One BonusPoints or cashback
Updated 31 August 2026
Points and cashback are the same mechanism wearing different clothes: both credit a balance on a purchase and let the customer spend it later. What differs is the unit — a point, or money — and that changes what the customer believes about it.
The accounting is nearly identical
Both accrue on a percentage of the bill, both create a liability the business carries until it is spent, both expire, and both are only paid out when the customer returns. There is no meaningful difference on the ledger.
The only structural difference is where the value can be spent. Bank cashback goes to an account and is spendable anywhere; a shop’s own cashback comes back to that shop. Only the second one is a loyalty program.
Where cashback wins
Clarity. A balance of four thousand dram needs no explanation. A balance of four thousand points needs the customer to know the conversion rate, and if they do not, the number means nothing to them.
That matters most where customers are new to the idea, or where a program has to be explained in a queue, in three languages, by staff who change every few months.
Where points win
Flexibility. A point can buy things money cannot: a specific reward, a coupon, entry to a level, a free item that is worth more to the customer than its cost to you. Once value is denominated in money, everything becomes a discount.
Points also let a business be generous in ways that read well without being expensive — a bonus of five hundred points sounds like something; five hundred dram sounds like small change, even when they are worth exactly the same.
The design that gets both
Set one point equal to one dram. The balance reads as money, so nobody has to convert anything, and the business keeps the ability to award points for things that are not purchases and to price rewards in points.
That is how it runs on One Bonus by default: a points program with a one-to-one value, which customers read as cashback and businesses use as points.
Common questions
Is cashback the same as loyalty points?
Mechanically, almost. Both credit a balance on a purchase, spent on a later one. The difference is that cashback is denominated in money, so its value is self-evident, while points need a conversion rate the customer has to know.
Which should I offer, points or cashback?
Offer points valued at one point per dram. The customer reads the balance as money, which is cashback’s advantage, and you keep the ability to price rewards and coupons in points, which is points’ advantage.
Can bank cashback replace a shop loyalty program?
No. Bank cashback is spendable anywhere, so it rewards the customer for using the card, not for choosing your shop. A loyalty balance is only spendable with you, which is the entire mechanism by which it brings anyone back.
Run it as points, show it as money
Read next
- Loyalty programsPoints, stamps, levels, discounts, cashback, coupons and referrals — what each mechanic rewards, who it suits, and how to pick one for a business in Armenia.
- Bonus programsHow each kind of bonus program works and which one fits a business: points on spend, stamp cards, levels, coupons and referrals. Run any of them on One Bonus.
- Discount programsWhen a discount beats points, when it does not, and how to pick a percentage or a fixed amount. Discounts on One Bonus are recorded, so a campaign can be measured.
- CashbackWhat a cashback program returns, how the percentage is set, and where cashback beats a straight discount. Run cashback as points on One Bonus and measure what returns.
- Stamp cardsHow a digital stamp card works, how many stamps to ask for, and why paper punch cards leak. Every stamp on One Bonus is recorded against the customer, not the card.
- Points systemHow to set an earn rate, what a point should be worth at the till, and how expiry and minimum redemption change behaviour. The arithmetic behind a points program.
- Tiers and levelsHow a tier program lifts spend, where to put the thresholds, and what each level should actually give. Levels on One Bonus rank on lifetime points, not the current balance.
- CouponsWhen a coupon works better than a standing discount, how to price one in points, and how to stop a coupon being used twice. Coupons on One Bonus are redeemed once.