Discount ad rules for double points
This article is for information only and is not legal advice. Consult your own counsel on how the rules apply to your programme. The decisions and article references below were last checked against primary sources on 16 October 2026.
Since 1 August 2026, article 14 of Turkey’s Regulation on Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices applies to ads for loyalty programmes that consumers can easily access or use, and to conditional offers of the “buy this much, get that” kind. In this post, “accessible loyalty programme” means this: the article covers only programmes that consumers can easily access and use. This November is your first under the new rule. 11.11 falls on 11 November and Black Friday on 27 November, the days when you are most likely to think of sending a “double points” message.
In short: the regulation now puts the points campaigns of an easily accessible loyalty programme next to discount-sale ads. The Advertising Board, in its recent decisions, keeps looking at one thing: are the campaign’s condition and restrictions in the main message, or in a footnote or hidden in a link?
What does the regulation say?
Article 14 sets the rules for ads that show a discount. The amendment published in the Official Gazette on 1 July 2026 (no. 33297) added three provisions to it and changed the third paragraph. The Ministry of Trade stated in its announcement of 29 July 2026 that the change takes effect on 1 August 2026.
| Paragraph | What it says |
|---|---|
| 14/1 | An ad that shows a discount states the price before the discount and the start and end dates of the sale, and the quantity if the discounted quantity is limited. |
| 14/3 (changed) | For goods, the reference is the lowest price applied in the ten days before the discount starts. For perishable goods and for services, it is the price before the discounted price. |
| 14/5 (new) | When there are several sales channels, the price before the discount is set only from the price in the channel where the discount is made. |
| 14/6 (new) | Ads for loyalty schemes fall under this article when the scheme is easily accessible or usable by consumers. |
| 14/7 (new) | Conditional-sale ads, where a benefit depends on buying a certain quantity or amount or doing a certain transaction, fall under this article, apart from the rules on showing quantity. |
Does your programme count as “easily accessible”?
This is the first question for a cafe owner, because 14/6 only applies when that condition is met. The regulation does not say whether a programme that needs an app sign-up or a phone number is easily accessible, and the Board has not published a decision on it. Weigh your own programme’s situation with your counsel.
What is the “price before the discount” in a double-points message?
The regulation does not say. What “the price before the discount” means for a points multiplier does not follow directly from the text of article 14. The Board has not yet published a decision under these paragraphs either: the latest published bulletin on 16 October 2026 is from meeting 372 on 13 August 2026, and its files concern ads from before the new rule. Discuss this question with your own counsel; the rule on its own does not answer it.
Whether a coffee or a meal counts as “goods” or as a “service” under 14/3 is your question too, and the ten-day lowest price or the previous price depends on it.
Where does the Board look for the condition?
The decisions below concern ads published before the new paragraphs; the full texts are in the bulletins of meeting 372 and meeting 369. The first two rest on article 18, paragraph 2: “the essential elements of the main promise are stated clearly and understandably in the main message of the advertisement” (our translation).
| Ad | What it said | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| A sports retailer’s website (a February 2026 campaign) | “Earn 2x member points for Valentine’s Day”. The “first purchases only” condition was in a footnote. | Stop order. The Board wrote that “first purchases” is an essential element of the main promise and belongs in the main text, not the footnote. Meeting 372, 13 August 2026. |
| A marketplace’s SMS (26 November 2025) | Points transferred would be “worth exactly double” on 28 November. The 100 TL restriction was only in the linked page. | A fine of 403,004 TL and a stop order. The Board noted that the restriction, an exception to the main promise, was not in the message. Meeting 369, 14 May 2026. |
| A clothing company’s SMS (December 2025) | “Your points are doubling in December”. | No breach found. 13,258 customers actually used the campaign in the period, including customers redeeming points at double value. Meeting 369, 14 May 2026. |
| A clothing shop (June 2026 inspection) | “Buy 1 get 1 free, selected products” | Treated as a conditional sale, so not examined under the discount-sale provisions; nothing misleading found. Meeting 372, 13 August 2026. |
The last row matters because, from 1 August, ads like this fall under the same article through 14/7. We have not yet seen how the Board handles a file like this under the new paragraph.
The yardstick in the first two rows is clear: if you say “double points”, who gets it, when, and up to how much belongs in the headline or the first sentence of the message. A short message does not make a link an acceptable home for the condition. The third paragraph of article 18 accepts a link pointing to more detail in messages, but only “provided that the main promise is given in full”.
The third row shows the other side: if you did what you promised and can show it, that record is in your favour.
What does the message look like?
The text below is only an example of where the conditions go. Change the dates, the restriction and the excluded products to fit your campaign.
(The real message goes out in Turkish; this is a translation for the example, with the placeholders kept as in the Turkish text.)
[İşletme adı]: From 1 to 30 November 2026, members registered in the app earn 2x points on every purchase. Up to 100 points a day. Excluded: [product list]. [Ret için: <short code / link>]
Send only to numbers with SMS consent recorded in İYS.
Setting it up in Bonobo
Smart Campaigns is built from a trigger, a condition and an action. For conditions you can pick a branch or a membership level; for actions you can add points, create a coupon, or send an SMS, an e-mail or a notification. The practical rule: every condition you put on the campaign (for example branch or membership level) and the campaign dates should also be written in the first sentence of the message. When the condition in the setup and the one in the message match, what belongs in the main message is clear.
Verifying a member at the till is a separate matter, with a deadline of 28 February 2027; see KVKK and loyalty card verification.
What can you do this month?
- Write the dates. Put the start and end day inside the message (14/1).
- Move the condition up. “First purchase”, “members only”, “up to 100 points a day”, “except these products”: in the headline or the first sentence (18/2).
- If you show a price, ask your counsel. The price before the discount depends on whether your product counts as goods or a service and on the channel you sell through (14/3, 14/5).
- Do what you said and keep a record. Keep a record of how many members used the campaign.
- Consider a way other than a discount. A member-only perk, a win-back message to people who have not visited for a while, or a gift that unlocks on the next visit in December can carry November without lowering a price. For gift ideas, see birthday campaigns.
If you would like to set up your November campaign in Bonobo, write to us.
The figures and rules in this post come from the linked sources; last checked 16 October 2026.