METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ISSUING, AGGREGATING AND REDEEMING MERCHANT REWARD POINTS WITH A CREDIT CARD NETWORK

• US 20070038515A1
• Filed: 06/15/2006
• Published: 02/15/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/01/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Signature Systems LLC
• Original Assignee: Signature Systems LLC
• Inventors: Postrel, Richard
• Application Number:
  US11/424,407
• Publication Number:
  US 20070038515A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14.300
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/06 Private payment circuits, e.g. involving electronic currency used among participants of a common payment scheme
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/24 Credit schemes, i.e. "pay after"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/387 Payment using discounts or coupons relating to marketing G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0215 Including financial accounts
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0229 Multi-merchant loyalty card systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2542 for selling goods, e.g. TV shopping payment schemes, payment architectures or payment protocols for electronic shopping systems G06Q20/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2543 Billing , e.g. for subscription services payment schemes, architectures or protocols G06Q20/00; e-commerce G06Q30/00; arrangements for billing for the use of broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/21
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44224 Monitoring of user activity on external systems, e.g. Internet browsing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/475 End-user interface for inputting end-user data, e.g. personal identification number [PIN], preference data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4758 for providing answers, e.g. voting
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47815 Electronic shopping payment schemes, payment architectures or payment protocols for electronic shopping systems G06Q20/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4784 receiving rewards
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4882 for displaying messages, e.g. warnings, reminders arrangements for providing short real-time information to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1895
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02

Abstract

A loyalty reward point system that utilizes the pre-existing infrastructure of network such as a credit card network. A user makes a purchase at a merchant using a token such as a credit card. As part of the purchase transaction, the user is awarded reward points from the merchant based on the purchase, which are stored in an account associated with the merchant and the user by a member bank of the credit card network, which may be an issuing bank or an acquiring bank. The reward account is maintained on the member bank server on behalf of the merchant and the user, and the number of reward points in the user'"'"'s account for that merchant is increased accordingly. The user may redeem the reward points earned from the transaction with the merchant at a later time, or may redeem the points with another merchant in the same marketing cluster, or may aggregate those reward points with those of other merchants into a reward point exchange account, and then redeem the aggregated reward points for goods or services from any approved merchant on the network, depending on the configuration of the system.

Claims

1. A method of operating a reward point program comprising the steps of:

a first merchant making a redemption offer to a plurality of issuing merchants to honor reward points issued by said issuing merchants at a predetermined rate of exchange;

at least one of said plurality of issuing merchants accepting said redemption offer from said first merchant;

the first merchant executing a purchase transaction with a customer;

wherein at least part of said purchase transaction is paid for by the customer redeeming reward points issued by the issuing merchant; and

the issuing merchant providing consideration to the first merchant based on the reward points redeemed in the transaction and parameters of the redemption offer accepted by the issuing merchant.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of a first merchant making a redemption offer to a plurality of issuing merchants to honor reward points issued by said issuing merchants at a predetermined rate of exchange comprises the steps of:

the first merchant making a first redemption offer to the plurality of issuing merchants, said offer comprising a first set of offer terms;

the first merchant receiving less than a predetermined number of acceptances from said plurality of issuing merchants; and

the first merchant revising the offer to comprise a second set of offer terms and then making a second redemption offer to a plurality of issuing merchants comprising the second set of offer terms.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the consideration is provided to the first merchant based at least in part on a premium paid to the first merchant.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the consideration is provided to the first merchant based at least in part on a discount provided by the first merchant.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the plurality of issuing merchants are determined in accordance with a set of conditions set by the first merchant.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the conditions comprise a geographical condition.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein the conditions comprise products or services sold by the issuing merchants.

8. The method of claim 5 wherein the conditions comprise parameters relevant to customers of the issuing merchant.