When a major arts and crafts retailer with more than 1,300 stores updates its loyalty program, it's worth paying attention. Michaels rolled out a revamped three-tier Rewards structure in March 2026 that offers members 3% to 9% back in Michaels Rewards depending on qualifying spend. The updated program introduced a new Platinum tier and expanded perks for higher-spending members.
The move reflects a broader shift in retail loyalty strategy. Tiered rewards, personalization, and omnichannel experiences have become increasingly important parts of customer retention strategies. Traditional retailers are adopting many of the digital-first tactics that ecommerce brands have used to encourage repeat purchases.
For ecommerce brands building loyalty programs, Michaels provides a useful case study. The program's structure of progressive tiers, birthday perks, and recurring discounts offers a clear example of how retailers can give higher-value customers progressively stronger benefits. Understanding the approach can help Shopify Plus merchants think through their own retention strategies.
Key Takeaways
- Michaels Rewards has three tiers: Red at 3%, Gold at 6% after at least $300 in qualifying spend, and Platinum at 9% after at least $1,000, based on spend over the applicable 12-month period.
- Gold and Platinum members receive tier-specific Everyday Perks, while birthday perks were introduced at 30% for Red, 40% for Gold, and 50% for Platinum, subject to offer terms and exclusions.
- Bain & Company research found that increasing customer retention by 5% can increase profits by 25% to 95% in the e-commerce businesses it studied.
- Tiered loyalty structures can create clear incentives for customers to increase engagement and progress toward more valuable benefits.
- Modern loyalty programs benefit from consistent experiences across online, mobile, and physical retail channels.
Understanding Michaels Rewards: What Is a Rewards Program?
The new Michaels Rewards program represents a significant restructuring of how the retailer approaches customer loyalty. The current framework uses three tiers designed to reward qualifying spending with increasingly valuable benefits.
A rewards program is a structured marketing strategy that incentivizes repeat purchases by offering customers rewards, discounts, or exclusive perks. These programs create a value exchange in which customers receive benefits for continued engagement and purchasing.
How the Tier System Works
Every member starts at the Red tier and earns 3% in Rewards on eligible purchases. There is no minimum spend requirement to enter the program.
Gold Tier ($300 Qualifying Spend)
Members who have spent at least $300 but less than $1,000 over the relevant 12-month period qualify for Gold. Gold members earn 6% in Rewards on eligible purchases and can access Everyday Perks. Michaels announced a 20% tier-based Everyday Perk for Gold members and a 40% birthday perk, subject to offer terms and exclusions.
Platinum Tier ($1,000 Qualifying Spend)
Members who have spent at least $1,000 over the relevant 12-month period qualify for Platinum and earn 9% in Rewards on eligible purchases. Michaels announced a 25% Everyday Perk, a 50% birthday perk, exclusive product and event previews, and a complimentary Michaels tote bag for Platinum members.
Michaels reviews Gold and Platinum qualifications monthly. It also performs an annual reassessment in January using spend from the prior 12 months to determine status for the coming calendar year.
Credit Card Benefits
Michaels cardholders earn 9% in Rewards on eligible purchases paid with the Michaels Card without an annual spend requirement. Michaels also announced a 30% Everyday Perk for cardholders, periodic free-shipping benefits, special financing offers, and an additional 10% discount on custom framing, subject to applicable terms. These benefits should not be described as automatically granting Platinum status because the 9% cardholder earning rate is tied to purchases made with the Michaels Card.
Getting Started: How to Join Michaels Rewards
Joining Michaels Rewards is free. Under the current U.S. terms, members can sign up online or in-store using an email address and phone number. Certain benefits also require a Michaels.com online account. Purchases at participating U.S. stores and eligible Michaels websites can contribute to Rewards earning and tier qualification.
The Michaels rewards login provides access to account activity and Rewards information. Members can also access issued Rewards vouchers through their online account or the Michaels app.
Maximizing Digital Access
Michaels makes Rewards information and eligible vouchers available digitally through members' online and app accounts. Members can also receive personalized Rewards offers through Michaels communications and access promotional information associated with their account.
Digital access is especially useful for loyalty programs that span physical and online retail. Customers need to be able to recognize their status, see available benefits, and redeem rewards with minimal friction, regardless of where they shop.
For ecommerce brands looking to create similar connected account experiences, Rivo Accounts supports personalized Shopify customer accounts with loyalty information, referrals, wishlists, account personalization, and supported passwordless sign-in options. Authentication capabilities vary according to a merchant's Shopify customer-account configuration, and some Rivo passwordless options require Shopify Plus and Multipass.
Earning Rewards: What Is Michaels Rewards Worth?
The percentage-based earning structure makes the basic value relatively straightforward. Red members earn $3 in Rewards for every $100 in eligible purchases, Gold members earn $6 per $100, and Platinum members earn $9 per $100 while qualified for those tiers.
Beyond the earning rates, tier-specific benefits add additional potential savings. Michaels announced a 20% Everyday Perk and 40% birthday perk for Gold, a 25% Everyday Perk and 50% birthday perk for Platinum, and separate 30% Everyday Perks for Michaels Card holders. Offer exclusions and conditions apply.
Calculating Your Rewards Value
A Red member making an eligible $100 purchase earns $3 in Rewards. A member who is already Gold earns $6 on the same eligible purchase, while a member already qualified for Platinum earns $9.
That qualification matters when estimating value. A customer should not assume that the purchase that pushes total spend over a tier threshold will automatically earn the new tier's rate on that same transaction. Michaels reviews tier qualification periodically, so the most accurate calculation uses the member's tier at the time the purchase is processed.
Everyday Perks can add additional value for frequent shoppers. A 20% discount on an eligible $50 regular-priced item represents $10 in savings, while 25% represents $12.50. Actual savings depend on offer conditions, product eligibility, exclusions, and how frequently the member uses the benefit.
Birthday perks provide another annual benefit. Michaels announced tiered birthday discounts of 30% for Red, 40% for Gold, and 50% for Platinum.
Redeeming Your Michaels Rewards
For U.S. members, each $5 in accumulated Rewards generates a Rewards voucher. Michaels says vouchers are generally issued within 72 hours after the account reaches the $5 threshold. Vouchers remain valid for 32 days from issuance and can generally be used across multiple eligible transactions until their value is depleted or they expire.
In-Store Redemption
Members must provide the Rewards account information associated with their membership when redeeming a voucher. Rewards can be used on eligible products at participating Michaels stores, subject to the exclusions in the program terms.
Online Redemption
Issued vouchers can also be found in members' online or app accounts and used on eligible Michaels.com purchases. Rewards vouchers cannot be redeemed for cash or used to purchase gift cards, extended warranties, tax, shipping, or certain other excluded items and services.
The coupon structure goes beyond base Rewards earning. Michaels also offers tier-based Everyday Perks, birthday offers, Rewards Specials, Bonus Rewards, and other promotional offers. Each offer can have its own eligibility rules and exclusions, so members should review the individual terms rather than assume all discounts can be combined.
Benefits of Michaels Rewards: Increasing Customer Lifetime Value
The program targets several behaviors associated with long-term customer value. The $300 and $1,000 thresholds give customers clear milestones for unlocking higher earning rates, while Everyday Perks provide additional reasons for qualified members to return.
From a broader retention perspective, the economic case for retaining customers can be significant. Bain & Company's e-commerce research found that increasing retention by 5% could increase profits by 25% to 95% in the businesses studied. The exact impact varies by company, economics, product category, and customer behavior.
Customer Lifetime Value Impact
Loyalty programs can help brands identify and reward customers who purchase repeatedly, but the effect on lifetime value depends on program design, margins, redemption behavior, engagement, and whether purchases are truly incremental.
Rather than assuming loyalty membership itself causes higher spending, brands should measure member and non-member behavior, repeat purchase rates, redemption activity, incremental revenue, and program costs over time.
Michaels expanded its Rewards program into Canada in April 2026. Canadian Rewards terms became effective April 5, 2026, and use the same core 3%, 6%, and 9% tier structure. Canada has its own program terms and redemption limits; however, the U.S. and Canadian programs should not be treated as identical.
Michaels Rewards vs. Other Retail Loyalty Programs
Michaels' revamped program is part of a broader wave of loyalty-program changes among major consumer brands in 2026. Its approach emphasizes progressive Reward rates, additional recurring benefits for higher tiers, and integration with its private-label credit card.
What makes the structure notable is its use of straightforward percentage-based Rewards. Members can see the difference between earning 3%, 6%, and 9% without converting an abstract point value into dollars.
Effective retail loyalty programs generally benefit from a clear value proposition, understandable progression, relevant rewards, and consistency across customer touchpoints. Michaels' structure provides clearly defined spend thresholds and increasingly valuable benefits at higher tiers.
Brands can also design programs that reward behaviors beyond transactions, such as referrals, reviews, subscriptions, or other forms of engagement, provided those behaviors support the business's retention goals.
Maximizing Your Rewards: Tips for Members
Review the terms of each offer before trying to combine discounts. Michaels' birthday perks, Everyday Perks, Rewards vouchers, and promotional coupons can each have their own restrictions and exclusions. The safest approach is to check the terms shown with each offer rather than assume that two discounts will stack.
Track tier progress as well. Gold and Platinum qualification is tied to qualifying spend, and Michaels reviews tier status monthly in addition to its annual January reassessment.
Use voucher expiration windows carefully. Rewards vouchers expire 32 days after issuance, so members should monitor their accounts once a voucher has been generated.
It is also important to distinguish issued vouchers from an unconverted Rewards balance. Under current U.S. terms, if a member's Rewards balance remains below the $5 voucher threshold for 12 consecutive months, that balance expires.
Savings with Michaels: What You Need to Know
Retail promotions have increasingly shifted toward digital delivery, account-based offers, app experiences, and more personalized communications. For loyalty programs, that makes the customer account an important part of how shoppers discover and use their benefits.
Michaels itself uses account-based Rewards Specials and personalized Bonus Rewards alongside its standard tier benefits. According to its terms, Bonus Rewards can be based on a member's purchase behavior, and eligible offers can be communicated through Rewards emails, online accounts, the app, and promotional materials.
For ecommerce brands, the broader lesson is not that every loyalty program needs the same technology. It is that rewards should be easy to understand, easy to access, and connected to the customer journey rather than isolated in a separate system that customers rarely visit.
Building Your Own Rewards Program: Learning from Michaels Rewards
Not every brand has more than 1,300 stores. But the principles behind Michaels Rewards can still apply to smaller operations. Michaels says it operates more than 1,300 stores across 49 states and Canada.
Start with clear tier logic. Define the customer behaviors worth incentivizing and build progression around them. For a Shopify store, that could mean spend thresholds, order frequency, referrals, subscription activity, or another measurable behavior relevant to the business.
Integrate the program with the rest of the retention stack. Rivo, for example, currently lists integrations with Klaviyo, Gorgias, Postscript, and more than 50 other solutions. Rivo's integrations can connect loyalty information with email, SMS, reviews, subscriptions, customer service, mobile apps, and other Shopify tools.
Focus on repeat behavior. Member count alone does not tell a merchant whether a loyalty program is working. Repeat purchase rate, redemption behavior, incremental revenue, active member rate, and customer lifetime value provide more useful measures of program performance.
Personalization can also make rewards more relevant. Rather than relying on a single generic offer for every member, brands can use customer history, loyalty status, preferences, and other permitted first-party data to tailor the experience.
Rivo helps Shopify brands build connected retention programs across loyalty, referrals, paid memberships, and customer accounts. Its official documentation includes points programs, VIP tiers, multiple reward types, emails, customer profiles, and related loyalty functionality.
The platform supports tiered loyalty programs, referrals, paid memberships, customer accounts, analytics, and Shopify checkout extensions. For brands looking to explore the product experience, Rivo's interactive demo provides a closer look at its loyalty functionality.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens to my Michaels Rewards if I am inactive?
Under the current U.S. terms, Michaels does not describe this as a blanket rule that “points expire after 12 months of inactivity.” Instead, if a member's unconverted Rewards balance remains below the $5 voucher threshold for 12 consecutive months, that balance expires. Issued Rewards vouchers have a separate expiration period of 32 days from issuance.
Can I combine Michaels Rewards with other payment methods like gift cards?
Michaels Rewards vouchers cannot be used to purchase gift cards, and individual coupons or promotional offers may have their own combination restrictions. Because stacking and payment rules vary by offer and jurisdiction, members should review the terms attached to the voucher or coupon before combining benefits. Canadian Rewards also have separate voucher-combination limits that differ from the U.S. program.
What is the difference between Michaels Rewards and the Michaels credit card?
Michaels Rewards is a free loyalty program with Red, Gold, and Platinum tiers based on qualifying spend. The Michaels Card is a separate credit product issued by Comenity Capital Bank. Cardholders enrolled in Michaels Rewards earn 9% in Rewards on eligible purchases paid with the card and may receive additional cardholder benefits, including the announced 30% Everyday Perk and extra custom-framing discount, subject to applicable terms.
Is Michaels Rewards available in Canada?
Yes. Michaels launched its Rewards program in Canada in April 2026, with Canadian program terms effective April 5, 2026. The Canadian program uses the same basic Red, Gold, and Platinum earning rates of 3%, 6%, and 9%, but Canadian members are governed by separate terms and redemption rules.
How do tier qualifications reset?
Gold and Platinum qualification is based on qualifying spend over the applicable prior 12-month period. Michaels reviews tier qualification monthly, and in January it reviews each member's spend over the preceding 12 months to determine tier status for the coming calendar year. Members should therefore think of qualification as a rolling spend calculation combined with Michaels' annual January reassessment, rather than a simple fixed anniversary reset.
