Yes, you can let customers buy products with points only in WooCommerce. Both Points and Rewards for WooCommerce and Loyalty Program for WooCommerce let you turn points into a real spending currency, so shoppers either redeem points for specific reward products or pay for an entire order with the points they have earned. Both plugins share the same points engine, so everything in this guide works the same way in either one. This guide explains both methods, how the points-to-money conversion works, and how to set it up correctly.
If you already run a points program, letting members actually spend those points is what turns a nice-to-have perk into a genuine reason to keep coming back. Points that can never be redeemed feel hollow. Points that buy real products feel like money.
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What buying with points only means
Buying with points only means a customer completes a purchase using loyalty points instead of money, with no card charged for the points portion of the order. Points act like store credit: the plugin converts them to a currency value, applies that value to the cart, and deducts the points from the customer’s balance when the order is placed.
There are two ways to offer this, and they solve slightly different goals. One dedicates specific products as points-only rewards. The other lets customers put points toward any order at checkout, up to a limit you control.
Two ways to let customers buy with points
| Method | What it does | Best for | Where the customer acts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points-only products | Specific products can only be bought with points, never money. | Reward catalogs, free samples, branded merch, member-exclusive items. | Shop and product page, then checkout. |
| Pay with points at checkout | Points are applied as a discount on any order and can cover up to the full cart total. | Letting customers spend points on whatever they want. | Cart or checkout page. |
You can run both at the same time. Many stores use points-only products for a curated rewards section and also allow points to be spent at checkout on regular orders.
Method 1: Points-only products
A points-only product is a normal WooCommerce product that has been flagged so it can be purchased with points and nothing else. It appears in your shop like any other item, but at checkout its price is converted to points automatically and paid from the customer’s balance. No card is charged.
To set one up, open the product, go to the Loyalty Points tab in the Product data box, and tick Points-Only Purchase. By default the points cost is the product price multiplied by your conversion rate, but you can set a custom rate so the price reads as a clean number like 500 points instead of whatever the global rate produces. Variable products support this per variation, so you can offer one size as a reward and keep the rest on sale for money.
For the full step-by-step, see our guide on letting customers redeem points for free products.
If a customer does not have enough points for a points-only product, the cart shows exactly how many more points they need, which is a natural nudge to earn more.
Method 2: Pay for the whole order with points
The second method lets customers apply points to any order at the cart or checkout page. They enter the number of points they want to use and click Apply. The plugin converts those points to a currency discount and reduces the order total, which can go all the way down to zero if the points cover the entire cart.
Under the hood this is a fixed cart discount that stacks with normal coupons, so a customer can use both a promo code and their points on the same order. The points are only deducted from their balance once the order is actually placed. If you want to display helpful messaging so customers know how much they can spend, see our guide on showing points redemption guidance at checkout.
Important: out of the box there is a maximum-points cap per order (1000 points by default). To allow a customer to pay for a full order entirely in points, raise that cap high enough that the customer’s balance and the cart total, rather than the cap, become the limit. More on this below.
How the points-to-currency conversion works
Both methods rely on your conversion rate, which decides how much a point is worth. You configure it in the plugin’s points settings. The rate has two parts: how many points are needed, and the currency value those points are worth.
| Setting | What it controls | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Conversion rate | How many points equal how much currency (for example 100 points = 1 unit). | 1 point = 1 currency unit |
| Maximum points per order | The largest number of points a customer can redeem on a single order. | 1000 |
| Minimum points to redeem | The smallest number of points a customer can apply at once. | 1 |
The default 1-to-1 rate combined with a 1000-point cap means, without any changes, a customer can take at most 1000 currency units off an order. For most stores you will want to set a rate that reflects the real value of a point and then set the maximum high enough to allow the redemption experience you want.
To truly allow a full order paid in points, set the maximum-points value high enough that it no longer binds, and make sure your conversion rate is configured. At that point the only limits are the customer’s balance and the cart total, which is exactly the behavior you want for a points-as-currency store.
If you need finer control, such as capping redemption to a percentage of each order or by cart size, you can do that too. See how to limit points redemption based on cart total.
Which method should you use
- Use points-only products when you want a curated set of rewards with clear, marketable point prices, such as a Rewards category customers can browse.
- Use pay-with-points at checkout when you want maximum flexibility and to let customers decide what their points go toward.
- Use both for the richest program: a dedicated rewards catalog plus the freedom to spend points on anything.
Best practices
- Set a point value that makes sense. Decide what a point is worth to your margins before you enable redemption, then configure the conversion rate to match.
- Group rewards in one place. Create a Rewards category for points-only products and link to it from your menu so members have a single URL to browse.
- Make prices readable. Use custom point rates so rewards cost round numbers like 500 or 1000 points rather than odd figures.
- Remind customers of their balance. Account-summary and points-balance emails are among the highest-converting messages you can send, because they tell people exactly what they can afford right now.
- Decide on your cap deliberately. If you want full-order redemption, raise the maximum-points setting. If you want to protect margin, keep a cap or limit redemption by cart total.
Can customers pay for an entire WooCommerce order with points?
Yes. Points applied at checkout can reduce the order total all the way to zero. Out of the box a maximum-points-per-order cap applies (1000 by default), so to allow a full order paid in points you raise that cap high enough that the customer balance and cart total become the only limits.
How do I make a product buyable with points only?
Edit the product, open the Loyalty Points tab in the Product data box, and tick Points-Only Purchase. The product can then only be bought with points, and its price is converted to a points cost automatically using your conversion rate or a custom rate you set.
How many points is a product worth?
The points cost is the product price multiplied by your conversion rate. With the default rate of one point per currency unit, a product priced at 10 costs 1000 points would be 10. You can set a custom rate per product to produce clean prices like 500 points.
Can customers use points and a coupon on the same order?
Yes. Points redemption at checkout is applied as a cart discount that stacks with normal WooCommerce coupons, so a customer can use both a promo code and their points on the same order.
What happens if a customer does not have enough points?
For points-only products, the cart shows how many more points the customer needs before they can check out. For checkout redemption, customers can only apply up to their available balance, so they can never spend points they do not have.
Conclusion
Letting customers buy products with points only is what makes a loyalty program feel valuable. Whether you dedicate specific products as points-only rewards or let members pay for any order at checkout, the setup is straightforward once your conversion rate and limits are configured.
Ready to set it up? Follow our step-by-step guide on how to let customers buy products with points only, which covers both methods for the Points and Rewards and Loyalty Program plugins. If you are new to loyalty programs, read the complete guide to WooCommerce loyalty programs first.