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Benefits overview

In short

Benefits are the member-side assets Smart Campaigns can issue and members can hold in their wallet. Two kinds: Gifts (single-use rewards — a 20% coupon, a free menu item, a 10€ credit) and Punch cards (cumulative cards — buy 8 coffees, get the 9th free). Both are built once under Benefits and then referenced from a Rule's Send asset or Punch a punch card action. The Rule issues the asset; the Benefit defines what the asset is and what it does when redeemed.

A Benefit is the thing a member earns and holds. A Smart Campaign is the flow that decides who earns it, when, and how. The two are deliberately decoupled: the same Gift template can be issued by a birthday Rule, a thank-you Rule, and a one-shot Future Campaign — all referencing the one Benefit, with one set of artwork, one validity window, one redemption mechanic.

This page is the map for the Benefits section. For step-by-step authoring, see Gifts and Punch cards.

Two kinds of Benefits​

  • Gifts — single-use redeemable assets. The member receives one and either redeems it or lets it expire. Examples: Happy Birthday — 20% coupon, Welcome — 10€ off your first order, Anniversary — free menu. See Gifts.
  • Punch cards — cumulative cards. The member receives an empty card and accumulates punches over multiple visits; when the card fills, it becomes itself a redeemable reward. Examples: 9th coffee free (buy 8 punches, the 9th is on the house), Tarjeta Burger 10+1. See Punch cards.

Both kinds have their own wizard with the same four steps — Benefit details, When, Actions, Preview — but the field shape on each step differs to fit what the asset needs.

Where Benefits live​

A Benefit lives in three places:

  • Under Benefits in the management panel — where you author and edit the template (see Gifts / Punch cards).
  • In the member's wallet — once a Smart Campaign issues the Benefit to a member, the member's wallet (Web App + Wallet Pass) shows the asset. The artwork, name, and description from the Benefit template are what the member sees.
  • In the campaign's action configuration — Rules that issue Benefits do so by referencing a Benefit by name. The campaign carries the pointer; the Benefit carries the content.

Editing a Benefit propagates to every campaign that references it on the next firing — the same reference-not-snapshot pattern as Comm. Templates.

How Smart Campaigns use Benefits​

Two actions in the Smart Campaigns Actions catalog reach into Benefits:

  • Send asset — issues a Gift (or any other Benefit asset) to the member. Used by Birthday Gift Rules, anniversary Rules, welcome Rules, one-off VIP launches.
  • Punch a punch card — adds a punch to a member's active card; auto-issues an empty card if the member doesn't have one yet. Used by accumulation Rules tied to a qualifying purchase event.

Neither action creates a Benefit — both reference one that already exists. If the Benefit isn't built yet, the action can't be configured. Build the Benefit first, then the campaign.

Note: Deals don't touch Benefits. A Deal applies a discount at the till; it doesn't issue assets, doesn't add credits, doesn't tag the member. If you want a price reduction and a member-visible asset out of the same flow, that's a Deal plus a Rule.

Lifecycle​

Benefits use the same status workflow as Smart Campaigns and Comm. Templates:

  • Active — the Benefit is available to be referenced and issued.
  • Future — saved but not yet in use; staged for a launch date.
  • Draft — saved but inert; won't be referenceable from a campaign action.
  • Paused — temporarily inert. Issuance Rules that target a Paused Benefit fire as no-ops — see below.

A Benefit that's Paused can't be issued by Smart Campaign actions, even if the action is configured to reference it — the Rule fires, but the Send asset call is a no-op. Plan pauses around live campaigns.

Validity and redemption windows​

Each Benefit carries its own validity rules, set on Step 2 of its wizard:

  • Expires on / Expires after — when the Benefit itself stops being valid. Expires on 2031-04-13 fixes a calendar date; Expires after N days gives every issued copy a rolling expiry from issue date.
  • Member can redeem starting — when the member can first use the Benefit. Immediately is the default; you can also delay (starting N days after receiving) for "available next visit" patterns.
  • Member can redeem up to — the redemption window's end. N days/weeks after receiving is typical; longer windows for slower-cadence businesses.

These windows are member-side, set per-Benefit, and apply to every issued copy.

Cross-references from Smart Campaigns​

The following playbooks already depend on Benefits being built first:

  • Birthday Gift — references a Gift (the birthday gift itself) and an SMS template.
  • Punch card: 9th coffee free — references a Punch card (the Tarjeta Café 8+1 card). The card is the reward; the Rule just adds punches to it.

Each of those playbooks tells the reader "the asset already exists" as a prerequisite. This section is where they go to make it exist.