Cash in advance incentive and rewards program

• US 20080235091A1
• Filed: 11/21/2007
• Published: 09/25/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Christopher Lee Holliday
• Original Assignee: Christopher Lee Holliday
• Inventors: Holliday, Christopher Lee
• Application Number:
  US11/986,428
• Publication Number:
  US 20080235091A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0226 Incentive systems for frequent usage, e.g. frequent flyer miles programs or point systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0235 constrained by time limit or expiration date
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]

Abstract

An online cash back rewards system and a product consisting of a rewards card. Under the system presented herein, consumers are provided with a rewards card in advance of earning the rewards through online purchases. The rewards card may contain a fixed dollar value, expiration date, pre-printed web address and unique promotional code/integer identification number. The rewards card, once activated via the web address, is transformed into a digital token which is then passed to participating merchant websites when the consumer clicks through from the incentive site to create an online shopping transaction. The token is then reported back to the host server via electronic transaction reports from each of the online merchants. On the host server, the digital token is used to identify and credit transactions to the consumer'"'"'s specific rewards account, debiting from the total variable pre-credited value.

Claims

1. A cash in advance rewards program system, preferably operable over a computer network, for the purpose of allowing an organization to generate revenue by selling or distributing a rewards card product with a fixed value and expiration date to a consumer and allowing said consumer to receive a fixed cash back reward once a purchase transaction threshold is met, wherein when a consumer performs a purchase transaction in a participating merchant store using said rewards card product, reward card points are assigned to said purchase transaction in said participating merchant store based on payment amount of said purchase transaction, and said participating merchant store sends transaction information consisting of the amount corresponding to the purchase transaction to a database, wherein the purchase transaction amount is added to a consumer'"'"'s account in said database, and wherein said consumer receives a pre-determined cash back reward when said consumer has satisfied a purchase transaction threshold using said rewards card product, the system comprising:

a rewards card product provided to a participating organization for sale or distribution to a consumer, said rewards card product being suitably adapted to store and transmit information;

a communication system preferably operable over the internet and accessible by at least one of a program provider, a participating organization, a consumer and a participating merchant to allow said consumer to activate a rewards card account, view said rewards card account, make purchases using said rewards card product from at least one of said participating merchants, and receive a cash reward when said consumer has satisfied said purchase transaction threshold;

a database system accessible by said communication system and said program provider, for retaining data relevant to said cash in advance rewards program system;

means for passing records of purchase transactions and adding the amounts of said purchase transactions to said consumer'"'"'s account in said database;

a fraud detection system accessible by said program provider to determine whether said consumer interacting with said communication system is the correct user;

an account verification system accessible by said program provider to verify said purchase transactions are allocated to the proper consumer account;

a system for providing said cash back reward to said consumer when said consumer has satisfied said purchase transaction threshold.

2. The rewards card product of claim 1, further comprising:

information in electronic or magnetic form assigned to said rewards card product including

a fixed dollar value

an expiration date

an integer identification number, and

an access code;

means for activating said rewards card product to create a consumer account in said database and track said purchase transactions; and

means for storing electronic or magnetic information in said rewards card product.

3. The rewards card product of claim 2 wherein said means for activating said rewards card product to create said consumer account and track purchase transactions comprises the recipient of a rewards card product logging onto said program provider'"'"'s website, entering information comprising at least said integer identification number said access code and certain additional personal information selected by participating organization.

4. The rewards card product of claim 2 wherein said rewards card product is provided to said consumer in the form of a digital representation of physical product, transmitted over the internet to consumer'"'"'s email or downloaded by consumer to consumer'"'"'s personal computer.

5. The rewards card product of claim 2 wherein said rewards card product is provided to the consumer in the form of a physical product similar in size, shape and composition to a plastic credit card.

6. The rewards card product of claim 2, wherein said means for storing electronic or magnetic information comprises a magnetic stripe suitably adapted to storing electronic or magnetic information.

7. The database storage system according to claim 1 further comprising means for storing data relating to each activated rewards card product and purchase transactions using said rewards card product in at least one of a consumer account and a participating organization account.

8. The consumer account according to claim 7 further comprising a unique integer identification number identification number, fixed monetary limit, expiration date and access code assigned to said consumer account in said database for purpose of tracking and allocating purchase transactions made with said rewards card product.

9. The database according to claim 7 wherein credits corresponding to the total dollar value of said consumer'"'"'s purchase transactions are applied to said consumer'"'"'s pre-set fixed limit in said consumer'"'"'s account.

10. The communication system of claim 1 further comprising means to allow customer to activate said consumer account and view said consumer'"'"'s account status.

11. The communication system of claim 10 wherein said communication system comprises a website accessible by at least one of a program provider, a participating organization, a consumer and a participating merchant, to allow customer to activate said consumer account and view said consumer'"'"'s account status.

12. The website of claim 11 further comprising means to allow said consumer to activate said consumer account and view said consumer'"'"'s account status.

13. The website of claim 11 further comprising means for transmitting secured information among at least one of said database, said program provider, said participating organization, said consumer and said participating merchant.

14. The website of claim 11 further comprising internet links to participating merchant websites to allow consumers to shop and complete purchase transactions using said rewards card product at said participating merchant stores while logged onto said website.

15. The rewards card product of claim 2 wherein said integer identification number of said rewards card product becomes a digital token once the consumer activates said rewards card product, said digital token being suitably adapted to pass records of consumer purchase transactions occurring in participating merchant stores from said participating merchants to said database.

16. The digital token of claim 15 wherein said digital token is automatically stored in a session variable/electronic cookie on a consumer'"'"'s computer while a consumer is logged onto the website of claim 11.

17. The digital token of claim 15 wherein said digital token is passed by a computer network to said participating merchant'"'"'s websites visited by said consumer and captured by merchant'"'"'s server when a consumer completes a purchase transaction on said participating merchant'"'"'s website.

18. The digital token of claim 15 wherein said digital token is suitably adapted to pass records of purchase transactions using the rewards card product from said merchant'"'"'s server to said database through said communication system.

19. The system of claim 1 wherein said participating merchant store in which said purchase transactions are conducted includes at least one of a real store which the customer visits for face-to-face commercial or service transactions and a virtual store which runs on a computer network.

21. The system of claim 1 wherein the amount of the cash back reward and said purchase transaction threshold is determined by a formula which includes the cost of said rewards card product and said expiration date for said rewards card product.

22. The system of claim 1 further comprising means for determining when a consumer has met a purchase transaction threshold and notifying said participating organization that said consumer has met said purchase transaction threshold.

23. The system according to claim 1 further comprising a financial account management system to allow said rewards card program provider to manage payments between the consumer, program provider, participating merchants and participating organizations.

20. The purchase transaction of claim 20 wherein said purchase transaction is settled using one of electronic currency, cash, a check, a credit card and a debit card.