Guide 23 · Technology
How to evaluate loyalty platform vendors
Evaluate vendors against the program you will actually run, not against their feature lists. Write a one-page brief with your rules, give every vendor the same test data, and ask each to show the same workflows: an earn, a return, a redemption, a balance correction and a full data export. Compare itemized pricing over several years, check references from programs like yours, and put the results you saw into the contract.
Loyalty platform vendors are good at demonstrations. Each sales demo shows the product at its best, with clean data and the features that differentiate it. That makes vendors hard to compare and tells you little about how the platform will handle your program on an ordinary Tuesday, with returns, typos and a member who changed their email. This guide covers how to run an evaluation that tests what you will actually operate.
Write the brief
What should you write down before contacting vendors?
A one-page brief. It keeps the evaluation focused on your program instead of on each vendor’s favorite features. Include:
- How members earn, for example 1 point per dollar, plus any bonuses or tiers.
- How they redeem, the value of a point and any minimum redemption.
- Expiry rules.
- Channels: stores, ecommerce, app, partners.
- Systems to connect: point of sale, ecommerce platform, customer data, email and app.
- Expected members and transactions, now and in three years.
- Must-have requirements, kept separate from nice-to-haves.
Send the same brief to every vendor and ask for a written configuration plan in response, not a brochure. If you need a formal process, the brief becomes the core of a loyalty program RFP.
Test, do not watch
How do you turn requirements into tests?
Replace the sales demo with a scripted one. Build a sample file of around 20 transactions that includes the awkward cases: a return, a partial payment, a purchase without the loyalty ID added later, an expired balance, a member who changed their email, two people sharing a phone number. Ask each vendor to configure your rules in a sandbox environment, without custom code, and run the file live.
Ask every vendor to show the same workflows: an earn, a reversal after a return, a redemption, a manual balance correction with its audit trail, a customer service lookup, a full data export and the finance report of points outstanding. Trace one transaction through. For example, a member who earns 2 points per dollar on $400 holds 800 points, worth $8 at 1 cent a point. Ask where that $8 appears in the liability report and how the return removes it. Score every vendor on the same acceptance rule: did the platform do it, as configured, with your data?
Ask the right questions
Which questions should you ask?
| Area | Question | What good evidence looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Rules | Can you configure our rules without custom code? | Rules set up live in a sandbox |
| Accuracy | How are returns, corrections and duplicates handled? | Correct balances after the test file runs |
| Integrations | How do you connect to our point of sale and ecommerce platform? | Named, working integrations or documented APIs |
| Privacy | How do you handle requests to access or delete member data? | A shown process; the CCPA gives California consumers the right to know and delete |
| Security | Does the platform touch payment card data? | If it does, PCI DSS applies; ask for current reports |
| Support | What are support hours and response times for a balance error? | Written service levels |
| Data | Can we export everything, any time, in a usable format? | An export run during the test |
Ask operational questions too: how a member merges duplicate accounts, how staff permissions work, and how long a rule change takes from request to live. Ask who on your side will need technical skills to make those changes.
Compare pricing
How do you compare pricing?
Ask every vendor to price the same scenario, using your member and transaction numbers for the next three years, and to itemize setup, recurring fees, messaging, extra environments, support tiers and any charges based on points issued or redeemed. In a hypothetical program with 1,200 members spending $80 a month and earning 1 point per dollar at 1 cent per point, members earn $960 in reward value a month. A vendor charging $250 a month plus 1.5% of that value costs about $264 a month, before any messaging fees. Small percentage fees grow with the program, so model them at your three-year volumes.
Add your own costs to each quote: integration work, internal project time and the people who will run the platform. Ask what is included in the base fee and what triggers extra charges: more members, more emails, a second brand or country, new integrations, or a higher support level. Ask how prices change at renewal and whether a cap on annual increases is possible. The cheapest quote in year one is not always the cheapest over the length of the contract.
Check the exit
How do you check data ownership and the exit?
Before you choose, not during negotiation. Confirm in writing that you own member and transaction data, that you can export it at any time and at exit in a named format such as CSV, and how quickly the vendor will deliver a full export. Run an export during testing and check that it includes balances, transaction history and redemption history, not just member names.
Ask what happens to your data after the contract ends, how long the vendor keeps it and how it is deleted. Agree any exit fees up front. A vendor that will not answer these questions in writing is signaling lock-in. The loyalty platform migration guide covers what a later switch involves.
Score and choose
How do you score vendors and choose?
Agree on weights before you see the results: rules and accuracy, integrations, member experience, security and privacy, support, total cost and the exit terms. Have the people who will run the platform score the sections they know best, then discuss large differences as a group. Score what each vendor showed in the scripted tests, not what it said it could do. A feature promised for a future release scores zero until it exists.
Call references from programs similar to yours and speak with the people who handle daily operations. Ask which issue took longest to fix and what implementation really took. Finally, write what you saw into the contract: the configuration, service levels and export terms become acceptance criteria. A promise that is not in the contract is only a promise. If you want help narrowing the field, our vendor shortlist service starts from your brief.
More answers
Frequently asked questions
How many loyalty vendors should you evaluate?
Screen widely, then test deeply. A first screening of written answers can cover many vendors, but hands-on testing with your own data takes real effort, so most teams test three or four in depth. Fewer than that gives you little to compare; many more spreads the team too thin.
What is a scripted demo?
A demonstration where you set the scenarios and data instead of the vendor. Every vendor runs the same workflows with the same sample transactions, so you can compare what each platform actually does. It replaces the standard sales demo, which shows each product at its best.
What should a loyalty platform contract include about data?
That you own your member and transaction data, that you can export it at any time and at exit in a named format, how long the vendor keeps it after the contract ends, and how it handles privacy requests such as deletion. Agree any exit fees in writing.
What are typical loyalty platform pricing models?
Common models combine a setup fee with a recurring charge based on members, active members, transactions or a fixed tier, plus fees for messaging, extra environments or support. Some charge a share of rewards issued or redeemed. Ask each vendor to price the same scenario so the quotes are comparable.
Should you talk to vendor references?
Yes, and ask for references from programs similar to yours in size, industry and integrations. Ask which issue took longest to resolve, what the implementation really took, and what they would negotiate differently. Speak to the people who run the platform day to day, not only the sponsor.
When should you use an RFP?
When the decision is large or several departments must agree. A formal RFP gives every vendor the same requirements and questions and creates a written record of their answers. For a smaller program, a short brief and scripted tests may be enough.