry includes the credit delta and application type. ### Credit multiplier A reward type that multiplies the credits a customer earns from other credit rewards. For example, a "2x credits" multiplier on a Gold tier doubles the credits earned per order. Configured with a multiplier value. ### Credit redemption The process of spending accumulated credits. Customers can redeem credits in a few ways: as a Shopify discount code applied at checkout, as a direct credit applied to an existing subscription, or as a product. > [!WARNING] > *Product* redemptions are only available to customers with an active subscription. Customers without an active subscription can still redeem credits for a discount code at checkout. ### Credits name A merchant-customizable label for your loyalty currency. You can rename "**credits**" to anything that fits your brand, like "**Points**" or "**Stars**." ### Credits per dollar spent A global earning rule (not tied to a specific tier) where customers earn credits proportional to their order spend across the site. Configured as a rate, such as "`5 credits per $1 spent.`" ### Custom action credits Credits earned through a merchant-defined earning action. Use this for non-standard engagement you want to reward, like completing a quiz or attending an event. ## D ### Date of birth credits A one-time credit reward given when a customer enters their date of birth for the first time. This is separate from recurring birthday credits. ### Discount (reward type) A reward type that applies a percentage or fixed-value discount to subscription orders. Configured with a `discountType` (`PERCENTAGE` or `FIXED`) and a `discountValue` (for example, "`10% off`" or "`$5 off`"). ## E ### Exclusive content (reward type) A reward type that grants access to gated content. This has no monetary value and is display-only, used to create a sense of exclusivity within higher tiers. ## F ### Failed (reward state) A reward state indicating that the system attempted to apply the reward but the application was unsuccessful. ### Fixed credit A reward type where customers earn a flat number of credits per order, regardless of order value. For example, "`50 credits per order`." Reward type: `FIXED_CREDIT`. ### Free product (reward type) A reward type that adds a free product variant to the customer's subscription. Configured with a list of eligible product variant IDs. ### Free shipping (reward type) A reward type that removes shipping costs from qualifying orders. No additional configuration is required. ## G ### Give credit A legacy implementation of the fixed credit reward type. Functionally equivalent to fixed credit. Reward type: `GIVE_CREDIT`. Grouped with credit and fixed credit under the `ORDER_CREDIT_REWARDS` category. ### Global credit earning rules Site-wide ways customers earn credits, independent of tier membership. These include earning actions like create account, credits per dollar spent, birthday, date of birth, anniversary, review, newsletter signup, SMS opt-in, custom action, and referral. ## M ### Max credits per order A cap on how many credits a customer can redeem in a single order. Use this to control the maximum discount customers can generate through credit redemption. ### Min cart value for redemption The minimum order value required before a customer can redeem credits. This prevents customers from using credits on very small orders. ## N ### Newsletter signup credits Credits earned when a customer subscribes to your email newsletter. ## O ### On cycle (reward timing) A reward timing setting where the reward fires on a specific order number within the customer's current tier. For example, you can configure a reward to fire on the customer's 3rd order in a tier. ### Once joining tier (reward timing) A reward timing setting where the reward fires once, immediately when the customer enters a tier. Useful for welcome rewards or tier upgrade bonuses. ### Any order (reward timing) A reward timing setting where the reward fires on every qualifying order while the customer remains in the tier. Stored internally as `tierCycle = -1`. ### Order credit rewards A grouping that includes all three credit-based reward types: credit (variable), fixed credit, and give credit (legacy). ## P ### Product for credits Specific product variants configured to be redeemable with credits. This lets you offer products that customers can "purchase" using their loyalty currency instead of money. ## R ### Recurring (reward order scope) A reward scope setting that limits the reward to subscription renewal orders only. ### One-time (reward order scope) A reward scope setting that limits the reward to one-time checkout orders only. ### Recurring and one-time (reward order scope) A reward scope setting that applies the reward to both subscription renewals and one-time checkout orders. ### Referral credits Credits earned when a customer successfully refers a new customer through the referral program. ### Review credits Credits earned when a customer submits a product review. ### Reward milestone A reward that unlocks at a specific order number. For example, you might configure a free product on a customer's 5th order. ### Reward order scope Determines which order types a reward applies to. Options are: recurring only, one-time only, or both recurring and one-time. ### Reward state The current status of a reward for a given customer. Possible states are available, applied, or failed. ### Reward timing Controls when a reward fires relative to a customer's tier membership. Options include once joining tier, on cycle, and any order. ## S ### Site currency to credit rate The conversion rate between your store's currency and loyalty credits. This determines how much each credit is "worth" when redeemed. ### SMS opt-in credits Credits earned when a customer opts into receiving SMS messages. ### [Surprise & Delight](/help/docs/how-to-set-up-a-surprise-delight-rule) A feature in Skio for configuring [reward milestones](/help/docs/reward-milestones-guide), which are rewards unlocked at specific order numbers to increase retention and customer lifetime value. ## T ### Tier cycle The order count within a customer's current tier, starting at 1. This value determines when `ON_CYCLE` rewards fire. For example, if a reward is set to fire on cycle 3, it triggers on the customer's 3rd order within that tier. ### Tier expiration A background job that expires a customer's tier membership after a configured period. When a tier expires, the customer may be moved to a lower tier or removed from the tier system. ### Tier level A named loyalty rank within your program, such as Silver, Gold, or Platinum. Each tier level has its own set of associated rewards and benefits. ### Tier sync A background process that evaluates customers against your tier criteria and promotes or demotes them between tiers accordingly. ## U ### Unlocked (milestone state) Indicates that a customer has reached the required order number and earned a reward milestone. ### Upcoming (milestone state) A milestone the customer hasn't reached yet. Displayed to the customer as motivation to continue purchasing. ## V ### Variable order credit A reward type where customers earn credits proportional to how much they spend. You configure this as a number of credits per $1 spent (for example, "5 credits per $1 spent"). Reward type: `CREDIT`. Cancel Flow is a feature in Skio that helps you reduce churn by presenting targeted offers—like discounts, pauses, or product swaps—when customers attempt to cancel their subscription.