How Gift Redemption Works

When someone receives a gift subscription, they redeem it with a gift code. What happens next depends on two things: the recipient's current subscription, and the Gift Checkout settings you choose in your Cleeng dashboard. This article explains each scenario, so you know what your customers see.

To set up gifting, see Gift Subscriptions.

Redeeming a Gift Code

1. On the delivery date, the recipient receives an email with a link to your redemption page and their gift code.
2. The recipient opens the link and enters the code. The code is not tied to their email address, so they can redeem it on any account.
3. Cleeng checks the recipient's current subscriptions and shows what will happen before they click Redeem.

Recipient Has No Active Subscription

The gift activates the gifted offer for the full gift length. The recipient is told they can add a payment method in their account to keep access after the gift ends.

Recipient Has the Same Offer

If the gifted offer is the same as the recipient's current offer, the gift length is always added to the current subscription. Before redeeming, the recipient sees their new renewal date. After that date, they continue paying for their subscription as usual.

The recipient can also redeem the gift if their subscription is canceled, paused, or has a scheduled pause:

• Canceled subscription: The recipient keeps access until the gift period ends. Redeeming the gift does not undo the cancellation.
• Scheduled pause: Redeeming a gift cancels the scheduled pause. The recipient can schedule a new pause afterward.
• Active pause: The subscription resumes right away, and the gift length counts from the day the recipient redeems the gift.

For example:

1. A customer has the Volleyball Monthly subscription with a renewal date of June 20, 2026.
2. The customer redeems a Volleyball Annual subscription gift.
3. Cleeng checks the tags of both offers. They are exactly the same.
4. The renewal date moves to June 20, 2027. The customer stays on Volleyball Monthly with monthly billing.

Recipient Has a Different Offer

If the tags do not match, the recipient sees their current offer and the gifted offer side by side. They choose from the options you turned on in Gift redemption behavior:

• Extend: The recipient keeps their current offer and price. Cleeng turns the gift's value into extra days of the recipient's current offer, in two steps:

  1. It works out what one day of the current offer costs.
  2. It checks how many of those days the gift's value pays for.

  For example, a recipient has a €30 monthly offer and redeems a €90 gift:

  1. One day of their offer costs €30 ÷ 30 days = €1.
  2. The €90 gift pays for 90 of those days.

  The recipient gets 90 extra days on their current offer.

  A few rules apply:

  • Partial days are always rounded up, in the recipient's favor.
  • If the gift and the current offer use different currencies, Cleeng converts both to EUR first.
  • There is no limit on the number of days added.
  • Extend is not available when the recipient's current offer is free or seasonal.

• Switch: The recipient moves to the gifted offer for the gift length. The unused value of their current subscription is carried over as extra days, added after the gift period. After the gift period and carried-over days, they continue on the gifted offer at its standard price.

  They can change back to their previous offer in My Account. In progress: available in the coming weeks.

  Recipients don't see the Switch option when:

  • Switch to gifted plan is turned off in Gift Checkout.
  • The gifted offer has a lower Offer weight than their current offer, and Allow switching to a lower plan is turned off.
  • The current billing period of their subscription was paid by a gift. They can still use another gift to extend it.
• New subscription: The recipient keeps their current subscription unchanged and starts the gifted offer as a separate subscription. After the gift period, the separate subscription renews at its standard price if the recipient adds a payment method. Otherwise, it ends with the gift. The recipient can cancel it without affecting their other subscription.

Recipient Has Several Subscriptions

If the recipient has more than one active subscription, they choose which subscription to apply the gift to. They then see the options for that subscription.

When Redemption Is Blocked

The recipient cannot redeem a gift in these cases. The gift code stays valid, and they can redeem it later.

• The recipient has an active Pass: They can redeem the gift after the Pass expires. The redemption screen shows the Pass end date. In progress: available in the coming weeks. 

• The recipient's subscription is past due: They need to pay for it or cancel it first. In progress: available in the coming weeks.
• The recipient has several subscriptions with the same tags as the gift: If several of the recipient's subscriptions match the gift, the recipient chooses which one to extend.
• The recipient has an app store subscription: Due to app store limitations, a recipient with an active subscription purchased in an app store cannot redeem a gift. The recipient needs to cancel the app store subscription and redeem the gift after it expires. This creates a new web-managed subscription.

What Recipients See in My Account

A redeemed gift is labeled Gift subscription in My Account. Depending on the recipient's situation, they see:

• No payment method on file: The gift end date and an Add payment method button. If the recipient adds a payment method, they keep access after the gift ends and are not charged until then. If they do not, access ends with the gift. 

• After Extend: The next billing date of their current offer. The gift time is added from that date, so the recipient is not charged during the gift period. Regular billing resumes when the gift period ends. 

• After Switch: A What Happens Next note. It explains that they continue on the gifted offer at its standard price after the gift period, and that they can cancel at any time. 

• Canceled subscription: The gift end date. The recipient keeps access until then, and the subscription ends without a charge. 

Recipients can change their offer in the Change plan section of My Account. In progress: available in the coming weeks.

Before the gift ends, Cleeng may send the recipient a reminder email:

• No payment method on file: The recipient gets a reminder to add a payment method to keep access.
• 3-month, 6-month, or annual offers: Recipients in the US get a renewal notice before they are charged.

Recipients outside of the US, or on a monthly offer with a payment method on file, do not get a reminder.

What Gifters See in My Account

Gifters who bought a gift while logged in can see it in My Account > Your payments > Gift history. Before the gift is delivered, they can change the recipient's details with Edit gift delivery details.

Related Articles

• Gift Subscriptions: Set up gifting and choose your redemption settings.
• What Emails Are Sent to My Customers?: See the emails gifters and recipients receive.
• Guest Checkout: Let gifters buy without an account.