Loyalty program
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method in a computing system for rewarding purchases by a user from merchants among a set of merchants with a savings bond, the savings bond having a maturity value, comprising:
- for each merchant of the set, determining a reward percentage signifying a fraction of the amount of purchases by the user from the merchant to be credited to a reward account established for the user;
receiving one or more electronic indications that the user has made a purchase from a merchant among the set of merchants, each electronic indication identifying the merchant from which the purchase was made and the amount of the purchase;
for each received indication, crediting to the reward account established for the user an amount determined by multiplying the amount of the purchase identified by the received indication by the reward percentage determined for the merchant identified by the received indication; and
when the balance of the reward account established for the user reaches the maturity value of the savings bond, placing an order to purchase the savings bond for the user.
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Abstract
A facility for operating a loyalty program is described. The facility monitors purchases made by each of a plurality of customers from merchants that are among a limited set of merchants. The facility then conveys to customers among the plurality—selected based upon their monitored purchases—a financial instrument having a face value, whose acquisition cost is less than that face value.
83 Citations
93 Claims
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1. A method in a computing system for rewarding purchases by a user from merchants among a set of merchants with a savings bond, the savings bond having a maturity value, comprising:
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for each merchant of the set, determining a reward percentage signifying a fraction of the amount of purchases by the user from the merchant to be credited to a reward account established for the user;
receiving one or more electronic indications that the user has made a purchase from a merchant among the set of merchants, each electronic indication identifying the merchant from which the purchase was made and the amount of the purchase;
for each received indication, crediting to the reward account established for the user an amount determined by multiplying the amount of the purchase identified by the received indication by the reward percentage determined for the merchant identified by the received indication; and
when the balance of the reward account established for the user reaches the maturity value of the savings bond, placing an order to purchase the savings bond for the user. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59)
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14. A method for marketing transactions using a reward currency, comprising:
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(a) displaying information describing an offered transaction; and
(b) in conjunction with the information describing the offered transaction, displaying an indication of an amount of the reward currency that may be obtained by entering into the transaction, an accumulated amount of the reward currency equal to a known future value of a financial instrument being exchangeable for the financial instrument.
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38. A computer-readable medium whose contents causes a computer system to market transactions using a reward currency by:
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(a) displaying information describing an offered transaction; and
(b) in conjunction with the information describing the offered transaction, displaying an indication of an amount of the reward currency that may be obtained by entering into the transaction, an accumulated amount of the reward currency equal to a known future value of a financial instrument being exchangeable for the financial instrument.
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39. A method in a computing system for operating a loyalty program, comprising:
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monitoring purchases made by each of a plurality of customers from merchants among a limited set of merchants; and
conveying to customers among the plurality, selected based upon their monitored purchases, a financial instrument having a face value and an acquisition cost that is less than the face value.
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60. A computing system for operating a loyalty program, comprising:
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a purchase monitor subsystem that monitors purchases made by each of a plurality of customers from merchants among a limited set of merchants; and
a reward conveyance subsystem that conveys to customers among the plurality, selected based upon their monitored purchases, a financial instrument having a face value and an acquisition cost that is less than the face value.
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61. A method in a computing system for operating a purchase reward program, comprising:
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monitoring purchases made by each of a plurality of customers from merchants among a limited set of merchants; and
for customers among the plurality selected based upon their monitored purchases, arranging for the physical delivery of a financial instrument to the selected customers as a reward for their monitored purchases. - View Dependent Claims (62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68)
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69. A computer-readable medium whose contents cause a computing system to operate a purchase reward program by:
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monitoring purchases made by each of a plurality of customers from merchants among a limited set of merchants; and
for customers among the plurality selected based upon their monitored purchases, arranging for the physical delivery of a financial instrument to the selected customers as a reward for their monitored purchases.
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70. A method in a computing system for operating a loyalty program, comprising:
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monitoring purchases made by each of a plurality of customers from merchants among a limited set of merchants; and
conveying to customers among the plurality, selected based upon their monitored purchases, a negotiable financial instrument. - View Dependent Claims (71, 72, 73, 74)
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75. A computing system for operating a loyalty program, comprising:
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a purchase monitor subsystem that monitors purchases made by each of a plurality of customers from merchants among a limited set of merchants; and
a reward conveyance subsystem that conveys to customers among the plurality, selected based upon their monitored purchases, a negotiable financial instrument.
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76. A method in a computing system for operating a loyalty program, comprising:
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monitoring purchases made by each of a plurality of customers from merchants among a limited set of merchants; and
enlisting a third party to provide to customers among the plurality, selected based upon their monitored purchases, a reward for making the monitored purchases. - View Dependent Claims (77, 78, 79, 80, 81)
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82. A computer-readable medium whose contents causes a computer system to operate a loyalty program by:
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monitoring purchases made by each of a plurality of customers from merchants among a limited set of merchants; and
enlisting a third party to provide to customers among the plurality, selected based upon their monitored purchases, a reward for making the monitored purchases
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83. One or more computer memories collectively containing a merchant reward percentage data structure, the contents of the data structure indicating, for each of a plurality of merchants, the percentage of the amount of a purchase from the merchant that the merchant agrees to credit to a reward account of the purchaser, credits to purchaser reward accounts totaling a known future value of a financial instrument being exchangeable for the financial instrument.
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84. One or more computer memories collectively containing a reward program member balance data structure indicating, for each of a plurality of reward program members, a reward currency balance, each reward currency balance being expressed in units such that a reward currency balance equal to the face value of a selected type of savings bond may be exchanged for a savings bond of the selected type.
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85. A method in a client computer system for displaying a web page of a merchant that is affiliated with a loyalty program, comprising:
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receiving information from one or more external sources; and
using the received information to display a web page of the merchant in such a way that information about the loyalty program is incorporated in the display of the web page. - View Dependent Claims (86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93)
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Specification