What is the difference between total points and earned points?
Diller's point system distinguish between Qualifying Points (Points Earned) and Points Available (Total Points).
Item 1 - Qualifying Points (Points Earned)
Qualifying points are the points you earn when you make a purchase, either through the cash register in the store or possibly in the online store. In addition, you get qualifying points from both "registration" and "recruit a friend" if the store has stated that these should give the member a certain score.
This is done under "Settings" --> "Point system".
Any returns or cancellations of orders will also deduct qualifying points.
Unlike available points, the points that one can manually give or subtract from members in the control panel do not count towards qualifying points. In other words, qualifying points cannot be manually controlled, and it is these points that will count for whether the member gets access to a repeating coupon if the store has one.
In other words, both purchases, points for registration and for recruiting a friend, as well as any returns or cancellations of orders, must count towards the qualifying points of a member.
These points follow the qualifying period. For example, if you have a qualifying period of 12 months, all purchases older than 12 months will not count towards qualifying points. The points are in a FIFO queue (first in, first out).
Item 2 - Available Points (Total Points)
The points from a purchase will also be added to the member's total (available) points, in addition to the points members get from "signing up" and "recruit a friend".
So what separates qualifying points from available points is that you can manually manage the available points in the control panel. It is these available points that apply to regular coupons.
This means that both purchases, points you manually add or subtract, points for registration and for recruiting a friend, as well as any returns or cancellations of orders, must count towards the available points of a member.