Stamp Card, Points, or Discount: Which Loyalty Program Fits Your Restaurant?

There are three common ways to build a restaurant loyalty program: stamps per visit, points per dollar spent, and a flat discount on every visit. All three work. The question is which one fits your check size, your team, and what you're trying to achieve.

Here are the differences in plain terms, plus a simple rule for choosing.

The short answer

• If your check is similar every visit (coffee, tacos, lunch spots, bakeries): stamps.
• If checks vary a lot between guests (seafood, steakhouse, family restaurant): points per dollar.
• If you want to reward a fixed group (nearby office workers, neighbors, members): always-on discount.

When in doubt, start with stamps. It's the mechanic your guests already know.

Stamp card

How it works: one visit, one stamp. When the card is full (say, 8 stamps), the guest earns the reward.

Pros

• Understood in one second.
• Servers just scan; no amounts to enter.
• Great for building a return habit.

Cons

• Rewards the $8 guest the same as the $80 guest.
• Needs rules (a wait time, a minimum spend) so nobody earns stamps with a soda.

Tip: a small reward halfway and 1 or 2 welcome stamps make the card feel within reach.

Points per dollar

How it works: every dollar spent earns points (say, 1 point per dollar), and reaching the goal (say, 500 points) earns the reward.

Pros

• Rewards bigger spenders more.
• Fair when checks vary a lot between tables.

Cons

• Guests have to do math to know how close they are.
• Servers enter the bill amount before scanning, one extra step at every checkout.

Tip: pick a goal your regulars reach in 4 to 6 visits. If the goal feels far away, nobody chases it.

Always-on discount

How it works: there's no goal and no final reward. The guest shows the card and gets the same discount on every visit (say, 10%).

Pros

• Perfect for partnerships: offices, schools, nearby hotels.
• Zero friction: every visit is rewarded.

Cons

• Doesn't create much urgency to come back soon.
• Cuts your margin on every check, not just at the end.

Tip: use it for a specific group, not as your program for the general public.

Quick decision table

Similar check every visit

• Stamps

Highly variable checks

• Points per dollar

Partnership with a fixed group

• Always-on discount

Many short visits (café, breakfast)

• Stamps with a 6 to 10 goal and a wait time between stamps

Few high-check visits (dinners, events)

• Points, with a goal reachable in a few visits

Can I switch mechanics later?

Yes, but carefully. Switching from stamps to points midway confuses guests who were already making progress. If you switch, honor rewards already earned and give guests notice.

What if I have several locations?

You can run one card per location or a single shared card. With a shared card, guests earn stamps at any location and you see all your members in one place.

How Westify handles it

Westify's loyalty card has all three modes: stamps, points per dollar, and always-on discount. You pick one, set the goal and the reward, and your team stamps from their phones. It's included on Growth and Enterprise, and it's a $7.99 USD a month add-on per location on Basic. Plans: westify.app/pricing

See Westify's loyalty card: westify.app/loyalty-card

Work out what your reward costs: westify.app/tools/loyalty-reward-calculator

Related: westify.app/blog/how-to-start-restaurant-loyalty-program and westify.app/blog/restaurant-loyalty-program-reward-ideas