Punch card template: what to put on a stamp card (paper or digital)

A punch card template is the simplest loyalty program you can launch: a card, a rule and a reward. Whether you print it or put it in Apple Wallet and Google Wallet, the same few decisions make the difference between a card customers fill and one that ends up in a drawer. In the UK the same thing is called a stamp card or loyalty card template.

What every punch card needs

1. Your name and logo. Customers carry cards from several places. Yours must be recognisable at a glance.
2. The rule in one line. "One stamp per coffee" or "One punch per visit". If it needs a paragraph, simplify it.
3. The reward, in plain words. "Your 10th coffee is on us" is clearer than "Free item after completion".
4. The number of spaces. Between 6 and 10 is the usual range for food and beverage. Fewer spaces get customers to their first reward sooner.
5. The small print. One line is enough: one stamp per visit, reward cannot be exchanged for cash, card valid at all locations (if it is).
6. A way to reach you. Your website or Instagram handle, so a found card leads back to you.

Wording templates you can copy

These are ready to adapt for your own card. Swap the item and the number.

Coffee shop: "Buy 9 coffees, get the 10th free. One stamp per hot drink."

Bakery: "Collect 6 stamps and choose a free pastry. One stamp per visit."

Restaurant: "Every 8th lunch is on us. One stamp per main course."

Bubble tea or juice bar: "10 drinks, 1 free. Halfway there? Enjoy a free topping."

Food truck: "Find us, get stamped. 8 stamps and your next main is free."

Fast food: "Collect points on every order. 100 points gets you a free meal."

Design tips for a printed card

• Size: business card size (3.5 x 2 inches in the US, 85 x 55 mm in the UK) fits in a wallet.
• Spaces: big enough to stamp quickly at a busy counter, and spaced so a stamp does not cover two boxes.
• Contrast: dark ink on a light card makes stamps easy to count.
• Back of the card: the small print and your social handle.
• Anti-fraud: use a custom stamp rather than a pen tick, and change the stamp design now and then.

The weak spots of a paper template

Paper punch cards are cheap and familiar, and for a very small shop they can be enough. Their weak spots are well known to anyone who has run one:

• Customers lose them or leave them at home, so the visit is not counted.
• Stamps can be copied, and staff get asked for "just one more".
• You never learn who your regulars are, so you cannot invite them back.

Turn your template into a digital punch card

A digital punch card keeps exactly the same design decisions: name, logo, colours, rule, number of stamps and reward. The difference is where it lives. With Loyalstack, the card is saved to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet when the customer scans your QR code. Staff scan the card to add a stamp, and the card updates on the customer's phone.

You design it in the Loyalstack dashboard in about 10 minutes, then print the QR code on a counter poster or table tent. The template decisions above still apply. You simply stop printing cards.

Loyalstack starts at $29/mo for one location, with a 14-day free trial and no credit card required. Read how to create a digital loyalty card for Apple Wallet for the step-by-step, or browse loyalty program examples for reward ideas.