Understanding the Wealthy Affiliate Points System
What is the Wealthy Affiliate points system - My Simple Explaination.
The Wealthy Affiliate points system is a fun way to reward members for being active and helping others. You earn points whenever you contribute to the community, like writing posts, asking or answering questions, or engaging with other members.
Each month, everyone’s points go back to zero so all members start fresh. Your last 30 days of activity appear on your dashboard leaderboard, showing how you’re doing compared to others.
What makes it even better is that these points are not just for show. They have real cash value. The more you participate and support the community, the more you can earn. It’s a simple system that motivates members to stay involved, learn, and grow together.
Understanding the Wealthy Affiliate Points System

Wealthy Affiliate points system explained
(Why Your Leaderboard Points Drop Even When You Stay Active)
Many Wealthy Affiliate members have recently noticed something confusing:
- Your total points for the month look correct
- Your earnings stay the same
- But your Overall Leaderboard points suddenly drop, sometimes by 500, 1,000, or even more
If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Many active members have been asking the same question.
This guide explains how the WA points system works, why your leaderboard score might drop, and why this doesn’t mean you’re losing your actual points - unless you’ve broken the community engagement guidelines.
1. Your Monthly Points and Earnings Never Disappear
At the top of your dashboard, you see something like:
- 20,343 Points (This Month)
- $55.44 earnings
These numbers belong to the current month only.
They are always correct.
These points are safe, they do not disappear, and they do not get deducted from your earnings.

2. Only the Leaderboard Points Change - Because They Expire After 30 Days
This is the part most members don’t know:
➤ Leaderboard points have a 30-day lifespan.
That means:
- Every point you earned 31 days ago will automatically expire today.
- Every point you earn today will stay active for the next 30 days.
So, your Overall Leaderboard score is a rolling 30-day total.
This is why you sometimes see a big drop.
For example:
If you earned 1,000 points on October 10, then on November 10, that exact 1,000 points will fall off the leaderboard.
This explains why some members saw:
- From 18,200 points → down to 16,700 → then 16,000
- Or dropping 1,000 points at a time
It’s simply points expiring from 30 days ago.

3. The Leaderboard and Monthly Overview Will NEVER Match - And That’s Normal
Members like @TheAmazingMG and @apache1 pointed this out:
“The Point Overview and the Overall Leaderboard have never aligned.”
And they are correct.
Here’s why:
🎯 The Point Overview = current month only
It shows:
- Points earned since the 1st of the month
- Does NOT expire daily
- Does NOT include last month
🎯 The Overall Leaderboard = last 30 days
It includes:
- Some points from this month
- Some from last month
- And loses points every single day (from 30 days ago)
⭐ So they are counting two completely different things.
They will never match, and they don’t need to.

4. You Are NOT Losing Points for Being Active
Some members were worried:
“We are losing points even though we’re active every day.”
Here’s the truth:
You are not losing points for being active.
You are simply seeing:
- Yesterday’s points + today’s points
- MINUS the points that expired from 30 days ago
If the points expiring are larger than the points you earned today, your leaderboard total will drop.
This is normal.

5. Why Wealthy Affiliate Designed It This Way
The rolling 30-day system helps keep the leaderboard:
- Fresh
- Fair
- Active
- Competitive
Instead of rewarding only old members who built up points years ago, the system rewards current activity.
It makes sure the leaderboard reflects:
✔ the most active helpers
✔ most engaged educators
✔ most supportive community members
within the last 30 days
This allows new members to rise quickly.
6. Example Based on the Image Below - My Wealthy Affiliate Points.
dashboard shows:
✔ 20,343 points this month (safe, current, accurate)
✔ 37,046 points on the leaderboard (rolling 30 days)
Your leaderboard score is higher because it includes:
- Points from late last month
- Points from early this month
As older points expire (from 30 days earlier), you will see daily fluctuations.
This does not affect your earnings or your monthly total.

Final Message to Wealthy Affiliate Members
If your leaderboard score drops:
- It is not a glitch
- It is not a penalty
- It is not because you're inactive
- Your monthly points and earnings are perfectly safe
It’s simply the rolling 30-day system doing what it was designed to do.
The best way to keep your leaderboard score high is to:
- Stay active
- Keep helping
- Keep earning daily points
And your 30-day score will stay strong.

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Recent Comments
51
You are welcome, Lanicheducl.
Hope the post helps clears some of the questions if any .
Paul.
This is a real eye-opener - a fascinating read. I only see my points when I am doing AI articles, finding out how much points I have left. I will investigate the leaderboard.
Glad you picked something up from the post.
Some members were complaining about their points disappearing suddenly and I post this to help them understand.
Paul.
Love it!
Hope it helps straighten the twisted minds of other Wealthy Affiliate marketing gurus here.
See more comments
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Good Morning/ Evening Paul.
Thanks for this is the clearest and most complete breakdown of the WA points system I have seen so far. You not only explained the rolling 30-day structure, you laid out why the leaderboard moves the way it does, which is the part most people miss. The separation between the monthly totals and the leaderboard totals finally makes sense when it is spelled out the way you’ve done here.
The examples and screenshots help, and the emphasis on nothing affecting earnings or actual monthly points is important. This should be required reading for new members who assume something is wrong when the leaderboard drops. Solid work on this one.
JD
Good morning/evening JD, and thank you so much for your kind words!
I’m really glad the explanation helped make the WA points system clearer. A lot of members get confused when the leaderboard changes, so I wanted to break it down in a simple way and show that their actual earnings and monthly points are safe.
Your feedback truly means a lot, and it encourages me to keep creating guides that help new members feel confident as they learn.
Thanks again for taking the time to share your thoughts.
I really appreciate it!
Paul.
You are most welcome, Paul.
JD
Good morning to you, JD.
Good afternoon/evening to you, Paul.
JD
Good night from my end to you, JD.
Paul.
Rest well, Paul.
JD
Thanks, JD.
You have a pleasant day.
Paul.
Rest well, Paul.
Goodnight.
JD
👍👍👍
👍👍👍
Good morning/evening, JD.
Paul.
Good Evening/morning, Paul.
JD
Good morning/evening, JD.
Paul.
Good morning to you, evening for me.
JD
Have a pleasant evening, JD.
Paul.
It was, Paul.
I hope your day is going well.
JD
Yes. Paul is very good at explaining things.
JD