If you want to reward customers with a bigger discount the more they spend, for example $11 off a $100 cart, $25 off $200, and $50 off $300, you need a tiered coupon. Advanced Coupons for WooCommerce Premium builds this in as a single coupon type called Tiered Cart Discount, so you no longer have to create one coupon per spend threshold.
A tiered cart discount coupon holds every threshold in one place. The cart takes the discount of the highest threshold it reaches, and tiers never stack, so a $300 cart takes the $50 tier only, not the $11 and $25 tiers as well.
Prerequisites
- Advanced Coupons for WooCommerce Premium, version 4.1 or later, for the Tiered Cart Discount coupon type.
Create a tiered cart discount coupon
- Go to Coupons → Add New (or open an existing coupon).
- On the General tab, set Discount type to Tiered Cart Discount.
- Choose the Tier discount type: Fixed ($) to take a set amount off, or Percent (%) to take a percentage off. This applies to every tier on the coupon, you cannot mix the two.
- In the Spend tiers table, click Add tier, then enter a Spend at least threshold and the matching Discount value.
- Repeat the previous step for each spend threshold you want to offer.
- Click Save Tiers. The tiers save immediately and publish the coupon if it is still a draft.
A coupon set up this way, for example SAVEBIG, gives $11 off once the cart reaches $100, $25 off from $200, and $50 off from $300. A customer whose cart totals $250 takes the $25 tier only.
Percent vs. fixed tiers, and how a fixed discount is split
A percent tier takes a percentage off every eligible cart item, the same as a normal percentage coupon.
A fixed tier splits its flat amount across the eligible cart items in proportion to what each item is worth, the same way WooCommerce’s own fixed cart discount spreads a flat amount across a cart. The payout is capped at what the eligible items are worth combined, so a cart that cannot carry the whole tier amount takes less than the tier’s face value rather than going negative.
What counts toward a spend tier
The threshold is measured against the cart’s items subtotal before this coupon’s own discount is taken off, the same basis WooCommerce uses for its own minimum spend restriction. Whether that figure includes tax follows your store’s cart price display setting automatically.
An item excluded from the discount, whether by Exclude products, Exclude categories, or Exclude sale items, still counts toward the spend threshold. It simply receives no share of the tier’s discount itself.
What happens if the cart falls below the lowest tier
The coupon removes itself from the cart with a “Spend [amount] more to use this coupon” notice as soon as the cart drops below the lowest spend tier. Trying to apply the coupon before reaching the lowest tier shows the same message. If the coupon has no tiers configured yet, applying it shows “This coupon has no spend tiers set up yet” instead.
Settings this coupon type replaces or hides
Because the spend tiers already define what the coupon does, the coupon editor hides the settings that would otherwise conflict with them:
- Coupon amount (General tab): each tier sets its own discount value instead of one coupon-wide amount.
- Minimum spend (Usage restriction tab): the lowest tier’s threshold is already the entry gate, and a separate minimum spend could contradict it.
- Products and Product categories (Usage restriction tab): a tiered cart discount always applies across the whole cart rather than to chosen products.
- Limit usage to X items (Usage limits tab): this setting only applies to per-product coupon types.
- Percentage Discount Cap (General tab): each tier already sets its own payout, so a separate cap is unnecessary.
Everything else on the Usage restriction and Usage limits tabs still applies as normal: Exclude sale items, Exclude products, Exclude categories, Maximum spend, Individual use only, Allowed emails, Usage limit per coupon, and Usage limit per user.
The coupons list and the single coupon page also show Tiered Cart Discount in place of a dollar or percentage amount, since the coupon carries no single flat value of its own.
Troubleshooting
Why did the coupon disappear from the cart on its own?
A Tiered Cart Discount coupon removes itself as soon as the cart drops below the lowest spend tier. Add items back to the cart to bring the subtotal back up to the lowest tier.
Why does the coupons list show no dollar or percentage amount for this coupon?
This is expected. A tiered cart discount coupon has no single flat amount, so the coupons list and the coupon page show “Tiered Cart Discount” in that column instead of a value.
Why is the discount smaller than the tier amount?
A fixed tier can only discount what the eligible cart items are worth combined. If those items add up to less than the tier’s amount, or if some items are excluded by Exclude products, Exclude categories, or Exclude sale items, the payout is capped at whatever the remaining eligible items can carry.
Frequently asked questions
Can a Tiered Cart Discount coupon mix percent and fixed tiers?
No. The Tier discount type is set once per coupon and applies to every tier in that coupon’s table.
Does a tiered cart discount combine with other coupons in the same order?
Yes, the same as any other coupon, unless Individual use only is enabled on it.
Can I target a tiered cart discount at specific products or categories?
No, the Products and Product categories include fields are hidden for this coupon type because it always applies across the whole cart.
Does the tier still resolve correctly when I add the coupon to an order from wp-admin?
Yes. Editing an order recalculates its coupons the same way the cart does, and the coupon resolves the correct tier against the order’s items.
Do excluded products still count toward the spend threshold?
Yes. An item excluded by Exclude products, Exclude categories, or Exclude sale items still counts toward reaching a tier, it simply takes no share of the discount itself.
How many tiers can I add to one coupon?
There is no fixed limit. Add as many spend thresholds as your promotion needs, and the coupon sorts them into ascending order automatically when they are saved.
What happens if two tiers use the same spend threshold?
A duplicate threshold cannot be resolved, so it is discarded on save and the coupon editor shows a notice explaining that a tier was dropped.
Is Tiered Cart Discount available in the free version of Advanced Coupons?
No, it requires Advanced Coupons for WooCommerce Premium, version 4.1 or later.
Help & support
We have a dedicated support team for Advanced Coupons who knows our products, WooCommerce, and the industry very well. You’re welcome to make use of their expertise at any time, worldwide.
If you are an existing customer please go to the support ticket request form and send us a message.
If you are a free plugin user, please send us a support request on the forum. We actively monitor the WordPress.org support forums for the free plugin and help our users there as best as we can.
