> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.rafflex.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.rafflex.io/marketing/website-tools/promos-and-discounts/how-bonus-tickets-are-counted.md).

# How Bonus Tickets Are Counted

How free bonus tickets from Buy One Get One Free and Bundle promotions are worked out, and how they count towards your ticket limits.

**The short answer:** your promotion gives away free tickets, and those free tickets always count towards the competition's ticket limits, just like paid tickets. If a customer's paid tickets plus their free tickets would go over a limit, they are stopped and asked to buy fewer. Remember that one rule and everything on this page falls into place.

This page explains how the free (bonus) tickets are worked out for **Buy One Get One Free** and **Bundles** promotions, and how your ticket limits can stop a customer claiming the full bonus you advertised.

{% hint style="info" %}
New to promotions? Start with [Promos and Discounts](/marketing/website-tools/promos-and-discounts.md), then come back here to understand the counting.
{% endhint %}

***

### How many free tickets a customer gets

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="Buy One Get One Free" %}
Every ticket a customer pays for comes with one free ticket, as long as the number they buy is between your **Min** and **Max**.

* **Below the Min:** no free tickets.
* **Between the Min and the Max (including both):** free tickets equal to the number they paid for. Buy 8, get 8 free.
* **Above the Max:** no free tickets at all.

The **Max** is a **cut off**, not a cap. A **Max** of 20 does not mean "the most free tickets I give away is 20". It means the offer switches off for anyone buying more than 20. So a customer who buys 25 gets **zero** free tickets, not 20.

{% hint style="warning" %}
If you want everyone who reaches the minimum to get the offer, **leave Max empty**, or set it high enough to cover the biggest order you expect. A Max that is too low quietly turns the offer off for your biggest spenders.
{% endhint %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Bundles" %}
A customer gets the free tickets from **the single best tier they qualify for**, not the total of every tier below it.

Say you set up these tiers:

* Buy 5, get 2 free
* Buy 10, get 5 free
* Buy 20, get 10 free

| Customer buys | Best tier reached | Free tickets        |
| ------------- | ----------------- | ------------------- |
| 4             | None              | 0                   |
| 7             | Buy 5             | 2                   |
| 10            | Buy 10            | 5                   |
| 20            | Buy 20            | 10 (not 2 + 5 + 10) |
| 35            | Buy 20            | 10                  |

Unlike Buy One Get One Free, there is no cut off. Buying more than your top tier still earns that top tier's free tickets.

This is worth saying plainly to your customers too, because listing the tiers together can make the bonus look cumulative when it is not.
{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}

***

### Bonus tickets count towards your ticket limits

This is the rule that catches people out, so it is worth reading twice.

Every competition can have a **Max per user** (the most tickets one customer can hold) and a **Max per order** (the most tickets in one order). Free bonus tickets are **included** in both, alongside the paid ones. They also come out of the competition's remaining tickets, so a promotion uses up your ticket pool faster.

Here is what customers see when the bonus would take them over a limit:

* **When adding tickets.** If the tickets being added, plus their bonus, would go over a limit, the tickets are not added. The customer sees a message such as "Adding 15 tickets would give you 30 total (including bonus tickets), which exceeds the limit of 20 per order. Please reduce your quantity." (or "per customer" for a **Max per user** limit).
* **At checkout, over the per order limit.** The paid quantity in the basket is reduced automatically so the order fits within **Max per order** once the bonus is added, and the customer sees "A max of 20 tickets per order on 'Competition name'. Quantity reduced." They can check the new quantity and then continue to pay.
* **At checkout, over the per customer limit.** Tickets the customer already owns are checked when they pay. If those tickets, plus this order and its bonus, would go over **Max per user**, that competition is removed from the basket and they are told they have reached the maximum amount of tickets they can buy for it. They can then add a smaller quantity and try again.
* **At checkout, not enough tickets left.** If fewer tickets remain than the order needs (paid plus free), the customer is told how many are left and asked to "reduce your quantity and take into consideration any promotions that may be running".

Rafflex never quietly trims the free tickets to make an order fit. Whenever a limit gets in the way, the customer is shown a message explaining what happened.

***

### Worked examples

| Promotion                           | Limit                                      | What happens                                                                                                                                                                                              |
| ----------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Bundle: buy 10, get 10 free         | Max per user 20                            | Works perfectly. Buying 10 gives 20 tickets, exactly on the limit.                                                                                                                                        |
| Bundle: buy 10, get 10 free         | Max per user 18                            | The customer can never claim this bundle. Buying 10 would total 20, which is over 18, so they are asked to reduce their quantity.                                                                         |
| Buy One Get One Free, Min 1, no Max | Max per order 50                           | A customer can buy up to 25 in one order (25 paid plus 25 free). If they try to check out with 30, the basket is reduced to 25.                                                                           |
| Buy One Get One Free, Min 1, no Max | Max per user 100, customer already owns 90 | Buying 5 more gives 10 tickets, taking them to exactly 100. That is allowed. Buying 6 would take them to 102, so at checkout the competition is removed from their basket and they need to add 5 instead. |

In the second example, the bundle can never be claimed, because the limit leaves no room for the free tickets.

***

### What this means for you

Setting promotions up is easy once you plan around the limits:

1. Decide the offer you want to advertise (for example "buy 10, get 10 free").
2. Work out the **largest total** a customer could end up with, paid plus free. In that example, 10 + 10 = 20.
3. Set **Max per user** and **Max per order** to at least that total, so there is room for both the paid tickets and the free tickets you are promising. If you leave a limit empty, there is no limit to worry about.
4. Remember that free tickets come out of your total ticket count, so a busy promotion can sell a competition out sooner than you expect.

{% hint style="success" %}
Get the limits right once and the rest looks after itself. Just remember the single rule: **limits count paid and free tickets together.** Leave room for both and your promotions work exactly as advertised.
{% endhint %}

You will find **Max per user** and **Max per order** on each competition's form, and the **Promotion Type** in the right hand column of the same form. For more on how the limits work together, see [Ticket Limits Explained](/create-your-first-raffle/create-a-competition/ticket-limits-explained.md).

{% content-ref url="/pages/pTNWD9U8rVBqJnfvePj5" %}
[Promos and Discounts](/marketing/website-tools/promos-and-discounts.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}