> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://knowledge.bitbybit.studio/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Set points to expire after inactivity > Turn on points expiry so a customer's whole points balance expires after a period with no points activity, and see when each balance expires. **Points expiry** clears a customer's whole points balance when they have had no points activity for a period you choose. It keeps your outstanding points from growing forever and gives inactive customers a reason to come back. The setting lives on the **Earn points** page and is **off by default**, so points never expire until you turn it on. The Earn points page is marked **Beta**. ## Before you start * A points source is connected: either your store connected to bitbybit via **bitLogin**, or bitbybit Commerce with at least one product and one connected chat channel. The **Points expiry** card and its dropdown stay disabled until a source is connected, the same as **Earning rate**. * Your loyalty program is enabled. See [Loyalty quickstart](/loyalty/quickstart) if you haven't set one up yet. While the program is switched off, nothing expires even if a period is set. ## How points expiry works * **Each customer has their own countdown**, and it covers their **whole balance**, not individual batches of points. * **When the countdown runs out, the whole balance goes to zero.** The drop appears in the customer's **Points history** as **Points expired after 1 year with no activity**, naming whichever period you chose, so a balance never falls without a reason you can show the customer. * **These restart the countdown:** purchases (including orders that earn 0 points), redemptions, refunds, cancellations, and points you add or deduct by hand. * **Scheduled points don't restart a running countdown**, for example birthday rewards or a scheduled bonus for a segment. Otherwise a yearly birthday reward would stop points from ever expiring. They do start a countdown for a customer who doesn't have one yet. * **Only available points expire.** Points already held for a reward the customer is claiming are left alone. * **Expired points don't count as redeemed.** The customer's **Redeemed** total stays the same when a balance expires, so expiry never inflates your redemption figures. * **A balance that has expired starts fresh.** The next points the customer earns begin a whole new countdown rather than expiring again straight away. * **Balances are swept every few minutes**, so a balance disappears shortly after its date passes rather than at a fixed time of day. ## Step 1: Open the setting * In the sidebar, open [**bitLoyalty > Earn points**](https://app.bitbybit.studio/loyalty/earn-points). * Scroll to the **Points expiry** card, below the [**Deduct points for refunds or cancellations**](/loyalty/how-to-deduct-points-for-refunds-or-cancellations) card. Earn points page with the Points expiry card below the Deduct points for refunds or cancellations card, its switch off and Points expire after set to 1 year. ## Step 2: Choose the period and turn expiry on * Under **Points expire after**, pick **7 days**, **30 days**, **90 days**, or **1 year**. **1 year** is selected by default. You can pick the period while the switch is still off. * Turn on the switch on the right of the card. * In the **Points won't expire right away** window, check the date shown, then click **Turn on expiry**. The change saves immediately and you'll see the toast `Points expiry updated`. Points won't expire right away confirmation window, showing the chosen period and the earliest expiry date, with Cancel and Turn on expiry buttons. Turning expiry on never takes points straight away. Every customer's countdown starts from today at the earliest, including customers who have already been inactive for longer than the period. With **30 days** chosen today, nothing expires for at least 30 days. The same applies if you choose a period while your loyalty program is switched off and enable the program later — the countdown starts when you enable it, not before. ## Change or turn off points expiry * **Shorten the period** (for example **1 year** to **30 days**): a **Points will expire sooner** window shows the old and new period. Click **Save change**. No one loses points before today plus the new period. * **Lengthen the period**: it applies straight away. Expiry dates only move later. * **Turn expiry off**: use the switch. It applies straight away and points stop expiring. Points expiry doesn't message the customer. Nothing is sent before a balance expires, and points that have already expired won't come back — not by lengthening the period and not by turning expiry off. Add points by hand if you need to restore a balance. ## See when a customer's points expire When points expiry is on, **Expires on** and the date appear under the points balance: * On the customer's profile in **Customers**. * In live chat, in the customer info panel under the **Loyalty** tab. * On the loyalty page in your Shopify storefront, where the customer sees their own date alongside the hint **Make a purchase before then to keep your points.** An expired balance shows there as a **Points expired** row in their history. The date shows in red when the points expire within 7 days. It isn't shown when the customer has no points or when expiry is off. ## Related * [Deduct points for refunds or cancellations](/loyalty/how-to-deduct-points-for-refunds-or-cancellations) * [Loyalty quickstart](/loyalty/quickstart) * [bitLoyalty overview](/loyalty/overview) * [Manual vs AI loyalty redemption](/loyalty/manual-vs-ai-loyalty-redemption) This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.