Toast Loyalty FAQ

Last updated: May 12, 2026, 1:10 PM

Common questions and answers about Toast Loyalty — enrollment, earning and redeeming points, managing your program, and resolving issues.

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In This Article:

Before You Contact Customer Care

Several common loyalty issues require Customer Care because the resolution needs account-level access, backend correction, or permissions you don't have on your own account. If your issue matches any of the rows below, contact Customer Care directly — these aren't self-service.

IssueWhy Customer Care is needed
A guest's redemption is stuck (points not deducting after Redeem is selected)Requires backend transaction unlock
A birthday reward applied twice on a single checkRequires duplicate-discount cleanup at the account level
You need to remove every linked credit card from a guest's loyalty account at onceBulk credit-card removal isn't available in the merchant UI
You need to manually adjust a balance and don't have 3.3 Gift Card Adjustment + 4.4 Gift Rewards Card Reports permissionsRequires permission granted from business user with permission 8.2 or agent-side adjustment
You're importing loyalty members from a previous POSFile-format validation and bulk import is performed by Customer Care; see Importing Loyalty Information

Account and Enrollment Questions

Can a guest use their gift card as their Toast Loyalty card?

Yes. Any Toast gift card can be registered as a loyalty card. All cards in Toast can serve a dual function and contain both a cash balance and loyalty points — the balances are stored separately within the system. A loyalty card can also have cash value added to it to be used as a gift card.

 

Can a Toast eGift card with zero balance be used as a loyalty card?

Yes — a Toast eGift card with a zero balance can be registered as a Toast Loyalty card. Any gift card can be linked to a loyalty account regardless of its current balance.

 

Does a guest have to use a gift card when registering for Toast Loyalty?

No. A physical card is not required to register, but the guest must provide an email address or phone number to enroll. For all the ways guests can sign up, see Enroll Guests in Toast Loyalty.

 

Can my guests register for Toast Loyalty from their digital receipt?

Yes. Guests can register for a loyalty account directly from a link at the bottom of their digital receipt. For details on the digital-receipt enrollment flow and how to enable signup on terminals, kiosks, and Toast Go®, see Enroll Guests in Toast Loyalty.

 

Can I add loyalty accounts by uploading a CSV file?

Yes — Customer Care can upload loyalty accounts on your behalf using the file format described in Importing Loyalty Information. To start, contact Customer Care with your file ready.

 

My guest's physical gift card number doesn't match their rewards account number. How do I fix this?

The number on a physical gift card does not need to match the rewards account number for the two to be linked. You'll know a card is linked to an account because the customer profile (phone number and email address) appears when you look up the account by card swipe on your terminal.

If matching numbers are important for your business:

  • For new accounts: prompt the guest to use the digital-receipt workflow, pay with the active gift card, and then sign up for their Toast Loyalty account on the guest-facing display. This results in a single matching number.
  • For existing accounts: change the loyalty account number to match the physical card number using the steps in Merge Reward Balances. Use the loyalty account number as the Old Card Number and the physical gift card number as the New Card Number.

Note: Using the Register Card function on the POS to link a gift card to a new Toast Loyalty account creates a virtual gift card number in the system that will not match the number on the physical gift card (the two will still be linked). If matching numbers matter to you, use the digital-receipt workflow above for new accounts and the merge-balances process for existing accounts.

 

I have owner permissions but I can't configure Loyalty for my location. What should I do?

First, confirm your location belongs to a group for which you have owner permissions. You must also be the account's primary user, financial contact, or owner contact. If you are, learn to rearrange your locations in groups in Create, View, and Edit Location Groups.

If you are not the primary user, financial contact, or owner contact, start a chat with Customer Care so they can help arrange your location groups properly to grant you Loyalty management.

 

Can one guest use multiple credit cards, emails, or phone numbers on a single Toast Loyalty account?

Multiple credit cards can be linked to a single loyalty account, but only one email or phone number and one customer profile can be used per account. To verify or remove individual linked credit cards, see Verify or Remove Linked Credit Cards From a Rewards Account.

 

Why can't I find a loyalty account I just created in the Loyalty Members list?

Newly enrolled accounts can take a short time to sync before they appear in the Loyalty Members list. If the account still doesn't appear after a few minutes, the enrollment may not have completed. For diagnostic steps, see Missing Toast Loyalty Account.

 

Earning Points

Can my guests use their loyalty account with Toast Online Ordering and Kiosk?

Yes. Guests can sign up for Toast Loyalty when creating an Online Ordering account or finishing a transaction on a kiosk, and they accrue points on those orders going forward. For setup details, see How Guests Earn Points With Toast Loyalty and Enroll Guests in Toast Loyalty.

 

If I discount an item, do guests earn points before or after the discount is applied?

Loyalty points are earned on the post-discount, pre-tax amount for all items.

 

Will a guest earn loyalty points by purchasing a gift card?

No — guests don't earn loyalty points from purchasing a gift card. They can earn points when paying with that gift card if the items they're buying are eligible for loyalty.

 

When will a guest's birthday reward be added to their account?

A birthday reward becomes available on the guest's account 24 hours after they add their birthday information to their loyalty account. The reward is not added to their points balance — it is applied as an automatic discount when the guest makes an in-store purchase. For full birthday-reward timing rules and guest-side notifications, see Manage Birthday Rewards.

 

Can guests with separate loyalty accounts earn points on a shared order?

Yes. To split loyalty points on a single order across multiple loyalty accounts, split the check, not the payment. Splitting the payment can prevent points from accruing properly. For step-by-step splitting guidance, see How Guests Earn Points With Toast Loyalty.

 

Will guests earn a visit when they redeem points?

Yes — a guest will earn a visit on a redemption transaction as long as their order amount reaches or exceeds the minimum spend you have configured for visit accrual.

 

Can I limit how many visits a guest can accrue in a single day?

No — visit-accrual limiting is not available at this time.

 

If I run double-point days, am I giving even more away?

No. When a guest qualifies for multiple double-point promotions at the same time, Toast automatically applies the one that gives them the most points. Promotions don't stack — guests always receive the single highest reward on a purchase, never the sum.

 

Why isn't my customer earning points even though their card is linked?

If a guest's credit card is linked to their loyalty account but they're not earning points on a transaction, check the following:

  1. Confirm the card was actually charged on the order — points only accrue on completed transactions.
  2. Confirm the items purchased aren't excluded from your loyalty program. Gift card purchases never earn points (see Will a guest earn loyalty points by purchasing a gift card?). Some restaurants also exclude specific menu items from loyalty.
  3. Confirm the card on file is the one currently being used. To confirm that the card is on your guest's loyalty account, see Manage Linked Credit Cards on a Loyalty Account.
  4. If none of the above resolves the issue, the points may not have synced. Try Resync All Data on Your Devices and check the receipt again.
  5. If points still don't appear after resync, contact Customer Care — backend correction may be required.

Redeeming Rewards

Where can I buy the Zebra hands-free scanner, and how do I set it up?

The Zebra hands-free scanner isn't available on the online Toast Shop today — your Toast representative can place the order for you directly.

For setup and use, see the Use a Scanner and Set Up Your Scanner sections of Set up and Use a Scanner.

 

Yes. All locations with an active Toast Loyalty module can be searched for in the Local by Toast app, and guests can see their loyalty progress at those locations directly in the app.

 

Can I remove a guest's loyalty account from their check?

Yes. To remove a loyalty account from a check:

  1. On the check, select the guest's loyalty account.
  2. In the next window, select Remove Account.

Note: Removing the account from a check does not delete or deactivate the loyalty account itself.

 

Why are "Fixed" card rewards required to tier cash rewards?

Fixed tiers provide clearer guest value, enable multiple reward levels, and align with loyalty best practices. If a cash tier reward were progressive, it would negate the need for another cash reward tier — guests would already be redeeming continuously instead of at set point levels.

 

Will tiered rewards change how guests redeem?

Guests will redeem at the counter (with a server or on a guest-facing display), online, and via kiosk the same way they did before. Some guests may notice that points are no longer redeemed all at once for a cash reward and are now redeemed incrementally at the tier point levels you've set.

 

Can I mix cash and free-item rewards?

Yes. Both reward types can coexist in any combination, up to four tiers total.

 

Can guests redeem multiple rewards at once?

Toast Loyalty multi-reward redemption is currently in beta with select customers. To join the beta, sign up via Test Kitchen. If you are already in the beta, contact loyalty@toasttab.com for assistance.

Note: Beta enrollment is not accepted via email — use the Test Kitchen link above to enroll.

 

Manage Your Loyalty Program

I selected a visit-based accrual system but still see points on the POS and online. Why?

You probably need to publish the change. In Toast Web, select Publish all changes to make sure the visit-based accrual setting is applied across all your locations. If you've already published and your POS or online ordering still shows points instead of visits, contact Customer Care for further assistance.

 

Can I sell VIP memberships with access to a discounted menu?

Not at this time. You can use Loyalty reports to track and segment certain loyalty members, but Toast Online Ordering does not currently support gated menus for guests, and Toast Loyalty does not support charging guests a fee for loyalty program access.

 

I currently use an amount-based program. How do I switch to visit-based?

When you switch from an amount-based program to a visit-based program, Toast will automatically suggest an earned-reward amount for you to select. Adjust the suggestion as needed and save your changes.

 

What happens if I turn my Loyalty program off?

When you disable your Loyalty program, you can choose to allow guests to keep redeeming available rewards when they pay with a linked credit card. With the program disabled:

  • Guests can no longer look up their account on the guest-facing display.
  • Staff lose access to the loyalty account lookup functions.
  • The loyalty account database remains intact — if you re-enable Toast Loyalty later, all accounts are preserved.

For the steps to disable the program, see the next question and How do I turn Loyalty off?.

 

What's the difference between disabling Loyalty, turning it off at one location, and removing a guest's account?

These three actions sound similar but do different things:

ActionWhat it doesWhere to do it
Disable Loyalty (all locations)Turns the entire Loyalty program off across every location in your group. Accounts are preserved.Toast Web → Marketing > Loyalty > Settings > Program Availability → toggle Your loyalty program is active! to Off. See How do I turn Loyalty off?.
Disable Loyalty at one locationRemoves a single location from your Loyalty group so it has no Loyalty program — without affecting other locations.Manage your Gift / Rewards Card Group in Location Groups. See Create, View, and Edit Location Groups.
Remove a guest's accountDeletes or deactivates one specific guest's loyalty account. The program remains active for everyone else.Contact Customer Care, or follow the guest-side deactivation flow described in Get Help With Suspicious Rewards Activity.

If you don't have sufficient permissions to disable the program, ask the owner or someone with the appropriate Loyalty configuration permissions to make the change. For what happens during and after disabling, see What happens if I turn my Loyalty program off?

 

Adjust Accounts and Resolve Issues

Credit cards can only be removed by the guest themselves or by a Customer Care agent. To learn how a guest completes this within their own loyalty account, see Manage Linked Credit Cards on a Loyalty Account.

 

A guest signed up for Loyalty after closing their check. Can I add those points to their new account?

Yes — employees with the 3.3 Adjust Gift Cards permission can manually adjust points on a guest's account after a check is closed. For the full procedure, see Manually Add and Adjust Rewards Balances.

 

Can I merge two Toast Loyalty accounts together?

Yes. For the full procedure, see Merge Reward Balances.

 

My guest's loyalty points balance is incorrect on their receipt. How do I fix it?

If your guest's points balance is wrong on their receipt:

  1. Resync your devices using the steps in Resyncing All Data on Your Devices. Most receipt-balance discrepancies clear after a resync.
  2. If resync doesn't fix it, manually adjust the balance using Manually Add and Adjust Rewards Balances.

The check was split, but only one guest got the reward points. Can I move points to the other guest?

Points cannot be transferred from one guest's account to another's directly. You can manually add the missing points to the second guest's account, then deduct them from the first.

To manually adjust a balance:

  1. In Toast Web, navigate to Reports > Marketing > Rewards accounts.
  2. Search for and select the rewards account name.
  3. Select Adjust Balance.

For complete instructions, see Manually Add and Adjust Rewards Balances.

Note: To prevent this in future orders, split the check before payment instead of splitting the payment. See Can guests with separate loyalty accounts earn points on a shared order?

I think an employee may be abusing our loyalty system. How can I check?

Yes — check the Loyalty Misuse Report. For details on the report, alert configuration, and how to act on suspicious activity, see Get Help With Suspicious Rewards Activity.

How can guests unsubscribe from Loyalty emails and SMS notifications?

A guest who wants to stop receiving Loyalty emails has two options:

  • Contact the restaurant managing their Loyalty account and ask the restaurant to delete or deactivate the account.
  • Contact Toast's Guest Support team to request account deletion via the Local by Toast app (in-app or Online Help) or by starting a chat at guesthelp.toasttab.com.

To stop Loyalty SMS notifications, the guest replies STOP to the text message they received.

To deactivate a guest's rewards account on the restaurant side, see the Deactivate a Rewards Account section of Get Help With Suspicious Rewards Activity.

 

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