AIQ’s Loyalty tools just got even more powerful. With the release of our FIFO (First-In, First-Out) expiration logic, managing point balances is now smarter, more intuitive, and built to protect your best customers from avoidable frustration.

What is FIFO?

FIFO stands for “First-In, First-Out”, and it’s exactly what it sounds like.

When enabled, your loyalty system will automatically expire the oldest points first, keeping newer transactions untouched until they reach the end of their expiration window. Instead of deducting the full balance on a fixed date (which could wipe out all earned points at once), FIFO breaks things down by individual point-earning events.

Think of it like food rotation: the points that have been sitting the longest get used up first. The newer ones stay fresh until it’s their time to go.

Why this matters to your customers (and your brand)

Let’s say a customer earns 100 points in January, 200 in March, and 300 in July. Under FIFO, only the 100 points from January would expire first, not the full 600.

For customers, that means:

• Fewer surprises when points expire
• A longer lifespan for newer earned points
• More confidence in saving up for higher-value redemptions
• Less churn from people who feel penalized for engaging too often

For you, that means:

• Less customer support burden
• More strategic redemptions
• Better alignment between loyalty value and customer behavior
• More trust built through transparency

How to activate

FIFO expiration logic is now available across all AIQ accounts and will serve as the default points structure for all new customers moving forward.

• For current customers, your existing points structure will remain unchanged until FIFO is activated.
• To enable FIFO expiration, visit www.aiq.com and connect with Astro, AIQ’s live chat support, to request the update.

Now, AIQ will begin tracking expiration windows based on each individual earning event. Customers will only lose the points that are truly due, not everything they’ve worked hard to earn.

Pro tip: You can also view the expiration schedule for each customer in their profile, making it easier to support them with precision and transparency.

FIFO helps you reward the behavior you want to keep.

Your most loyal customers shouldn’t be punished for engaging with your brand frequently. With FIFO, you protect their investments in your program while keeping your expiration policies in place, it’s the best of both worlds.

This feature was designed in direct response to retailer feedback, and we’re excited to continue building tools that put your customer experience first.

Want to go deeper?

FIFO Redemption Logic is just the beginning. This feature is apart of a much larger, highly configurable loyalty points ecosystem designed to help you:

• Incentivize behavior beyond the register
• Protect your budget and clean up liability
• Segment smarter and trigger high-ROI campaigns
• Turn loyalty from a cost center into a growth engine

Whether you're launching a new program or optimizing an existing one, AIQ gives you the tools to scale with precision. Made even more impressive with our latest feature release: AIQ Flows. 

Start learning with AIQ Academy: New FIFO Loyalty & Flows courses, available now.