Overview
This article outlines how AIQ automatically modifies customer loyalty points, including automatic point adjustments, block adjustments, and other points modifiers such as boosts, multipliers, and zero-points rules. These mechanisms are designed to maintain accurate balances and prevent negative customer experiences. If you notice unexpected point changes, this guide will help you understand why they occur and how AIQ handles them. For configuration changes or advanced custom logic, contact your AIQ account representative or support team.
Prerequisites:
Loyalty PRO is required to use points multipliers
Block Adjustments
Why Block adjustments Occur
When a customer’s points balance becomes negative, AIQ automatically applies a block adjustment, which is a system-generated correction that resets the balance to zero. Block adjustments do not represent earned or redeemed points—they are protective system actions designed to prevent customers from seeing or experiencing a negative points balance. If you would like to disable this behavior, contact your AIQ Customer Success representative.
How customers can become points negative
Persona Un-merges
File uploads containing negative points totals for personas (legacy points)
Negative points imported from previous loyalty systems
Points expiring
Changes to points expiration logic
Changes to points accrual logic
Your POS integration is removed or updated
All Persona data shared from that connection, including transactions, will be removed.
Other Integrations Changes
only a customer’s redemptions may remain available to AIQ if we lose access to an integration syncing persona data. this can create a negative balance AIQ will automatically adjust.
Other AIQ Performed Points Modifiers
Various points modifiers can be made by AIQ through the Audiences feature to allow for multiplying the amount of points earned during a purchase, boosting those points, or even give “Zero Points” for specific transactions:
Boosts
Points boosts gift the customer a specific set number of points
Points boosts can also be given to customers when they enter the “boosted” audience without needing a qualifying transaction
Points “gifted” via campaigns are treated as boosts
Boosts are given out once a persona is in the audience, they cannot earn a boost again for the same exact audience ID.
Multipliers
Multiplies the points earned from a transaction
Gifts a variable amount of points, based on the customer transaction total points earned and the multiplier set at the audience level
Zero Points Modifiers
The Zero Points modifier prevents customers from earning loyalty points for qualifying transactions that occur while they meet the audience criteria and within any date range defined in the “Modify points for contacts in this audience” settings.
How it works:
If a date range is set:
Customers who make qualifying purchases during that date range will earn 0 points for those transactions.
After the date range ends, purchases made outside of that range will once again accrue points normally.
If no date range is set:
The Zero Points modifier will apply indefinitely for any customer who meets the audience criteria, until the modifier is removed or the customer no longer qualifies for the audience.
The modifier is sticky: meaning if customers qualified for the Zero Points audience before a date range was later added, those customers may remain blocked from earning points even after the date range expires.
Point Modifier Restriction
Modifier Type | Boost Points | Multiply Points | Zero Points |
Points Modifier | Fixed boost amount | Multiplier amount | Not applicable |
Date Restrictions | Restrict to personas who purchase within a defined date range | Restrict to personas who purchase within a defined date range | Restrict to personas who purchase within a defined date range |
Day / Time Restrictions | Not supported | Restrict to specific days or happy hour time windows | Not supported |
Transaction Modifiers | Not supported | Purchased: -Brand -Category -Payment Method -AIQ Store IDs | Purchased: -Brand -SKU -AIQ Store IDs |
Boosts, Multipliers, and Points Zeroing events are “Sticky”.
This means the adjusted points:
Do not expire
Are not recalculated in the case of a full or partial refund
Custom Points Logic
Accounts subscribed to Loyalty at the Enterprise level have additional custom logic options available.
Reach out to your AIQ Success Manager or our support team for more information on implementing custom logic for your Enterprise Loyalty subscription.
Custom expiration logic available for:
Legacy points
Automatic points blocks
Audience points adjustments
Custom points redemption and depletion logic
Points Modifier FAQs
I'm seeing a lot of recent block points adjustments, why did this happen?
One example may be IF you've changed your points expiration start date (or removed it altogether), every single sale before the date set (or all, if date removed) will then be eligible for points expirations. If you also change your 'Days until points expire', that can result in many block adjustments happening.
We show a double confirmation on the save for loyalty changes for this reason - be careful, you have been warned!!