Stored-value membership: card design that stays profitable

An English summary of the 2026 stored value guide: card tiers, bonus ratios, prepaid liability limits, member levels, refund rules and the 90 day wake up seque…

A stored value card takes cash today for visits later, which makes it both a cash flow tool and a liability. The full article sets out how to design the tiers, the bonus ratio, the member levels and the refund rules so that the card supports repeat visits instead of eroding margin.

Key points

Keep penetration at 15 30% of monthly visitors; below 10% usually means the front desk never asks, while above 40% signals refund pressure from over selling.
Hold the bonus at 8 15% per tier and about 12% weighted across the store; at a 65% gross margin a 20% bonus pushes margin down to roughly 58%.
Keep the average balance at CNY 300 800, and hold unconsumed balances at 1.5 2.5 times monthly revenue rather than above 4 times.
Three or four member levels are enough, with benefit cost at 3 6% of revenue and the top tier under 5% of members.
Treat prepayments as contract liabilities, and set aside 30 50% of new stored value for redemption and day to day operations.
Refund the unconsumed principal on request within seven days of purchase, and deduct bonus credit pro rata afterwards.
Sequence member wake up over 90 days: about 30 days silent is a warning, 60 days is dormant, 90 days costs roughly as much as a new customer.

Selling the card is a sales action

Conversion depends more on timing and wording than on price. The article names three moments 40 to 60 minutes into a first visit, at checkout, and at the second visit and advises staff to compare the spend, the single ticket price and the per visit cost after topping up rather than promising benefits the venue cannot deliver. Commission is split between opening the card and consuming the balance within 90 days.

Compliance moved in 2025

Terms such as no refunds, no replacement for a lost card and no transfers are treated as invalid, and a named card should not carry an expiry date. The venue is also expected to produce the transaction record, so every top up, spend and refund needs a timestamp and an operator.

The full 2026 guide is published in Chinese; contact SPORTS ANT if you need it explained for your project.