Quick answers before you use Pint Path.
The short version: search the map, submit what you actually saw, and community submissions only publish after admin review.
Simple answers for using Pint Path well.
Can I trust the beer prices?
Prices are treated as pending until reviewed or sufficiently verified. Approved records may still change, so check with the venue before ordering.
How do submits work?
Choose a venue, add the beer price, happy-hour, images, or PDF menu you saw, then submit it. Google-selected new venues can appear on the map quickly, while community drink data stays pending until admin review. Matching community confirmations help reviewers but never auto-publish. If reception drops after you finish, Pint Path saves the upload locally and retries when you are back online.
How do I add a missing venue?
Open Submit, tick that the venue is not on Pint Path yet, search Google Maps, choose the matching bar, pub, restaurant, brewery, or night club, then add the beer or happy-hour data you saw. The verified Google venue can appear on the map right away; community price data waits for admin review.
Why do I need an account to submit data?
Accounts help us review uploads, stop spam, award contributor points, and contact the right person if something needs clarification.
Why does Submit ask for location services?
Location proof helps reviewers confirm that data was uploaded from the venue area. It is optional during field testing, but submissions without it may not earn location-based points. Pint Path stores that proof privately with the submission for review; it is not shown on the public map or sold to venues.
What happens if I lose reception while submitting?
The Submit page saves the finished submission in your browser’s local database and retries when the browser comes back online. Keep the same browser/account open so queued beer data, happy hours, and source photos can be sent for review.
Are my photos, receipts, and location proof public?
No. Source photos, receipts, upload-location proof, OCR evidence, and reviewer notes are private review material.
What if a price is wrong?
Submit the correct price from the venue. Fresh, useful corrections are reviewed and can replace stale or disputed records once approved.
How does premium access work?
Paid users get full map access, exact verified prices, value rings, premium filters, saved-night shortcuts, and discount details where venues offer them. Monthly and yearly plans renew automatically until cancelled from Stripe billing in Account.
How do missions and contribution points work?
Missions identify missing or stale venue data. Accepting a mission links it to your submission. Points scale up for missing or old data and down for recently checked data. Points are awarded only after admin approval and eligible location proof; approved missions then close until the venue needs a meaningful new check.
What happens when OCR finds a new beer name?
Pint Path reads images or one PDF menu, extracts beer rows, and matches names against the catalogue. An unknown name is quarantined for admin approval or merging. Food, headings, spirits, wine, and OCR noise cannot publish as beer data. Original evidence stays private for the reviewer.
How do QR and 6-character venue codes work?
An eligible user generates a short-lived QR and 6-character code. Staff at a participating venue scan or enter it, confirm the receipt reference, and check the member before recording the purchase. Pint Path creates a short-lived authorization bound to that member, venue, staff login, and receipt. Expired, replayed, mismatched, or wrong-venue requests are rejected, and a public account ID alone cannot award points.
How do Pint Points and Free Pint Rewards work?
Participating venue staff can record one Pint Point per paid alcoholic drink, subject to the daily cap. Free Pint Rewards require 50 available points, use a shorter-lived code, do not earn another point, and remain subject to age, ID, RSA, stock, and venue checks.
What if there is no happy-hour data?
No result means Pint Path has no current structured happy-hour record matching that search. It does not prove the venue has no offer. Check with the venue, submit current details, or accept a missing happy-hour mission.
Does a paid venue always rank first?
No. Best Match uses drink availability, lower price, confidence, freshness, distance, and a small bounded Pro discovery boost. Paid placement is visibly marked and cannot turn missing, stale, disputed, or expensive data into the best result by itself.
How do cancellation, refunds, and invoices work?
Open Account and choose Manage billing or cancel to use Stripe billing management. Cancellation stops the next renewal and access normally continues to period end. Stripe provides available receipts and invoices. Billing errors and Australian Consumer Law refund requests go through Contact us.
How long does account deletion take?
Deletion starts as an ownership-checked request with a seven-day safety window. Pint Path removes or anonymises account data where practical after checking active billing, moderation, fraud-prevention, security, and legal retention requirements.
Can bars edit the map directly?
Verified venue managers directly maintain profile, beer, stock, price, and happy-hour data for their assigned venue. The fourth deletion within an hour is held for admin review as a bulk-deletion safeguard. Pro venues can also manage Pint Path specials directly.
What do paid venues see?
Venue reports are designed around aggregate trends, verified listing performance, and privacy-safe insights. They are not individual user clickstreams.
How do I report a security or privacy concern?
Use the security page for privacy-sensitive issues, suspected abuse, or anything that should not go through normal contact.
Is Pint Path encouraging more drinking?
No. Pint Path is an information tool for adults 18+. Prices may change, venues may refuse service, and everyone should drink responsibly.