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Point-Based Auctions

An auction lets members spend their loyalty points to bid on a prize. The highest bidder at close wins the prize and has their points debited. Auto-close handles end-of-auction wrap-up so you don't have to babysit the close time.

When to use it​

  • A one-off premium prize that's worth too much to put in the standard rewards catalogue (concert tickets, designer items, experiences).
  • You want a "burn the points balance" mechanic — members with large balances get to use them on something aspirational.
  • Repeat engagement: members keep coming back to check the leading bid.

How it works​

An auction has:

  • Name and loyalty program (which point balance is used).
  • Starting bid — the lowest legal bid.
  • Min bid increment — each new bid must beat the current high bid by at least this amount.
  • Buy-now price (optional) — a bid at or above this amount instantly wins and closes the auction.
  • End date — when the auction stops accepting bids.

A bid is accepted only when:

  1. The auction status is Active and now ≤ end date.
  2. The bid is ≥ starting bid and strictly greater than the current high bid.
  3. If there's already a high bid, the new bid is also ≥ current high + min increment.
  4. The bidder has enough points in their loyalty balance.

When a higher bid arrives, the previous winning bid is unflagged (the previous bidder is no longer winning). Points are not pre-locked while bidding — they're only debited at close, on the winning bid. Watch the gotchas section below.

Step-by-step​

Create an auction​

  1. Go to Loyalty → Auctions and click Create auction.
  2. Fill in the name, the prize details, and the bid rules:
    • Loyalty program
    • Starting bid (in points)
    • Min bid increment
    • Buy-now price (optional)
    • End date
  3. Save and publish — the auction becomes Active and members can start bidding.

Watch bids come in​

The auction detail page shows the bid history with the leading bid highlighted. Members see the same list (without other members' personal details) on the member portal.

Close the auction​

You don't need to do anything. A background worker scans for Active auctions with EndDate ≤ now and finalises them:

  • The winning bid is locked in.
  • The winning bidder's points are debited from their loyalty balance.
  • The auction status flips to Closed.
  • The winner is notified through the standard communication channel for that tenant.

If a bidder hits the buy-now price, the auction closes immediately at the buy-now amount.

Limits and gotchas​

  • Points are debited at close, not at bid time. If a leading bidder spends their points elsewhere before the auction closes, the close will fail for that bidder. The engine doesn't currently re-fall-back to the second-highest bid automatically — keep an eye on high-stakes auctions.
  • Min increment is a floor. A new bid of "current high + 1 point" is still valid if your min increment is 1. Set a meaningful increment to avoid pence-sniping.
  • No proxy bidding. Members enter exact amounts; there's no "max bid; auto-bid up to" feature.
  • Buy-now wins instantly. Any bid equal to or above the buy-now price closes the auction in one step. Don't set buy-now lower than you're willing to accept.
  • Permission: Pages.Loyalty.Auctions.