Stamp Cards vs Loyalty Points – When to Use Which
Vendion has both stamp cards and loyalty points as retention tools. Both drive return visits, but they work differently and fit different restaurant types. Here is a guide to choose right — or combine both.
The two models in short:
| Stamp Cards | Loyalty Points | |
|---|---|---|
| Mechanic | Collect N stamps → fixed reward | Collect points per krona → flexible redemption |
| Guest's perception | "Buy 10, get 1 free" | "Earn 1 pt per krona, 100 pts = 10 kr discount" |
| Best for | Simple, repeated purchases (lunch, coffee) | Varied, higher amounts (à la carte, dinner) |
| Complexity | Low | Medium |
| Reward size | Fixed (100 % item) | Gradual (1 kr, 10 kr, 50 kr) |
| Guest's experience | "I know exactly what I get" | "I save for a discount" |
| Best suited for | Coffee, lunch, high-frequency products | Dinner, à la carte, premium |
When to choose stamp cards?
✅ Choose stamp cards if:
- You have a clear core product that recurs (lunch, coffee, pizza)
- Guests are regulars (lunch commuters, coffee takeaway)
- You want a simple mechanic everyone understands
- The reward is logically tied to a product ("the 11th lunch free")
- You prefer fixed cost per redeemed reward
Example restaurants that fit:
- Lunch spots (simple lunch passes)
- Cafés (coffee stamp cards)
- Pizzerias (pizza passes)
- Fast casual
When to choose loyalty points?
✅ Choose loyalty points if:
- Order value varies widely (from 150 kr lunch to 900 kr dinner)
- You want spend to be rewarded proportionally
- You want a tier system (Silver / Gold / Platinum)
- Guests are modern, expect digital loyalty (app, SMS notifications)
- You want finer control with earn multipliers, category exclusions, alcohol exclusion
Example restaurants that fit:
- À la carte restaurants
- Fine dining
- Bar & nightclub (with premium experience)
- Bar restaurants
- Hotel restaurants
Can you have both?
Yes — fully supported! Many restaurants run both in parallel:
Example: Café with both lunch and fika customers:
- Lunch Pass 10 (stamp card): buy 10 lunches → 1 free
- Café Rewards (loyalty points): 1 pt/kr, 100 pts = 10 kr discount
- Guest gets stamp for lunches + points for all purchases
- Double reward without confusion
Example: À la carte restaurant:
- Dinner Club 5 (stamp card): 5 dinner orders ≥ 400 kr → 1 starter on the house
- Gold tier loyalty: 1.5× earn on everything
- Both reward true regulars
What guests prefer — research:
According to retention studies:
- Stamp cards: Higher "emotional reward" — the guest gets a physical reward, feels special
- Loyalty points: Better for guests who visit irregularly but spend more each time
- Combined: Covers both "frequent visitors" and "big spenders"
Costs to calculate:
Stamp cards:
- Free item ≈ 25–40 % marginal cost of the product
- Easy to calculate per redemption
Loyalty points:
- Default 1 pt/kr + 100 pts = 10 kr discount → 1 % effective discount
- Max 50 % of order as discount → safety valve
- Alcohol excluded by default → protects margins
Recommendations per industry:
| Industry | Primary recommendation | Comp. |
|---|---|---|
| Café | Stamp cards (coffee) | Points (food) |
| Lunch restaurant | Stamp cards (lunch) | — |
| Pizzeria | Stamp cards (pizza) | Points (drinks/dessert) |
| À la carte | Loyalty points | Stamp cards for one signature dish |
| Fine dining | Loyalty points + tiers | — |
| Bar | Loyalty points | Stamp cards for cocktails |
| Food truck | Stamp cards | — |
| Fast food | Stamp cards | Points if advanced system |
My recommendation:
Start with one program. If unsure: choose stamp cards (simpler to launch). After you have data for 3 months — evaluate whether to add loyalty points.
See also:
- "Loyalty Program – Settings"
- "Stamp Cards – Settings and Rules"
- "Loyalty – Member Lifecycle"
This feature is part of Vendion Loyalty.
Curious how it looks in practice? Read more about the product or book a short demo.
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