Bonus system

• US 20080249861A1
• Filed: 07/10/2007
• Published: 10/09/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/05/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Loyalty Partner GmbH (American Express Company)
• Original Assignee: Loyalty Partner GmbH (American Express Company)
• Inventors: Klaassen, Othmar, Lenzkes, Dirk, Schreib, Dirk, Carotta, Marcus, Kleinfelder, Markus
• Application Number:
  US11/775,265
• Publication Number:
  US 20080249861A1
• 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 30/0207 Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0225 Avoiding frauds
• 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 30/0236 Incentive or reward received by requiring registration or ID from user

Abstract

A computer program product comprising program code, stored on a machine readable medium, or provided in the form of a propagated signal, wherein the program code, when executed on a computer system, implements a bonus system, and allows the customizable establishment of bonus programs. Several bonus program partners can participate in a bonus program. Bonus program members can collect bonus points in transactions with a bonus program partner. The bonus program comprises the following functions: defining, activating, and deleting a bonus program within the bonus system; defining individual bonus program properties and bonus program rules; defining, activating, and deleting bonus program partners; settling with bonus program partners; and establishing properties of bonus program accounts.

Claims

1. A computer program product, comprising program code, stored on a machine readable medium, or provided in the form of a propagated signal, wherein the program code, when executed on a computer system, implements a bonus system, and allows the customizable establishment of bonus programs, wherein several bonus program partners can participate in a bonus program, and wherein bonus program members can collect bonus points in transactions with a bonus program partner, wherein the bonus program comprises the following functions:

defining, activating, and deleting a bonus program within the bonus system;

defining individual bonus program properties and bonus program rules;

defining, activating, and deleting bonus program partners;

settling with bonus program partners; and

establishing properties of bonus program accounts.

2. A computer program product according to claim 1, allowing the operation of several bonus programs on one platform.

3. A computer program product according to claim 1, provided so that a connection between bonus programs can be selected as a super program relationship, in which several bonus program properties of the super bonus program are taken over by bonus programs, or that the bonus programs are programs to be defined independently from each other.

4. A computer program product according to claim 1, provided so that the bonus system can transfer and/or receive data regarding bonus program members, through an interface with a customer relationship management system (CRM system), to and from the CRM system.

5. A computer program product according to claim 1, allowing the definition of bonus program properties with respect to one or several of the following points:

establishing rules for account management;

defining account and transaction semantics;

establishing rules for collecting, redeeming, and expiration of bonus points;

establishing rules for exchanging bonus points between bonus programs;

establishing a status concept for bonus program members;

defining number schemes for cards and other authentication means; and

/or

defining general conditions for services.

6. A computer program product according to claim 1, provided so that bonus program members can redeem collected bonus points in the form of bonuses, wherein the different available bonuses and the conditions necessary for receiving them can be defined.

7. A computer program product according to claim 1, provided so that it allows operating parallel accounts with different bonus currencies, and which can give account status information to the respective bonus program member.

8. A computer program product according to claim 1, provided so that it comprises the possibility for computing and booking collected bonus points for different bonus program partners according to freely definable rules.

9. A computer program product according to claim 1, provided so that it allows the definition of an expiration of non used bonus program points after a certain period of time, depending on bonus program rules, the bonus point type, bonus point category, and bonus program member status.

10. A computer program product according to claim 1, provided so that the use of bonus points can be defined in one or several point currencies.

11. A computer program product according to claim 1, provided so that it can provide to bonus program members their respective currently available bonuses, including the bonus points necessary therefore.

12. A computer program product according to claim 1, provided so that different types of bonus program partners can be defined, comprising one or several of the following types:

type, which can only issue bonus points;

type, which can issue compensations from collected bonus points; and

type, which can also issue member identifications.

13. A computer program product according to claim 1, provided so that various business locations and attributes can be defined for a bonus program partner, characterizing the business locations in the bonus program.

14. A computer program product according to claim 1, provided so that compensations for services can be defined, which are provided for partners.

15. A computer program product according to claim 1, provided so that marketing campaigns can be managed in the context of the bonus system, wherein the campaign management comprises one or several of the following points:

defining campaigns with respect to campaign names, manner of campaign publications, registration period, activation period, transaction type promoted, kind of rewards, member groups entitled to participation.

16. A computer program product according to claim 1, provided so that the establishment of new members, including the management and generation of aliases, membership cards and other authentication means can be defined through rules.

17. A computer program product according to claim 1, provided so that a function can be defined, through which a common bonus point account can be assigned to several bonus program members.

18. A computer program product according to claim 1, provided so that one or several data check- or purging functions can be defined from the following list:

identification and consolidation of double memberships;

identification and consolidation of joint households;

checking of mailing addresses;

checking of telephone numbers; and

checking of bank information.

19. A computer program system for hosting a bonus system, allowing the customizable establishment of bonus programs, wherein several bonus program partners can participate in a bonus program, and wherein bonus program members can collect bonus points in transactions with a bonus program partner, wherein the bonus system comprises the following functions:

defining, activating, and deleting a bonus program within the bonus system;

defining individual bonus program properties and bonus program rules;

defining, activating, and deleting bonus program partners;

settling with bonus program partners; and

establishing properties of bonus program accounts.