Loyalty points are promotional rewards that banks provide to their customers for transactions made with a credit card, tracked on a card/customer basis.
Banks charge merchants a commission for card transactions made through POS terminals. For example, on a 100 TL transaction made with a credit card, the merchant's bank (the bank that owns the POS terminal) charges the merchant a commission of around 2%-3%. When the transaction is ONUS (meaning the card-issuing bank and the POS bank are the same), the POS bank does not pay a clearing commission. Some banks give a portion of the commission they would otherwise pay to the POS bank back to the cardholder as a gift, under names such as points, bonus, or chip money. This way, cardholders accumulate points as they shop and can use these points on their next purchases.
Is the amount of points given the same for every transaction?
No, it is not. Points earned on Onus transactions are generally higher than those earned on Not Onus transactions. The amount of points earned varies according to many criteria.
Let's take a look at how earning points works:
The points a card will earn are managed within the card-issuing bank's authorization system.
Within the card-issuing bank, points earning depends on:
- Whether the card was processed through its own bank's POS terminal (banks generally award higher points for transactions processed through their own POS terminals)
- The type of transaction performed (mail order, sale, installment sale, etc.)
- Whether there is a points agreement with the merchant where the transaction took place (for example, giving an extra 1% in points for every 100 TL spent at Migros, etc.)
- Whether points were used in the transaction (banks generally do not award points on points; points are only earned on the amount charged to the card), and other similar criteria.
When earning points, you should pay attention to whether the points you earn have an expiration period. Otherwise, the points you earn may be reclaimed after a certain period, and you may not be able to use them.
