Introduction
You booked a new client. The appointment went well. They left happy.
And then you never heard from them again.
Sound familiar? It is one of the most common frustrations for service businesses running on WordPress. You invest in getting a client through the door, deliver a great experience, and still lose them to a competitor next time.
Loyalty programs have long been a proven answer to this problem. Points, rewards, tiers, and incentives keep clients engaged between appointments and give them a reason to come back.
myCred is a WordPress plugin that lets you build exactly that: a customizable loyalty and rewards system, directly on your own website.
In this article, I will walk through what myCred is, how it works, what I found in testing and research, how it connects to appointment-based workflows, and whether it makes sense for service businesses using Booknetic.
What Is myCred?
myCred is a points management and gamification plugin for WordPress. It has been around since 2013 and is trusted by over 10,000 websites.
The core idea is simple: you reward users with points when they take actions on your site. Those points can accumulate, be redeemed for discounts or perks, unlock badges, and push users up leaderboard rankings.
The plugin itself is free. Premium add-ons and integrations are available through the myCred Toolkit and paid membership plans.
What it does out of the box:
Create custom point types (for example: "Booking Points," "Loyalty Credits")
Set up rules (hooks) that automatically award points based on user activity
Track point history per user in a dashboard log
Award badges for milestones achieved
Set rank tiers users progress through
Allow users to buy points or redeem them for coupons
Display balances, history, and leaderboards via widgets and shortcodes
The plugin is available free at WordPress.org. The myCred Toolkit companion plugin (also free) adds 49 integration modules, including the Booknetic connection.
Once installed, myCred adds its menus to the WordPress admin sidebar, giving you quick access to the Log, Hooks, Settings, and Ranks from a single panel.
Why Do Loyalty Programs Matter for Service Businesses?
Before getting into the plugin, it is worth asking whether loyalty programs actually work for appointment-based businesses.
The short answer: yes, significantly.
Here are some figures worth knowing:
80% of salon revenue comes from repeat clients, who make up around 42% of the client base.
73% of clients say they are more likely to choose a salon or spa that runs a loyalty or membership program.
Service companies that added online booking saw an average revenue increase of 37%, with some approaching 125%.
The average cost of acquiring a new client is 5 to 7 times higher than retaining an existing one.
Loyalty programs work because they change the psychology of a transaction. Instead of a one-off purchase, a booking becomes part of a longer journey. Clients who are accumulating points are less likely to shop around for alternatives.
For businesses using Booknetic as their appointment booking system, this is a real opportunity. Your clients are already booking through a structured system. Adding a rewards layer on top of that workflow gives those clients something to look forward to on their next visit.
The myCred and Booknetic Integration: What Actually Exists
This is the key question: is there a real connection between myCred and Booknetic?
Yes, there is. But it is worth being specific about what it is and what it is not.
The myCred Toolkit (the free companion plugin) added a Booknetic integration in version 1.4. The changelog states:
"New integration: Booknetic. Booknetic: New event: On booking completion."
This means myCred can detect when a client completes a Booknetic booking and automatically award them points. I verified the Booknetic hook in a controlled testing environment: after enabling the module and configuring the hook, a booking completion event triggered the myCred hook, 10 points were awarded to the test user, and the transaction appeared in the myCred log.
What the integration does:
Detects completed bookings through Booknetic
Awards a configured number of points to the customer's myCred wallet
Logs the transaction in myCred's history panel
Triggers any follow-on logic you have set up (rank upgrades, badge awards, etc.)
What the integration does not do (currently):
Allow clients to pay for Booknetic appointments using myCred points
Sync point balances back into Booknetic natively
Trigger points for appointment cancellations, rescheduling, or no-shows
This integration connects to Booknetic's native booking confirmation events using WordPress action hooks. It works end-to-end once both plugins are active on the same WordPress site. For most use cases, specifically rewarding clients after a completed appointment, this is exactly what you need.
How to Set It Up: A Practical Walkthrough
Here is how you would connect myCred with Booknetic to start rewarding clients for completed appointments.
Step 1: Install the Core Plugins
You need three plugins active on your WordPress site:
myCred (free, from WordPress.org)myCred Toolkit (free, from WordPress.org)Booknetic (your existing booking plugin)
Step 2: Configure a Point Type
In your WordPress dashboard, go to myCred > Settings and configure your point type. Give it a name clients will recognize, like "Booking Points" or "Loyalty Credits." You can set the format (for example: 1 point = $1 credit) and upload a small icon.
Step 3: Enable the Booknetic Module
In myCred Addons , find the Booknetic module and activate it. Once enabled, it registers a hook that listens for Booknetic's booking completion event.
After activation, the Booknetic booking completion hook appears in the Available Hooks panel on the myCred Hooks page:
Step 4: Set Up the Hook
Click or drag the Booknetic hook to the Active Hooks area:
Then expand the hook to configure its settings:
Points: How many points to award per completed booking (for example: 10)Log Template: The label clients see in their point history (for example: "Points for completing a Booknetic booking")
Click Save to activate the hook. From this point on, every completed Booknetic booking will automatically award the configured number of points to the client.
Step 5: Display Point Balances to Clients
Use myCred shortcodes or the Loyalty Widget to show clients their current balance on their account page, confirmation pages, or any other page. The built-in floating widget keeps points visible without disrupting the booking flow.
Step 6: Set Up Redemption
By default, myCred points can be redeemed as WooCommerce coupon codes. If you are using Booknetic with WooCommerce Payments, clients can convert their points into a discount coupon before their next booking.
Use Cases: Practical Loyalty Workflows for Booking Businesses
Here are specific ways service businesses can use myCred alongside Booknetic.
1. Reward Completed Appointments
The simplest use case. Every time a client completes a booking, they earn points. Set this up once and it runs automatically.
Example setup:
10 points per completed booking
100 points = $10 discount coupon
Client books 10 times, earns a free session equivalent
This mirrors how a punch card works, except it is automated and digital.
2. Incentivize Repeat Bookings
You can award bonus points for:
Referring a friend who makes a booking
Logging in to their account within X days of an appointment
Completing a profile or leaving a review via your WordPress site
Combine myCred's referral hook with your booking workflow to reward clients who send new clients your way.
3. Create Client Tiers
Use myCred's Ranks feature to create membership tiers that unlock perks as clients accumulate points.
Example structure:
Bronze (0 to 99 points): Standard booking accessSilver (100 to 299 points): 5% discount on all servicesGold (300+ points): Priority scheduling and 10% discount and exclusive service access
Tiers give clients a visible goal to work toward and a reason to stay loyal.
4. Sell Service Packages with Points
If you use WooCommerce to sell packages, gift cards, or prepaid service bundles alongside Booknetic, myCred lets clients pay for those products using accumulated points. This creates a complete loyalty loop: book, earn, spend.
5. Run Time-Limited Bonus Campaigns
The Time-Based Rewards add-on (premium) lets you award double or triple points during specific windows. This is useful for filling slow periods:
"Double points on Monday bookings this month"
"Earn 50 bonus points for your first booking in January"
6. Gamify Attendance with Badges and Leaderboards
For businesses with a strong community feel (fitness studios, yoga centers, group practices), myCred's badge and leaderboard features add a social layer. Clients see where they rank, which can drive repeat visits through friendly competition.
What I Found in Testing and Research
I tested myCred alongside the Booknetic integration module, and also reviewed the official documentation, changelogs, and user reviews from WordPress.org and third-party platforms. Here is what stands out as genuinely useful and what to watch out for.
The Booknetic Hook Works as Described
After enabling the Booknetic module in the myCred Toolkit and configuring the hook, a booking completion event triggered the award of 10 points to the test account. The transaction showed up in the myCred Log immediately, with the correct reference and point total:
The hook is simple to configure: one field for the point value, one for the log label that clients see in their history. It activates in seconds once the module is enabled.
What Works Well
The hook system is flexible and well-designed. Activating a hook takes seconds: find the event, set the point value, enable it. Most service business use cases can be covered with the free tier.
The Booknetic integration connects to the booking completion event. When Booknetic records a confirmed appointment, myCred picks it up automatically and awards points to the right account. For rewarding clients per completed booking, this covers the core use case cleanly.
The Loyalty Widget is a nice touch. It is a floating front-end panel that shows clients their points, rank, and recent history without sending them away from your booking flow. Persistent visibility matters for loyalty engagement.
The dashboard is comprehensive. You can see top users, recent transactions, and points earned from specific hooks. This helps you understand which incentives are driving behavior.
Multiple point types are supported. You can run separate programs for different services or service categories. A clinic offering both physiotherapy and nutrition consultations could run separate reward tracks.
The free version is genuinely usable. You do not need to pay anything to set up the basic booking reward loop: book appointment, earn points, redeem for coupon.
Limitations and Things to Know
No points-as-payment for Booknetic. The Amelia booking plugin has a deeper myCred integration that allows clients to pay for appointments directly using points. The Booknetic integration currently only awards points; it does not accept them as payment. This is a notable gap.
Setup takes some time. The admin interface has a lot of options spread across multiple menus. Expect to spend two to three hours getting everything configured and tested.
WooCommerce is required for some redemption features. Coupon-based redemption is the main native path. If you are not using WooCommerce, your redemption options are more limited.
Premium features add up. Birthday rewards, email campaigns, double-points events, and Zapier automation are all premium add-ons. The Business plan at $299/year covers the most features.
Performance at scale. myCred logs every transaction in the database. On high-volume sites, this can lead to database bloat over time. Manageable with cleanup settings, but worth knowing for busy businesses.
myCred Strengths at a Glance
Area
Observation
Ease of install
Simple, standard WordPress plugin installation
Free version value
High: booking rewards, badges, ranks all available free
Booknetic integration
Yes: awards points on booking completion (myCred Toolkit v1.4)
Customizability
Excellent: point types, hooks, tiers, badges all configurable
Redemption options
Coupons, WooCommerce store credit, cashback (with premium)
Support
Priority support on paid plans; community forum for free users
Design/frontend
Loyalty Widget provides clean client-facing display
Developer options
REST API, hooks, shortcodes for custom implementations
myCred Pricing
myCred operates on a freemium model.
Core plugin: Free
Available on WordPress.org. Includes points management, hooks, badges, ranks, and basic add-ons.
myCred Toolkit: Free
Available on WordPress.org. Includes the Booknetic integration and 49 other free modules.
Premium plans (annual, per number of sites):
Plan
Annual Price (1 site)
Key extras
Basic
$99/year
23+ premium add-ons, enhancement and integration modules
Professional
$149/year
33+ premium add-ons, points purchasing gateways, Pro e-commerce
Business
$299/year
49+ premium add-ons, Stripe gateway, all integrations and cash-out options
All plans include a 14-day money-back guarantee. Lifetime deals are available at a discount when promoted.
For most service businesses starting out, the free core plugin plus the free myCred Toolkit will cover the basic booking reward loop. Upgrading becomes worthwhile when you want birthday rewards, email campaigns, double-points events, or Zapier automation.
Who Is myCred Good For?
myCred is a strong fit for:
Salons and spas wanting to reward repeat clients automaticallyFitness studios and yoga centers looking to gamify attendanceMedical and wellness clinics running client retention programsConsultants and coaches who want to incentivize rebooked sessionsAny service business using Booknetic plus WooCommerce as their backend
It is less ideal for:
Businesses that need points to be accepted as direct payment for appointments
Non-technical site owners who want a plug-and-play solution with zero configuration
Very high-traffic sites that have not planned for database scaling
Final Verdict
myCred is a well-built, genuinely useful tool for service businesses that want to reward client loyalty without leaving WordPress.
The Booknetic integration in myCred Toolkit v1.4 is real and functional. It awards points automatically when a client completes a booking. That alone can power a simple but effective loyalty loop: book, earn, redeem.
For businesses ready to invest a few hours in setup, myCred offers a level of control and flexibility that dedicated SaaS loyalty platforms charge significantly more for, while keeping everything on your own WordPress site.
The free version is a sensible starting point. If you want automated email campaigns, double-points events, or cashback features, the Basic or Professional plan at $99 to $149 per year is reasonable for what you get.
Bottom line: If you run a service business on Booknetic and want to reward your best clients, myCred is the most practical WordPress-native way to do it. It takes some setup, but the result is a fully automated, owned loyalty program that works in the background while you focus on delivering great service.
Try myCred for free and install the myCred Toolkit to activate the Booknetic integration.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does myCred work with Booknetic?
Yes. The myCred Toolkit (version 1.4) added a Booknetic integration that automatically awards points when a client completes a booking. myCred and the myCred Toolkit are both available free on WordPress.org. Booknetic is available from the official Booknetic website.
Can clients pay for Booknetic appointments using myCred points?
Not directly. The current integration awards points for completed bookings but does not support using points as a payment method for Booknetic appointments. Clients can redeem points for WooCommerce discount coupons, which can then be applied to services.
Is myCred free?
The core myCred plugin and the myCred Toolkit are both free. Premium plans start at $99/year and unlock additional add-ons for email campaigns, birthday rewards, double-points events, and Stripe-powered point purchases.
Do I need WooCommerce to use myCred with Booknetic?
You do not need WooCommerce to award points for bookings. However, WooCommerce is required for coupon-based point redemption or allowing clients to purchase points. Without WooCommerce, you can still display balances, award badges, and create ranks.
What happens if a client cancels their booking after earning points?
The default myCred setup does not automatically deduct points for cancellations. You would need to handle this manually through the myCred admin panel. This is a limitation of the current Booknetic integration.
Can I run myCred on a site with multiple service providers?
Yes. myCred supports multiple point types and flexible hook rules, so you can design a single program that covers all your services or configure separate programs per service category.
How do clients see their points?
myCred includes shortcodes and a Loyalty Widget (a floating front-end panel) that displays point balances, recent transaction history, ranks, and badges. You can add these to client account pages, booking confirmation pages, or anywhere on your site.
Is there a risk that clients will game the system?
myCred includes rate limiting and fraud prevention options. You can set per-day or per-instance limits on hooks to prevent abuse. For appointment-based rewards, gaming is naturally limited since each completed booking requires a real appointment.
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