---
title: Tiers, memberships and prepaid cards
description: Answers to common questions about tiers, the tier cycle, memberships and prepaid cards.
---
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# Tiers, memberships and prepaid cards
## FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT TIERS, MEMBERSHIPS AND PREPAID CARDS.
### How do tiers work?
**What are tiers?**
Tiers are levels in your loyalty programme, for example Bronze, Silver and Gold. The more active a member is, the higher their tier, and the better their perks. Tiers reward your most loyal customers and give everyone a reason to come back more often.
**How do members move up?**
- Every member starts in the first tier.
- Members earn XP through your loyalty type: minutes played, euros spent or check-ins, depending on your setup. Points from challenges don't count towards tiers.
- Each tier has a threshold. Once a member reaches it, they move up automatically and get a notification.
- Tiers look at activity within the tier cycle, for example the past 90 days. A member who's less active for a while can drop a tier; see "What is the tier cycle?" below.
**What can a tier include?**
- A name and its own card design, which members see in the app.
- Perks, for example earning points faster (such as 1.1 points per euro instead of 1) or a recurring benefit like a monthly claimable gift/voucher.
**Where do I set them up?**
Under Program \> Tiers. During the kick-off, your Customer Success Manager sets up your tiers based on best practice, and you can adjust the names, cards, thresholds and perks yourself afterwards. Our advice: start simple. You can always add perks later, but taking them away usually goes down less well.
Read more: [Tiers](https://welcome.authic.io/en/knowledge-base/tiers?hsLang=en) and [Tier inspiration](https://welcome.authic.io/en/knowledge-base/tier-inspiration?hsLang=en)
### What is the tier cycle?
Tiers look back at the XP a member earned in a rolling period, for example the past 90 days. A member keeps their tier as long as they reach its threshold within that period.
For example: a member plays often in January, February and March and reaches a higher tier. In April they barely come in. Looking back over the past three months, they no longer reach the threshold, so they drop a tier. Their reward points and XP aren't lost.
You set the length of the period via Edit in the bar at the top of the Tiers page.
Read more: [Tiers](https://welcome.authic.io/en/knowledge-base/tiers?hsLang=en)
### Which tier does everyone start in at launch?
Everyone starts in the first tier, because there's no earlier activity to go on. Members can move up during the first cycle as soon as they reach a higher threshold.
Read more: [Tiers](https://welcome.authic.io/en/knowledge-base/tiers?hsLang=en)
### Do members drop a tier when they spend their points?
No. Tiers are based on XP, which is never spent. A member only drops a tier if they don't reach the threshold within their tier cycle. Their reward points and XP aren't lost when that happens.
Read more: [Tiers](https://welcome.authic.io/en/knowledge-base/tiers?hsLang=en)
### Why isn't a member in the tier I'd expect?
Tiers are based on activity within the current tier cycle, not lifetime totals. A member with a high total can still drop a tier if they weren't active enough in their most recent cycle.
Read more: [Tiers](https://welcome.authic.io/en/knowledge-base/tiers?hsLang=en)
### What's the difference between a tier and a membership?
Members reach a tier by earning points. A membership is about access: a member either has it or doesn't, for example a VIP group, staff or a paid club. You'll find memberships under Program \> Memberships.
Read more: [Memberships](https://welcome.authic.io/en/knowledge-base/memberships?hsLang=en)
### What's the difference between a free and a paid membership?
You add members to a free membership by email address. Members take out a paid membership themselves in the app and pay monthly or yearly through Stripe. Paid memberships need Stripe Connect; Authic charges a 5% fee.
Read more: [Memberships](https://welcome.authic.io/en/knowledge-base/memberships?hsLang=en)
### Can a member have both a tier and a membership?
Yes. They keep their membership perks and can still move up through the tiers. When both have a points multiplier, the highest one applies. By default, the membership card replaces the tier card in the app; contact your Customer Success Manager if members should see both.
Read more: [Memberships](https://welcome.authic.io/en/knowledge-base/memberships?hsLang=en)
### What are prepaid cards?
Bundles members buy in the app and redeem later, for example 10 coffees or 10 sets of balls. On-site cards are redeemed at your location with a QR code; online cards give a code per item to use in your booking system. You'll find them under Program \> Prepaid cards.
Read more: [Prepaid cards](https://welcome.authic.io/en/knowledge-base/prepaid-cards?hsLang=en)
### What do we need before we can sell prepaid cards?
Stripe Connect. Go to Program \> Prepaid cards, click Set up Stripe Connect and finish the setup with Stripe. Then fill in your company and VAT details under Settings \> Stripe Connect.
Read more: [Prepaid cards](https://welcome.authic.io/en/knowledge-base/prepaid-cards?hsLang=en) and [Stripe Connect](https://welcome.authic.io/en/knowledge-base/stripe-connect?hsLang=en)
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