Question 1

What counts as a bounty on Chowvoy?

Accepted Answer

There are two kinds. A dish bounty is a specific dish an owner has listed on their menu that nobody has delivery-tested yet — it is marked “Needs Delivery Testing” and carries no travel score until someone tests it. A place bounty is restaurant-level: a neighbourhood spot, such as the Pacific Beach places on our map, that has never had a confirmed receipt. Both pay 75 ChowPoints to the first real tester.

Question 2

How much is a bounty worth, and who gets it?

Accepted Answer

75 ChowPoints, paid once. It goes to the first person whose receipt is confirmed for that dish or that place. After it is claimed the bounty closes and everyone else still earns the ordinary 50 points for a confirmed receipt — later tests improve the score, they just don't repeat the bonus.

Question 3

Why does an untested dish have no delivery score?

Accepted Answer

Because we have never seen it travel. A dish only gets a travel score from real receipt-backed reviews, so an untested bounty shows “Needs Delivery Testing” and no score rather than a guess. That is the whole point of the bounty: someone has to order it first.

Question 4

How do I find open bounties?

Accepted Answer

Open the map or Explore and look for the 🎯 bounty tag, or use the “Unverified Bounties (+75 pts)” filter on Explore. Tapping an open bounty takes you straight to the receipt upload with that restaurant and dish already selected.

Question 5

Why hasn't a place bounty paid out even though someone ordered there?

Accepted Answer

A place bounty only pays once the spot is linked to a claimed restaurant listing — that is, an owner has verified the listing so we know it is the real business. Until then it stays open. Dish bounties, which come from an owner's own menu, pay as soon as the first real receipt is confirmed.

Question 6

Do I have to order direct to claim a bounty?

Accepted Answer

No. Ordering through the restaurant's own link (Toast, ChowNow, Square, Owner.com) is encouraged because the restaurant keeps more of your money and we can point you straight back to them, but a marketplace receipt works too. Just tell us honestly which service delivered it so courier ratings stay separate from the restaurant's own score.

Question 7

How many points do I get for a receipt?

Accepted Answer

50 ChowPoints for a confirmed receipt, once per receipt no matter how many dishes you review on it. Photograph your paper receipt together with the packaging and we add 15 more, so that scan is worth 65.

Question 8

So how does a first scout test reach 75?

Accepted Answer

50 base points plus a 25-point first-test bonus. Whether you are first on an owner-listed dish or first at a bountied place, the bonus is the same 25 — and the two never stack on one review, because a single review can only be the first for one thing.

Question 9

Can I earn points for every dish on a big receipt?

Accepted Answer

No. Points are per receipt, not per dish, so a six-dish order is still one 50-point receipt. Reviewing all six is still worth it: each dish gets its own travel score and every review nudges the restaurant's delivery score.

Question 10

What do my lifetime points do?

Accepted Answer

They set your inspector title. Under 200 lifetime points you are a Tote Rookie, 200 to 499 makes you a Steam Detective, and 500 or more makes you a Packaging Sommelier. Your spendable balance and your lifetime total are tracked separately — spending points never lowers your title.

Question 11

What does not earn points?

Accepted Answer

Sample and demo scans earn nothing, and neither does a receipt that never gets confirmed. If you upload a photo but don't finish the review within 30 minutes, the scan expires and you can upload it again.

Question 12

Why did my balance not move after I uploaded a photo?

Accepted Answer

Points are only added when the review is submitted and confirmed against your receipt, not when the photo is uploaded. If you uploaded but never finished the review, open your Scout Inbox and tap Finish on the pending receipt before it expires.

Question 13

How long does approval take?

Accepted Answer

No waiting. Your review is checked against the receipt you uploaded as you submit it, and if it passes, your points land immediately. Your balance updates on the Scout Dashboard without a reload.

Question 14

What exactly changes once it is confirmed?

Accepted Answer

Your ChowPoints balance and lifetime total go up, your inspector title is recalculated, the dish's travel score is written or updated, and the restaurant's packaging average is recomputed from its real receipt reviews. Your receipt also becomes eligible for a courier rating.

Question 15

How is a dish's travel score worked out?

Accepted Answer

The first confirmed review of a dish sets its score. After that, each new review moves it a fifth of the way toward the new rating, so early tests matter most and the score settles as more people order the same dish.

Question 16

Do I get to rate the driver too?

Accepted Answer

Yes — once per confirmed receipt, for the delivery service that actually brought your food, not for an individual driver. A service's rating only goes public after three ratings, so one bad night cannot define it.

Question 17

What if the food was fine but the driver was terrible?

Accepted Answer

Flag it as a courier problem. Courier faults are kept out of the restaurant's own delivery score, so a restaurant is not punished for a driver it does not employ. The courier service still carries that rating.

Question 18

When does a restaurant get its Delivery Ready badge?

Accepted Answer

Only when its average packaging score reaches 8.5 or higher and it has at least five confirmed receipt reviews that are not courier faults. The database calculates it from real orders, so an owner cannot claim it and it disappears if quality slips.

Question 19

Will other people see what I reviewed?

Accepted Answer

The public Bounty Vault leaderboard shows which dishes were first tested, at which restaurant and with what score — but not who tested them. Your name stays private; only your points and title are yours to see.

Question 20

What can I spend ChowPoints on?

Accepted Answer

Two things right now: a ticket for the weekly $50 Delivery Credit raffle costs 100 points, and a $5 direct-order code from a partner restaurant costs 250 points. Both are redeemed from the Bounty Vault or your Wallet.

Question 21

The coupon button says unavailable — did I lose points?

Accepted Answer

No. If a partner has run out of real codes the button is disabled and the backend refuses the redemption without touching your balance, so you see “Partner Codes Restocking — Enter Weekly $50 Raffle Instead”. Try another partner or the raffle instead.

Question 22

Can I enter the raffle any time?

Accepted Answer

Only while a week's draw is open. If no draw is open the button reads Closed and no points are taken. One ticket is one entry; more tickets are more chances.

Question 23

Do my points expire?

Accepted Answer

Points do not expire. What expires is a receipt scan: you have 30 minutes from uploading a photo to finish the review, and unfinished scans sit in your Scout Inbox with the time remaining shown.

Question 24

Can I turn points into cash?

Accepted Answer

No. ChowPoints are a community reward, not money — they buy raffle entries and partner discount codes, and they carry no cash value.

Scout FAQ

Points at a glance

How bounties work

How points are calculated

What happens after a receipt is approved

Spending your points

Ready to earn your first 75?