Amway Glossary

ABO APPLICATION

Each ABO must file an application (aka registration form) in order to represent themselves as Amway Business Owners and take part in the Sales and Marketing Plan. It is a legal contract which binds the ABO to follow the terms of that agreement.

ABO NUMBER

The identification number assigned to each ABO around the world.

ABO Price

The price at which you, as an ABO, may purchase products from Amway.

ALEX Magazine

A monthly (or bimonthly) magazine sent to Amway Business Owners to provide recognition, motivation, information, and promotion. Most affiliates produce their own Amagram featuring ABOs and products within that market. The Amagram may also be known by other names in various Amway affiliate markets.

Amway ABO Compensation Plan (Core Plan)

To recognize and reward your achievements, Amway offers an extensive award and bonus system known as the Core Plan. The essence of Amway’s income opportunity is the sale of quality Amway products to retail customers. As your Amway business grows, the rewards you earn grow in proportion. The Amway Core Plan does not compensate anybody for simply recruiting others as Amway Business Owner. Core Plan success is recognized by Pins starting from Silver Producer through Crown Ambassador. Core Plan includes: Performance Bonus (Personal and Differential), Leadership Bonus (Personal, Foster and International), Ruby Bonus, Monthly Depth Bonus, Annual Bonus (Emerald, Diamond, Diamond Plus). The Core Plan stays relatively stable over time, compared to the discretionary programs, Non-Cash Awards and FAA, which are not part of the Core Plan.

AMWAY BUSINESS

An Amway business owned by an Amway Business Owner, as identified by the Amway Business Owner number and contract.

AMWAY BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY

- The business offered by Amway to Amway Business Owners that includes products, brands, marketing, tools, support, and compensation.

AMWAY EXCLUSIVE SHOPPER (AES)

Refers to the individual customer that has access to Amway’s wide portfolio of products.

AMWAY EXCLUSIVE SHOPPER PROGRAM (AESP)

A program that provides Filipino customers access to Amway’s wide portfolio of products and purchase at distributor’s price without becoming an Amway Business Owner.

AMWAY LEADERSHIP SEMINAR (ALS)

is an annual incentive trip or non-cash award (NCA) given to Amway Business Owners for outstanding performance and qualifying through a set of mechanics.

ANNUAL FUND

The amount accumulated in a market over the course of a performance year, equal to 0.25% of either the national or appropriate Emerald or Diamond qualifying volume.

ANNUAL VOLUME

The volume produced in a year that contributes to Emerald and Diamond Bonuses.

AWARDS

The levels of recognition given to ABOs as they build their business. Awards are identified by various pins.

AWARD VOLUME

The PV used to determine an ABO’s award level for an individual month. This PV includes all the volume in the ABO’s downline organization, excluding any downline qualified PV. If an ABO has enough award volume to reach the Silver Producer award level for a given month, he is considered a “qualified leg” for the upline.

BALANCED BUSINESS

To achieve a balanced business, you should build in depth and in width. Only building in depth is not a healthy, sustainable or profitable practice. Moderate depth building is healthy because it leads to business sustainability in case some ABOs in the Line of Sponsorship do not renew or become less active in business.

BUSINESS SUPPORT MATERIALS (BSM)

A term referring broadly to any materials or events, in whatever format, that are marketed by or to ABOs or prospects for the purpose of educating them about the Amway business.

BSMAA

Business Support Materials Arbitration Agreement. Introduced at registration, BSMAA applies the same arbitration procedures used in disputes related to business and applies to any disputes involving separate Business Support Materials-related issues. The BSMAA SA 2033 [PDF] is available online.

CODE OF ETHICS

General ethical principles that an ABO agrees to follow in conducting their business. A part of the Code of Ethics is to comply with the Rules of Conduct.

CORE PLUS +

These incentives are awarded at Amway’s discretion, may change from year to year, and are separate from and in addition to the Amway ABO Compensation Plan (Core Plan). They reward your key achievements in building a sustainable, balanced business.

CUT-OFF DATE

The last possible date for Amway to process an adjustment or order to an ABO’s account for invoicing.

DEPTH

Building a group of ABOs by sponsoring people beneath your personally-sponsored ABOs, then helping those ABOs sponsor people under them, etc. To achieve a balanced business, one should build in depth and width. Only building in depth is not a healthy, sustainable or profitable practice. Moderate depth building is healthy because it leads to business sustainability in case some ABOs do not renew in the Line of Sponsorship.

DIAMOND

A Platinum ABO who has 6 or more personal- or foster-sponsored legs each qualifying at the 21% level for 6 or more months.

DIAMOND BONUS

An annual bonus paid in-market to qualified Diamonds and above.

DIAMOND INVITATIONAL

is an annual incentive trip or non-cash award (NCA) given to the qualified diamonds of a performance year.

DIFFERENTIAL BONUS

The portion of a Performance Bonus an ABO earns on BV generated by downline ABOs at a lower Performance Bonus level than himself/herself.

DISCRETIONARY INCENTIVES

Incentives that are given to you at the discretion of Amway and can be changed at any time. These incentives are separate from and in addition to the Core Plan.

DOWNLINE

All ABOs beneath you in the Line of Sponsorship.

EMERALD

A Platinum ABO who has 3 or more personal- or foster-sponsored legs each qualifying at the 21% level for 6 months or more in a performance year.

EMERALD BONUS

An annual bonus paid in-market to qualified Emeralds and above.

FULL VOLUME

Full volume, which is 10,000 PV, is the volume an ABO leader and the downline group strive to achieve whenever possible, to maximize their benefits from the Sales and Marketing Plan.

FRONTLINE QUALIFIED MONTH (FQ)

A month wherein a frontline of an ABO achieves a qualified month.

FRONTLINE Q (FQ)

You earn a Frontline Q for every in-market leg that qualifies at the 21% Performance Bonus bracket in the month. Used in the calculation of the Frontline Growth Incentive+

FRONTLINE GROWTH INCENTIVE+

Discretionary incentive awarded through the Core Plus+ program. You can earn an annual multiplier by increasing or maintaining your total Frontline Qs compared to the prior year. Available to Founders Platinum and above. Also Refer to Frontline Q

FRONTLINE ABO

An ABO that another ABO personally or foster sponsors. When an ABO sponsors a new individual, this new ABO becomes a member of the sponsor's frontline.

FOUNDERS EMERALD

A Platinum ABO who has 3 or more personal- or foster-sponsored legs each qualifying at the 21% level for 12 months in a performance year.

FOUNDERS DIAMOND

A Platinum ABO who has 6 or more personal- or foster-sponsored legs each qualifying at the 21% level for 12 months in a performance year.

FOUNDERS COUNCIL

The top level of global ABOs. Members of the Founders Council meet to discuss the future of the business with Amway executives. Participation is by invitation only and is for ABOs who have 20 or more FAA points or are qualified as Crown Ambassadors.

FOUNDERS ACHIEVEMENT AWARD (FAA)

An annual award for top leaders who have balanced and sustainable businesses that have contributed to the long-term growth of Amway worldwide. The New FAA Bonus Program started in September 2017 and has globally consistent qualification criteria.

FOSTER SPONSOR

You are a foster sponsor when you sponsor a prospect who is also internationally sponsored.

FOSTER LEADERSHIP BONUS

Every ABO reaching 21% Leadership level generates 6% Leadership Bonus, which either flows in full to the Personal Line of Sponsorship or is split into a 4% Foster Leadership Bonus to flow to the Foster Line of Sponsorship and a 2% International Leadership Bonus flowing to the International Line of Sponsorship. If you, as an upline, have a foster relation with such ABO, you become eligible for Foster Leadership Bonus and must meet certain requirements to qualify for ALL or SOME of it.

FAA POINTS

A measurement of an ABO’s FAA qualification on a global basis.

GLOBAL AWARD RECOGNITION

A global pin that rewards you for building profitable and sustainable businesses through a focus on leaders developing leaders. It starts at the Executive Diamond level.

GROUP VOLUME (GROUP PV)

The monthly volume used to determine the level achieved with the Performance Bonus schedule and the calculation of the Performance Bonus. It includes an ABO’s own PV, plus volume from non-maximum PV legs.

GROUP LEADER

An ABO who has qualified at the 21% (Silver Producer) level.

GOLD PRODUCER

An ABO who meets the Silver Producer requirements for 3 months in a performance year.

GENERATOR

Starting from the bottom of the Line of Sponsorship, this is the first ABO at 21% whose group volume generates a Leadership Bonus upline.

HIGHER AWARD QUALIFICATION

An ABO who qualifies at the Emerald and above level.

INTERNATIONAL SPONSOR

When you live and operate your Amway business in one country and initially introduce a prospect in another country to the Amway opportunity. This results in the prospect starting his own Amway business in his home country with you as the international sponsor.

INTERNATIONAL LEG

A business internationally sponsored by you that is not your Multiple Business.

INTERNATIONAL SPONSOR

An ABO living and operating his Amway business in one country who initially introduces a prospect in another country to the Amway opportunity. This results in the prospect starting his own Amway business in his home country.

INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP BONUS (ILB)

Every ABO reaching 21% Leadership level generates 6% Leadership Bonus, which either flows in full to the Personal Line of Sponsorship or is split into a 4% Foster Leadership Bonus to flow to the Foster Line of Sponsorship and a 2% International Leadership Bonus flowing to the International Line of Sponsorship. If you, as an upline, have an international relationship with such ABO, you become eligible for an International Leadership Bonus and must meet certain requirements to qualify for ALL or SOME of it.

IN-MARKET LEG

A personal or foster sponsored leg within a market.

LINE OF SPONSORSHIP (LOS)

All ABOs both upline and downline from a specific ABO.

LEG

ABO who is personally sponsored by an individual and all downline ABOs from that business.

LEADERSHIP PV

The PV used for Leadership, Foster, and International Leadership Bonus calculations. Leadership PV includes all the downline PV, excluding any ABOs who are at the 21% leadership percentage level.

LEADERSHIP BONUS ADJUSTMENT (LBA)

The minimum amount of a Leadership Bonus that must pass up to a qualified upline sponsor. This adjustment is different for each market and will vary based on the PV/BV ratio of the country.

LEADERSHIP BONUS (LB)

A monetary reward equal to 6% of the ABO’s 21% leadership business volume that is paid to the qualifying upline.

MYBIZ

The system providing global business information for Amway ABOs at all levels. MYBIZ is often used by ABOs and their support staff who have multiple businesses or internationally-sponsored businesses to track their volume, monthly bonuses, higher award levels, and Line of Sponsorship maps.

MULTI-LEVEL MARKETING

A form of direct selling, Multi-level Marketing is an industry term describing a business structure in which individuals or companies market their products or ideas through a distribution system (Line of Sponsorship) of people comprised of various levels of individuals working together as a team. Amway owns the Line of Sponsorship, not the ABO.

MULTIPLE BUSINESS

Owning a business in a foreign market that is internationally sponsored by your existing Amway business. Multiple businesses must be established in compliance with all local government regulations and Amway rules.

MONTHLY DEPTH BONUS

1% of all qualified volume below your in-market frontlines, down to and including the next MDB recipient and his/her frontlines. Bonus is paid for developing leaders in depth and requires minimum 3 in-market 21% legs with at least one 21% ABO in the second level.

MAXIMUM PERFORMANCE BONUS LEVEL

The highest percentage that can be achieved within the Performance Bonus Schedule.

NON-CASH AWARD

Incentive trips, like Leadership Seminars or Diamond Conference, designed to motivate you and align your practices with company strategies. They are by invitation only and have market specific requirements to be met by ABOs to qualify for the trip.

NEW PLATINUM SEMINAR

A company conducted seminar for Platinum ABOs the first time they qualify at this level. Its purpose is to ensure that new leaders have a proper understanding of the Amway business and their responsibilities.

PROSPECT

A potential Amway Business Owner or customer.

PRIVACY POLICY

A policy adopted by Amway that describes Amway’s collection, use, dissemination, and transfer of personal data held in databases or record systems of Amway as well as Amway’s undertakings to protect this data and the rights of data subjects in relation thereto.

POINT VALUE (PV)

A numerical value assigned to each product to determine bonus and award levels.

PLATINUM ABO

An ABO who qualifies at the maximum PV level (10,000 personal group PV) for 6 months (3 of which must be consecutive for first-time qualifiers). To re-qualify as Platinum, the requirement is any 6 qualified months within the performance year. The Platinum ABO is responsible for training and motivating their group and enforcing the Rules of Conduct.

PIN ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

A lapel pin is awarded to those attaining each new qualification level, starting at Silver Producer. The pins are paid for and provided by Amway.

PERSONAL VOLUME

Point Value (PV) and Business Volume (BV) attributed to an ABO for purchases from Amway.

PERSONAL SPONSOR

An ABO who directly sponsors a prospect with no international connection.

PERSONAL QUALIFIED MONTH (PQ) –

A personal qualified month is achieved by an ABO by having 10,000 or above Ruby PV or 4,000 or above Ruby PV and a downline that qualifies at 21% on the Performance Bonus Schedule.

PERSONAL GROUP

Downline ABOs that have not reached the 21% level. Once downline reach the 21% level, they are no longer part of the upline’s personal group.

PERSONAL PERFORMANCE BONUS

The portion of Performance Bonus, based on personal PV, applied to the BV of personal purchases for the month.

PERFORMANCE YEAR

The Performance Year runs from September 1 to August 31 of the next calendar year. During this time period, Amway tracks ABO performance.

PERSONAL Q (PQ)

You earn a Personal Q each month you reach 10,000 Ruby PV or 4,000 Ruby PV with at least one 21% leg. See also Personal Group Growth Incentive+

PERSONAL GROUP GROWTH INCENTIVE+

Discretionary incentive awarded through the Core Plus+ program that is available to all ABOs. You can earn an annual multiplier on Personal Qualified (PQ) months by increasing or maintaining your total Personal Qs compared to the prior year. Only Performance Bonus earned in the PQ months will be used in year-end calculation. Also refer to Personal Q.

PERFORMANCE BONUS SCHEDULE

The schedule used to calculate Performance Bonus based on Group PV.

PERFORMANCE BONUS PERCENTAGE

The percent level, based on Group PV, that is used to calculate Performance Bonus as described in the Amway Sales and Marketing Plan.

PERFORMANCE BONUS

A monthly bonus you can earn when reaching a minimum Group PV level indicated on the Performance Bonus Schedule. It consists of Personal Performance Bonus and Differential Bonus.

PASS-UP PV/BV

Amounts which are below the 21% Performance Bonus level are added to the sponsor’s PV/BV amounts and accumulated up the Line of Sponsorship until the maximum Performance Bonus level is reached.

QUALIFIED MONTH

A qualified month is one in which the ABO himself (with support from his downline group) achieves Silver Producer status through one of 3 paths: full volume qualification (QV), side volume plus one qualified in-market personal leg (Q1), or two qualified downline in-market legs (Q2).

QUALIFIED LEG

A leg that includes at least one downline ABO who has achieved the 21% Performance Bonus level.
• Personal Qualified Leg: A qualified leg with an ABO that is sponsored solely by you in a market.
• Foster Qualified Leg: A qualified leg that includes an ABO who has been sponsored from outside the market and you are the foster sponsor.
• International Qualified Leg: A qualified leg that includes an ABO that you sponsored outside of your primary market.

QUALIFICATION

Necessary requirements that must be met to reach and retain designated Performance Bonus brackets and pin levels.

Q12 LEG

A leg that includes an ABO who has qualified all 12 months in a fiscal year.

RULES OF CONDUCT

The terms and conditions under which all Amway Business Owners are obliged to operate. In some markets the Rules of Conduct are referred to as the "Commercial Principles."

RUBY VOLUME

Personal Volume plus pass up from in-market legs who are not at 21% Performance Bonus Percentage, excluding the Group Volume from downline qualified Platinums, regardless of whether they are at 21% on the Performance Bonus Schedule for the month or not.

RUBY PIN

Platinum status with qualifying Ruby PV (2 times the highest 21% PV bracket schedule of your country).

RUBY BONUS

A monthly bonus of 2% paid to an ABO whose Ruby group volume reaches twice the maximum Performance Bonus schedule volume.

ROLLING 12-MONTH PERIOD

A period used for Gold Producers and first time qualification for Platinum. This period starts from the first month of qualification and can extend over two performance years or more depending on the months of qualification.

REWARDS

The bonuses, trips, and other benefits which ABOs at different levels of achievement may be eligible to receive based on their performance.

RETAIL MARGIN

The difference between the price an ABO pays to purchase products from Amway and the price at which the ABO sells those products to customers.

REQUALIFICATION

The act of repeating the qualification requirements of a given level in subsequent performance years.

RENEWAL

Each ABO must renew their business each year. Notification appears in Amway-sponsored communication vehicles offered by each market. The process may be completed electronically in some markets with appropriate ABO authorization and payment.

RECLASSIFICATION

Refers to a downward classification of an ABO from their current level to a lower level when the ABO fails to re-qualify within the re-qualification period (such as being reclassified from Platinum to Silver Producer).

SUGGESTED RETAIL PRICE (SRP)

The price at which Amway suggests ABOs sell products to customers after purchasing them from Amway.

STOCK KEEPING UNIT (SKU)

The number assigned to each of Amway's products for tracking and inventory.

SPONSOR

An ABO who introduces someone to the Amway business opportunity and signs them up as a new ABO. There are three types of sponsors: 1. Personal Sponsor: An ABO who directly sponsors a prospect with no international connection. 2. International Sponsor: An ABO who introduces Amway to a prospect living in another country and sponsors them. 3. Foster Sponsor: An ABO who lives in the country of an internationally-sponsored ABO and serves as the local sponsor.

SILVER SPONSOR

An ABO who has not reached Silver Producer criteria but sponsors a Silver Producer, Silver Sponsor or a Platinum, or who is above any of them in the LOS.

SILVER PRODUCER

An ABO whose personal Group PV has reached the maximum Performance Bonus PV in one month. Silver Producer qualification can also be attained with 15% side volume along with one personal- or foster-sponsored 21% leg, or at least two personal- or foster-sponsored 21% legs.

SIDE VOLUME

The PV of an ABO and the downline, excluding downline 21% qualified legs.

SAPPHIRE ABO

A Platinum ABO who has 2 personal- or foster-sponsored 21% legs and 15% Performance Bonus level side volume, including pass-up, during each of 6 months within the performance year.

SALES AND MARKETING PLAN

Amway’s unique method for rewarding, compensating and recognizing ABOs for their performance. The plan is based on two fundamental concepts: selling and sponsoring. An ABO builds a business by selling products to customers and sponsoring other ABOs to do the same. An ABO receives performance-based bonuses on their own volume and on the volume of their downline, as long as that downline has not reached the 21% performance bonus bracket himself. No money is earned in the Amway Sales and Marketing Plan unless products are sold.

UPLINE

An ABO’s sponsor, the sponsor’s sponsor, continuing up until the line reaches Amway.

VOLUME EQUIVALENCY

Q12 volume equivalent (VE) businesses (defined as Q10 or Q11 plus 120% of standard Q12 volume) that count the same as a business qualified for all 12 months in the fiscal year.

WIDTH

The amount of personal- or foster-sponsored ABOs directly sponsored by an ABO. Width builds profitability due to the differential bonus portion of the Amway performance bonus. A balanced Amway business has both width and depth.