# Expiration and demotion (https://docs.loybox.com.ar/en/niveles/vencimiento-de-niveles)



A tier can be forever, or something that has to be maintained. Both options are
valid; they serve different purposes.

## Tiers that are maintained
You can give a tier a validity in days. If the member reaches it and then goes
inactive for that period, they drop one step. That way the tier is held through
activity, instead of being kept forever after reaching it once.

<Callout type="info" title="Demotion is one step at a time">
  When a tier expires, the member does not fall all the way down: they drop a
  single tier, and the clock restarts from there. Demotion is gradual and always
  leaves room to react.
</Callout>

## Climbing back up is possible
Demotion answers to inactivity, not to a permanent punishment. Since progress is
calculated over the member's full history, if they buy again and their lifetime
total still clears the higher tier, they move back up on the next purchase. In
practice, expiration only "bites" the members who left for good.

## Where it applies
<Callout title="The base tier never expires">
  Expiration only makes sense on the VIP tiers (the ones above the base) measured
  by points. The base tier, everyone's starting point, never expires: nobody is
  pushed out of the club through inactivity.
</Callout>

## When it is worth it
<Cards>
  <Card title="With expiration" description="The tier is held through activity. Useful for frequent-purchase brands, where asking for consistency to keep a tier makes sense." />

  <Card title="Without expiration" description="The tier reached is permanent. Useful if you would rather the member never lose it once earned." />
</Cards>

<Callout title="How to calibrate the period">
  Too short a period can make a member lose their tier over a normal pause between
  purchases. It is better to start with a generous window and tune it against your
  members' real purchase frequency.
</Callout>