# Loyalty member

> A loyalty member is a participant in a live loyalty program. What counts as a member depends on the loyalty program type:

> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.talon.one/llms.txt).

- In
  [profile-based loyalty programs](/docs/product/loyalty-programs/profile-based/profile-based-overview.md),
  a member is a loyalty profile.
- In
  [card-based loyalty programs](/docs/product/loyalty-programs/card-based/card-based-overview.md),
  a member is a loyalty card.

## Loyalty profile

A loyalty profile links a
[customer profile](/docs/dev/concepts/entities/customer-profiles.md) to a
profile-based loyalty program. When a customer
[joins the program](/docs/product/loyalty-programs/manage-loyalty-programs.md#managing-join-policy),
Talon.One creates a loyalty profile that records the following:

- Customer's join date.
- Point balances across all subledgers in the program.
- Customer's tier, if tiers are configured.
- Transaction history.

A customer profile counts as a loyalty member if either of the following is
true:

- They have a recorded join date for the program.
- The join date isn't yet recorded, but they have at least one transaction in
  any subledger of the program.

You can retrieve every customer's join date for a program using the
[Export customers' loyalty program join dates](/management-api#tag/Loyalty/operation/exportLoyaltyJoinDates)
endpoint.

:::note
A loyalty profile is program-specific. For example, a customer who has joined
two profile-based loyalty programs has two loyalty profiles, one for each
program.
:::

## Loyalty card

A loyalty card is a physical or virtual card used in card-based loyalty
programs. The card holds loyalty points, and any
[customer profile](/docs/product/applications/display-customer-profiles.md)
linked to it can spend its balance.

A loyalty card has the following properties:

- Unique card code that can be used at a POS system or passed via API.
- Loyalty points that can be stored and spent using the card.
- Link to one or more customer profiles, for example when family members share a
  card.
- Status: **Active**, **Inactive**, or **Blocked**.

A loyalty card counts as a loyalty member as soon as it is created in the
program, regardless of its status or whether it is linked to a customer profile.
For example:

- A customer with three loyalty cards in the same program counts as three
  loyalty members, one for each card.
- If you have 15,000 loyalty cards, 12,000 active, 2,500 inactive, and 500
  blocked, they all still count as loyalty members.

## Total member count

Members are counted at the program level, not the customer level:

| Program type  | Unit counted                                                      | Scope                                                      |
| ------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- |
| Profile-based | One member for each customer profile that has joined the program. | All profiles that have joined a live program.              |
| Card-based    | One member for each loyalty card created in the program.          | All cards created in a live program, regardless of status. |

For example, if you run a profile-based program with 8,000 joined profiles
alongside a card-based program with 5,000 cards, the two are reported as
separate totals: 8,000 profile-based members and 5,000 card-based members.

:::note
Member count doesn't depend on recent activity. A member still counts even if
they haven't made any recent transactions.
:::

## Related pages

- [Profile-based loyalty programs](/docs/product/loyalty-programs/profile-based/profile-based-overview.md)
- [Card-based loyalty programs](/docs/product/loyalty-programs/card-based/card-based-overview.md)
- [Customer profile entity](/docs/dev/concepts/entities/customer-profiles.md)
- [Loyalty programs](/docs/product/loyalty-programs/overview.md)