Toast Bonus Gift Cards: Which Purchases Qualify?

Quick answer: only purchases made in your Toast eGift Card shop earn the bonus. In its October 21, 2026 announcement, Toast says gift cards sold in person on the Toast POS don't earn a bonus gift card, and neither do gift card shops embedded in Toast Websites or branded app gift card flows. The guest has to reach your minimum spend in one cart, counted after discounts. They get one bonus gift card per transaction, for the highest tier they qualify for, and it goes to the receipt email address used for the purchase.

The bonus is a real Toast gift card. It has its own number, PIN and balance, and Toast says it counts toward your gift card liability. That's the difference from Toast's existing Buy X, Get Y voucher promotion, which hands out a single-use promo code instead.

Check access before you promise this to anyone. Toast lists the feature as a limited release in the United States and Canada and says not every location has it. It also needs the Toast Gift Card Module with online eGift card sales turned on. This guide follows Toast's announcement and its setup article and help article, both marked last updated October 15, 2026, 10:37 AM (no time zone given), as they read on October 22, 2026. We didn't set up a promotion or make a purchase to test it.

Which gift card sales earn a bonus

• Your Toast eGift Card shop: yes, when the cart reaches one of your tiers. In Toast Web it's under Finance > Gift cards > eGift card shop.
• Gift cards sold in person on the Toast POS: no, whatever the amount.
• A gift card shop embedded in your Toast Website: no.
• A gift card flow in your branded app: no.

So every ad, post, sign and staff answer should point to the eGift Card shop link itself, not to your website's gift card page. Toast's eGift Card shop article says that link is the Buy eGift Cards link under Takeout & Delivery > Toast Order Sources > Restaurant Info. Tell counter staff plainly that a gift card rung up on the POS doesn't come with a bonus card, so nobody promises one the system won't issue.

If you want a reward for in-store gift card buyers, Toast's separate voucher promotion is the one that covers them. That article (last updated October 14, 2026, and marked Early Access) says vouchers print for qualifying in-store purchases and are emailed for eGift Card shop purchases, and that those campaigns currently have to run both in-store and online. It needs a receipt printer connected to your Toast terminal, and the guest gets a discount code, not a gift card.

How the minimum spend is counted

Toast counts the total gift card value in a single cart, after any discount. Here's a fictional promotion with two tiers. The numbers only show how the rules work. They aren't a suggested offer.

• Tier 1: spend $100, get a $15 bonus gift card.
• Tier 2: spend $250, get a $40 bonus gift card.

How five purchases would come out under Toast's documented rules:

1. Two $50 eGift cards in one cart: $100, so one $15 bonus card. Toast says two $50 cards in one cart count as one $100 purchase.
2. The same two $50 cards bought in two separate checkouts: each cart is $50, so no bonus. The rule is per cart, not per guest.
3. $100 of eGift cards with a $10-off gift card promo code: the subtotal after the discount is $90, so no bonus. Toast says the guest has to meet the minimum after the discount.
4. $300 of eGift cards in one cart: it clears both tiers, so the guest gets one $40 bonus card, not $15 plus $40.
5. $100 of gift cards rung up at the counter on the POS: no bonus. It's the wrong channel.

The highest minimum spend you can set is $500. Toast says that matches the maximum eGift card purchase in the eGift Card shop.

The bonus card goes to the receipt email used for the purchase. The eGift card itself goes wherever the buyer sends it. When someone buys a gift card for a friend, the bonus lands in the buyer's inbox, not the friend's, so don't word the offer as if it travels with the gift.

Bonus gift card or voucher: check which one you're setting up

Both start in Toast Web at Marketing > Offers > Sell more gift cards, and the option names are nearly the same. The bonus gift card is Buy $X in Gift Cards, Get $Y Bonus Gift Card. The voucher is Buy $X in Gift Cards, Get $Y Bonus.

That last row matters if you've used vouchers before. With bonus gift cards, none of the three stop options takes back a card that's already been issued. Plan to honor every one.

Setting it up

This is the path in Toast's setup article. We haven't run it on an account.

1. In Toast Web, go to Marketing > Offers and select the Sell more gift cards tile.
2. Choose Sell more gift cards as the goal, then Buy $X in Gift Cards, Get $Y Bonus Gift Card. If that option isn't there, your location may not have the limited release yet. Don't advertise the offer; ask Toast.
3. Set the first tier: the minimum spend in one cart and the bonus gift card amount. Add more tiers if you want them.
4. Select Continue, set the dates the promotion runs, and select Continue again.
5. Review the tiers and bonus amounts and preview the email guests will get. Toast says neither the bonus card nor its email can be customized right now.
6. Select Create Offer, then Publish.

Toast says your eGift Card shop then shows a banner and pop-up with your tiers. Open the public shop page and check that the tiers and bonus amounts it shows match what you set.

Toast's own verification step in the announcement is to buy qualifying eGift cards and watch for the bonus email. That's a real purchase that creates real gift card balances. Decide who would do it and how those cards will be handled before anyone does.

With more than one location, you need one promotion per eGift Card shop. If all your locations share one shop link, one promotion covers them. Where a guest can use the bonus card is a separate question: Toast says it's redeemable at any location in your gift card group, in person or online if you use Toast Online Ordering.

After launch: tracking, missing bonuses and ending it

Tracking. Go to Marketing > Offers > Track & manage, select the promotion, then Offer Details. You can filter by date or search by gift card number or check ID. Toast says you'll see how many bonus cards were issued and which check each one came from, and that you can deactivate an individual card there. Pick one person to check this list during the offer, so a missing or wrong bonus gets traced to its order.

A guest says they didn't get the bonus. First check that the purchase qualified: eGift Card shop, one cart, subtotal after discounts at or above a tier, within the offer dates. If it did, have them check spam for an email from [email protected] with the subject "Your free gift card to [Restaurant Name]." After that, follow the steps in Toast's help article: get the receipt email address they used and look the card up in Toast IQ, or search Track & manage by check ID. Toast's announcement says you can resend a bonus card from Track & manage too. If a qualifying purchase has no bonus card, contact Toast Customer Care. The card number and PIN are spendable value, so handle them like cash.

Ending it. In Track & manage, open the promotion's three-dot menu. End offer or Complete stops it. Archive stops it and hides it from your list. Guests stop earning bonus cards; the ones already issued keep their balance and can still be redeemed.

What Toast's bonus gift card articles don't cover: what happens to a bonus card when the purchase that earned it is refunded, expiration terms, and how to account for the card beyond saying it counts toward gift card liability. Don't assume the voucher rules carry over. Ask Toast, and your accountant, before you promise guests anything on those points.

And keep the money straight. Gift card sales bring in cash now, but it isn't profit. Each bonus card is extra value you'll give out later as food and drinks, and some of the buyers would have bought gift cards anyway. Our meal deal break-even answer shows how to count the people who would have bought anyway, and the weekly P&L guide covers cash versus profit.

Copyable prelaunch note

Fill this in before anyone advertises the offer. It carries its own scope and stop rules, so it makes sense without this page.

TOAST BONUS GIFT CARD PROMO: PRELAUNCH NOTE
Applies to: Toast "Buy $X in Gift Cards, Get $Y
Bonus Gift Card" (announced Oct 21, 2026). Limited
release, US and Canada; not every location has it.
Needs Toast Gift Card Module + online eGift sales.

Option shows in Toast Web > Marketing > Offers?
[ ] Yes  [ ] No/unsure -> STOP. Don't advertise.
Ask Toast.

Eligible shop URL (eGift Card shop only):
____________________________________________
NO bonus on: in-store POS sales, our Toast Website
gift card shop, our branded app gift card flow.

Tier: spend $____ in ONE cart AFTER discounts
-> $____ bonus gift card. (Highest minimum: $500.)
Tier: spend $____ -> $____ bonus gift card.
One bonus per transaction, highest tier met.
Offer dates: __________ to __________

Bonus goes to the buyer's receipt email, not the
gift recipient. From [email protected],
"Your free gift card to [Restaurant Name]."
It's a real gift card with a balance, counted in
gift card liability.

Issuance checked by: ______________
(Marketing > Offers > Track & manage)

STOP and ask Toast if a qualifying purchase shows
no bonus card. Don't promise a bonus on excluded
channels. Refunds, expiry and accounting aren't
covered in Toast's bonus card docs: ask Toast and
your accountant first.
Ending the offer stops new bonus cards. Issued
cards keep their balance and can be redeemed.