It’s a Friday in late July. You’re sitting in the pool parking lot with the AC blasting, while the kids melt down in the backseat over whose turn it is to pick the restaurant.
Right then, a notification popped up on your phone: “5% back at Cicis Pizza today only!” Decision made.
While that pop-up may feel like extra good fortune, it’s really just a super well-timed seasonal campaign — one of several worth keeping a marketer’s back pocket.
Below, we share six ways to keep rewards top of mind, outlining what each one does best and when to send them.
1. Welcome Series
What it is: A short sequence, usually 2-3 messages over the first week or two after sign-up, that introduces a new cardholder to the rewards program. Should include a welcome email, a welcome push notification, and one early offer alert tied to a category they're likely to spend in.
Here’s a sample push notification to emulate:
Why it works: The first two weeks are when a cardholder forms a habit, so you want them to redeem their first offer quickly.
When to send: Triggered automatically by sign-up. The welcome email should go out within 24 hours, the welcome push should come a few days later, and the first offer alert should arrive (email and push) within the first week.
Best for: Activation.
2. Monthly Roundup
What it is: Three to four current offers, bundled into a single email. For these, you want to show off high cash back offers for recognizable logos. Even better if they expire soon (to drive urgency).
Why it works: Not everyone reads your emails, the banner on your website, follows you on social media, or reads every single in-app pop-up.
Cardholders who missed your last campaign, forgot about your program, or didn't tap your last push will catch one of these eventually.
In fact, one Kard partner told us monthly roundups drive the biggest spikes in redemption of any rewards email they send. Here’s a nice example:
When to send: Once a month, on the same day each month, if possible, to make people expect — and get excited for — it.
Best for: Keeping the whole cardholder base aware of your program and your great offers without much lift on your end.
3. Single-Offer Spotlight
What it is: An email plugging one high-value offer for one brand.
Why it works: Chances are there are some brands in your network that everyone loves or needs. Plugging an offer with that brand at just the right time can be the nudge people need to make a purchase.
Majority experimented with single offer emails during tax season, partnering with TurboTax to offer $5 cash back when cardholders filed their federal or state taxes:
This one email hit a 96.1% delivery rate and 27.7% open rate — with only a 0.07% bounce rate, showing just how impactful a strategically timed single-offer email can be.
When to send: Anytime you've added a heavy-hitter brand, or when you want to spotlight an existing offer tied to a moment in cardholders' lives (for example, during tax time).
Best for: Driving immediate redemptions at one brand — a fantastic way to deepen relationships with brands in your commerce media network. They would reap the benefits of more redemptions, too.
4. Seasonal Campaign
What it is: A campaign built around a recurring time of year, something like back-to-school, tax season, summer travel, holiday shopping, a New Year’s reset.
These work best when you use multiple channels to plug your rewards, think: email, push notifications, in-app banners, social media. Here’s one featuring Allbirds as a way to “step into style this summer”:
Why it works: Cardholders are already thinking about that category of spending. A 5% or $5 cash back might convince them to go ahead and buy.
When to send: Build a seasonal calendar at the start of each quarter (maybe even during annual planning) and map your existing offer inventory to upcoming moments.
Here are some easy ones to start with:
- January: Fitness, athleisure, meal kits (New Year's resolutions)
- March-April: Tax software, financial services (tax season)
- May-June: Travel, sunscreen, swimwear (summer prep)
- August-September: Electronics, school supplies, athletic gear (back-to-school)
- November-December: Retail, food delivery (holidays)
Best for: Hitting cardholders when their intent is already high.
Want some inspo for seasonal campaigns? Learn where younger consumers are spending (big box, grocery, QSR, travel) and when they spend (weekday, seasonal, and category-level) in our 2026 Consumer Research Report.
5. Category Highlight
What it is: A campaign focused on a single spending category, like gas, grocery, dining, streaming, beauty. Features every offer you have in that category.
Why it works: People don't think “I want to redeem rewards,” they think “I need gas.” A category-focused campaign maps directly to how cardholders plan — or don’t really plan — their spending.
When to send: Anytime, really. But high-frequency categories (gas, grocery, dining) tend to drive immediate redemptions. Lower-frequency ones (travel, electronics) drive more clicks to your offer page.
Best for: Mid-month sends. This can fill some space between your monthly roundup and the next single-offer spotlight.
6. Redemption Notification
What it is: A push notification (and sometimes a follow-up email) sent immediately after a cardholder earns cash back. These should be short, sweet, and celebratory — maybe with a soft CTA to explore more offers.
Why it works: Earning cash back is the single highest-engagement moment in your rewards program. Cardholders are feeling good that they earned some money back as a result of using your card, and are likely to do it again (especially if you give them a reason to).
When to send: Immediately after a qualifying transaction settles.
Best for: Reinforcing the connection between using your card and getting rewarded, which drives more transactions and more time in-app.
The teams getting real engagement out of their cash back programs are running a mix of campaigns, each one designed to hit cardholders at a different moment, with a different message, for a different reason.
Distribution partners like BM Technologies, Vervent, Grit, and Narmi are already using Kard to power rewards programs their cardholders actually use.
Want to see what our network can do for you? Book a demo today.
