CONSOLIDATED CONSUMER REWARDS SYSTEMS AND METHODS WITH CARD VENDOR INTEGRATION

• US 20100094699A1
• Filed: 10/09/2008
• Published: 04/15/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/09/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bryan Beal
• Original Assignee: Bryan Beal
• Inventors: BEAL, Bryan
• Granted Patent: US 8,688,511 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14.25
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0224 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0227 Frequent usage incentive value reconciliation between diverse systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting

Abstract

A consumer tracking and rewards system and related methods that provide for consolidating two or more merchant-branded rewards accounts into a single source. A single unique identifier referred to as a consumer number used to track and credit purchases with respect to multiple retail establishments. The consumer number may exist simply as a data element in the system or may be printed, bar coded, or programmed onto any physical medium or device. Components of the system include a consumer rewards platform, a merchant-consumer rewards system and potentially a card vendor system. The consumer rewards platform facilitates communication and the transfer of data between the various components of the system. A cross-reference between single consumer numbers and one or more merchant rewards program numbers is used to accommodate the trading and linking of information among participating merchants. Consumers may communicate with the various system components through a consumer web portal. A website is also available to merchants so they may view statistical information regarding rewards program participation.

Claims

1. A consolidated consumer rewards system for administration of multiple consumer reward programs of multiple merchants, the consolidated consumer rewards system comprising:

a consumer rewards platform configured and programmed to maintain multiple consumer numbers which are used to enroll multiple consumers in multiple consumer rewards programs and account for all purchasing activity which affects any of the multiple consumer rewards programs;

the consumer rewards platform operatively connected to multiple merchant-consumer rewards platforms, the merchant-consumer rewards platforms having content which defines criteria for enrolling and rewarding consumers for purchases and maintaining records of consumer purchasing and awards activity;

a unique consumer number assigned to each consumer for enrollment in the consumer rewards system, the consumer number used by the consolidated consumer rewards platform to track all enrollment and purchasing activity for processing by the consolidated consumer rewards system;

the consumer rewards platform operatively connected to a card vendor system, the card vendor system comprising a card vendor payment device for effecting a payment transaction for a purchase in association with a unique payment account in the card vendor system, the card vendor system maintaining a link between the unique consumer number and the card vendor payment device, the unique consumer number being associated with the card vendor payment device and the associated unique payment account so that each time the card vendor payment device is used with one of the multiple merchants the payment transaction is associated with the unique consumer number;

whereby multiple consumers are each assigned a unique consumer number in the consumer rewards system and enrolled in multiple consumer rewards programs and receive rewards from each of the consumer rewards program of each of the multiple merchants by transfer of information on consumer activity from the multiple merchant consumer rewards platforms to the consolidated consumer rewards platform, the information being referenced to the corresponding consumer numbers for the consumer activity, whereby the data content of the consolidated consumer rewards platform is altered by the information received from the multiple merchant-consumer rewards platforms and can be accessed by use of the unique consumer numbers.

2. The consolidated consumer rewards system of claim 1 wherein the consolidated consumer rewards platform includes a consumer rewards database which contains consumer numbers and records for each consumer number pertaining to each consumer rewards program.

3. The consolidated consumer rewards system of claim 1 wherein the consumer rewards platform is configured to be accessed by consumers via a consumer portal network connection whereby a consumer can input information pertaining to consumer rewards programs.

4. The consolidated consumer rewards system of claim 1 wherein the consumer rewards platform is configured to be accessed by merchants via a merchant portal network connection whereby a merchant can access and input information pertaining to consumer rewards programs.

5. The consolidated consumer rewards system of claim 1 wherein the consumer rewards platform is configured and operative to automatically enroll consumers in consumer rewards programs by linking the consumer number of a consumer to a consumer reward program of a merchant selected by the consumer.

6. The consolidated consumer rewards system of claim 1 wherein the card vendor system is configured and operative to automatically update the consumer rewards platform with any new demographic information for consumers participating in one or more merchant rewards programs.

7. The consolidated consumer rewards system of claim 3 wherein the consumer portal is in the form of a website with one or more web pages which present to a consumer information on multiple consumer rewards programs.

8. The consolidated consumer rewards system of claim 4 wherein the merchant portal is in the form of a website with one or more pages which present to a merchant information on enrollment and purchasing activity of consumers enrolled in the merchant'"'"'s consumer rewards program.

9. The consolidated consumer rewards system of claim 7 wherein the consumer portal is configured to interact with the consumer rewards platform to enable and perform any of the functions selected from the group of:

enrolling in the consumer rewards system and acquiring a consumer number for use with and by the consumer rewards program;

enrolling in one or more consumer rewards programs;

viewing information pertaining to one or more consumer rewards programs;

establishing links between two or more consumer rewards programs;

inputting or editing consumer demographic information;

un-enrolling from a consumer rewards program;

receiving a message from a consumer rewards program.

10. The consolidated consumer rewards system of claim 1 wherein the merchant portal is configured to interact with the consolidated consumer rewards platform to enable access to information on consumers enrolled in a merchant'"'"'s consumer reward program through the consolidated consumer rewards system.

11. The consolidated consumer rewards system of claim 10 wherein information on consumers enrolled in a merchant'"'"'s consumer rewards program is accessed via the merchant portal to the consolidated consumer rewards platform by use of consumer numbers.

12. The consolidated consumer rewards system of claim 1 wherein the consumer rewards platform is operatively connected to the merchants consumer reward platform to send data to the merchant-consumer reward platform selected from the group of:

information from the consumer rewards platform on consumers enrolled or un-enrolled in a merchant'"'"'s consumer rewards program through the consolidated consumer rewards system, including consumer numbers assigned by the consumer rewards platform;

new information pertaining to consumers previously enrolled in a merchant'"'"'s consumer rewards program;

whereby data content of the merchant-consumer rewards platform is altered by the data received from the consumer rewards platform.

13. The consolidated consumer rewards system of claim 1 wherein the consumer rewards platform is operatively connected to multiple merchant consumer rewards platforms to receive data from the merchant-consumer rewards system selected from the group of:

enrollment by a consumer in a merchant'"'"'s consumer reward program;

information pertaining to consumers already enrolled in a merchant'"'"'s consumer rewards program;

information pertaining to a merchant'"'"'s consumer rewards program;

information pertaining to consumer transactions with a merchant which affect consumer rewards from a merchant'"'"'s consumer rewards program for each consumer number, whereby data content of the consolidated consumer rewards platform is altered by the data received from the merchant consumer rewards platform.

14. The consolidated consumer rewards program of claim 1 wherein the consumer rewards platform is operatively connected to the card vendor system to send consumer rewards point details to the card vendor system.

15. The consolidated consumer rewards system of claim 1 wherein the consumer rewards platform is operatively connected to the card vendor system to receive data from the card vendor system selected from the group of:

new consumer details;

card number change details;

consumer unsubscribe details; and

requests for consumer rewards details.

16. The consolidated consumer rewards system of claim 1 wherein the card vendor system is configured and operative to provide participating consumers with rewards point details as part of the consumer'"'"'s vendor card statement.

17. The consolidated consumer rewards program of claim 1 wherein the unique consumer number is in the form of data on a device which is used as a data transfer device in connection with a consumer transaction with a merchant.

18. A consolidated consumer rewards system for administration of multiple consumer reward programs of multiple merchants, the consolidated consumer rewards system comprising:

a consumer rewards platform configured and programmed to maintain multiple consumer numbers which are used to enroll multiple consumers in multiple consumer rewards programs and account for all consumer activity which affects any of the multiple consumer rewards programs;

the consumer rewards platform operatively connected to multiple merchant-consumer rewards platforms, the merchant-consumer rewards platforms having content which defines criteria for enrolling and rewarding consumers for purchases and maintaining records of consumer and awards activity;

a unique consumer number assigned to each consumer for enrollment in the consumer rewards system, the consumer number used by the consumer rewards platform to track all purchasing activity for processing by the consolidated consumer rewards system;

the consumer rewards platform operatively connected to a card vendor system, the card vendor system comprising a card vendor payment device for effecting a payment transaction for a purchase in association with a unique payment account in the card vendor system;

whereby, multiple consumers are each assigned a unique consumer number in the consumer rewards platform and the unique consumer number is linked to the consumer'"'"'s card vendor payment device so that each time the card vendor payment device is used for payment to a merchant, the payment transaction is associated with the consumer'"'"'s merchant rewards account by the merchant sending payment transaction information to the consumer rewards platform and altering the consumer rewards point totals for the unique consumer number in the consumer rewards platform.

19. The consolidated consumer rewards system of claim 18 wherein the consolidated consumer rewards platform includes a consumer rewards database which contains consumer numbers and records for each consumer number pertaining to each consumer rewards program.

20. The consolidated consumer rewards system of claim 18 wherein the consumer rewards platform is configured to be accessed by consumers via a consumer portal network connection whereby a consumer can input information pertaining to consumer rewards programs.

21. The consolidated consumer rewards system of claim 18 wherein the consumer rewards platform is configured to be accessed by merchants via a merchant portal network connection whereby a merchant can access and input information pertaining to consumer rewards programs.

22. The consolidated consumer rewards system of claim 18 wherein the consumer rewards platform is configured and operative to automatically enroll consumers in consumer rewards programs by linking the consumer number of a consumer to a consumer reward program of a merchant selected by the consumer.

23. The consolidated consumer rewards system of claim 18 wherein the card vendor system is configured and operative to automatically update the consumer rewards platform with any new demographic information for consumers participating in one or more merchant rewards programs.

24. The consolidated consumer rewards system of claim 20 wherein the consumer portal is in the form of a website with one or more web pages which present to a consumer information on multiple consumer rewards programs.

25. The consolidated consumer rewards system of claim 21 wherein the merchant portal is in the form of a website with one or more pages which present to a merchant information on enrollment and purchasing activity of consumers enrolled in the merchant'"'"'s consumer rewards program.

26. The consolidated consumer rewards system of claim 24 wherein the consumer portal is configured to interact with the consumer rewards platform to enable and perform any of the functions selected from the group of:

enrolling in the consumer rewards system and acquiring a consumer number for use with and by the consumer rewards program;

enrolling in one or more consumer rewards programs;

viewing information pertaining to one or more consumer rewards programs;

establishing links between two or more consumer rewards programs;

inputting or editing consumer demographic information;

un-enrolling from a consumer rewards program;

receiving a message from a consumer rewards program.

27. The consolidated consumer rewards system of claim 18 wherein the merchant portal is configured to interact with the consolidated consumer rewards platform to enable access to information on consumers enrolled in a merchant'"'"'s consumer reward program through the consolidated consumer rewards system.

28. The consolidated consumer rewards system of claim 27 wherein information on consumers enrolled in a merchant'"'"'s consumer rewards program is accessed via the merchant portal to the consolidated consumer rewards platform by use of consumer numbers.

29. The consolidated consumer rewards system of claim 18 wherein the consumer rewards platform is operatively connected to the merchants consumer reward platform to send data to the merchant-consumer reward platform selected from the group of:

information from the consumer rewards platform on consumers enrolled or un-enrolled in a merchant'"'"'s consumer rewards program through the consolidated consumer rewards system, including consumer numbers assigned by the consumer rewards platform;

new information pertaining to consumers previously enrolled in a merchant'"'"'s consumer rewards program;

whereby data content of the merchant-consumer rewards platform is altered by the data received from the consumer rewards platform.

30. The consolidated consumer rewards system of claim 18 wherein the consumer rewards platform is operatively connected to multiple merchant consumer rewards platforms to receive data from the merchant-consumer rewards system selected from the group of:

enrollment by a consumer in a merchant'"'"'s consumer reward program;

information pertaining to consumers already enrolled in a merchant'"'"'s consumer rewards program;

information pertaining to a merchant'"'"'s consumer rewards program;

information pertaining to consumer transactions with a merchant which affect consumer rewards from a merchant'"'"'s consumer rewards program for each consumer number, whereby data content of the consolidated consumer rewards platform is altered by the data received from the merchant consumer rewards platform.

31. The consolidated consumer rewards program of claim 18 wherein the consumer rewards platform is operatively connected to the card vendor system to send consumer rewards point details to the card vendor system.

32. The consolidated consumer rewards system of claim 18 wherein the consumer rewards platform is operatively connected to the card vendor system to receive data from the card vendor system selected from the group of:

new consumer details;

consumer number change details;

consumer unsubscribe details; and

requests for consumer rewards details.

33. The consolidated consumer rewards system of claim 18 wherein the card vendor system is configured and operative to provide participating consumers with rewards point details as part of the consumer'"'"'s vendor card statement.

34. The consolidated consumer rewards program of claim 18 wherein the unique consumer number is in the form of data on a device which is used as a data transfer device in connection with a consumer transaction with a merchant.

35. A method for the administration of multiple consumer rewards programs of multiple merchants comprising the following steps:

configuring a consumer rewards platform to maintain multiple consumer numbers which are used to enroll multiple consumers in multiple consumer rewards programs and account for all consumer activity which affects any of the multiple consumer rewards programs;

connecting the consumer rewards platform to multiple merchant-consumer rewards platforms, the merchant-consumer rewards platforms having content which defines criteria for enrolling and rewarding consumers for purchases and maintaining records of consumer and awards activity;

assigning a unique consumer number to each consumer for enrollment in the consumer rewards system, the consumer number being used by the consumer rewards platform to track all purchasing activity for processing by the consolidated consumer rewards system;

operatively connecting the consumer rewards platform to a card vendor system, the card vendor system comprising a card vendor payment device for effecting a payment transaction for a purchase in association with a unique payment account in the card vendor system;

whereby multiple consumers are each assigned a unique consumer number in the consumer rewards platform and this unique consumer number is linked to the consumer'"'"'s card vendor payment device so that each time the card vendor payment device is used for payment to a merchant, the payment transaction is associated with the consumer'"'"'s merchant rewards account by the merchant sending the payment transaction to the consumer rewards platform and altering the consumer rewards point totals for the unique consumer number in the consumer rewards platform.

36. The consolidated consumer rewards method of claim 35 wherein the consolidated consumer rewards platform includes a consumer rewards database which contains consumer numbers and records for each consumer number pertaining to each consumer rewards program.

37. The consolidated consumer rewards method of claim 35 wherein the consumer rewards platform is configured to be accessed by consumers via a consumer portal network connection whereby a consumer can input information pertaining to the consumer rewards programs or any merchant.

38. The consolidated consumer rewards method of claim 35 wherein the consumer rewards platform is configured to be accessed by merchants via a merchant portal network connection to the consumer rewards platform whereby a merchant can access and input information pertaining to a consumer rewards programs.

39. The consolidated consumer rewards method of claim 35 wherein the consumer rewards platform is configured and operative to automatically enroll consumers in consumer rewards programs by linking the consumer number of a consumer to a consumer reward program of a merchant selected by the consumer.

40. The consolidated consumer rewards method of claim 35 wherein the card vendor system is configured and operative to automatically update the consumer rewards platform with demographic information of consumers participating in one or more merchant consumer rewards programs.

41. The consolidated consumer rewards method of claim 37 wherein the consumer portal is in the form of a website with one or more web pages which present to a consumer information on multiple consumer rewards programs when accessed by a consuner via the consumer portal.

42. The consolidated consumer rewards method of claim 38 wherein the merchant portal is in the form of a website with one or more pages which present to a merchant information on enrollment and purchasing activity of consumers enrolled in the merchant'"'"'s consumer rewards program.

43. The consolidated consumer rewards method of claim 41 wherein the consumer portal is configured to interact with the consumer rewards platform to enable and perform any of the functions selected from the group of:

enrolling in the consumer rewards system and acquiring a consumer number for use with and by the consumer rewards program;

enrolling in one or more consumer rewards programs;

viewing information pertaining to one or more consumer rewards programs;

establishing links between two or more consumer rewards programs;

inputting or editing consumer demographic information;

un-enrolling from a consumer rewards program;

receiving a message from a consumer rewards program.

44. The consolidated consumer rewards method of claim 35 wherein the merchant portal is configured to interact with the consolidated consumer rewards platform to enable access to information on consumers enrolled in a merchant'"'"'s consumer reward program through the consolidated consumer rewards system.

45. The consolidated consumer rewards method of claim 44 wherein information on consumers enrolled in a merchant'"'"'s consumer rewards program is accessed via the merchant portal to the consolidated consumer rewards platform by use of consumer numbers.

46. The consolidated consumer rewards method of claim 35 wherein the consumer rewards platform is operatively connected to the merchants consumer reward platform to send data to the merchant-consumer reward platform selected from the group of:

information from the consumer rewards platform on consumers enrolled or un-enrolled in a merchant'"'"'s consumer rewards program through the consolidated consumer rewards system, including consumer numbers assigned by the consumer rewards platform;

new information pertaining to consumers previously enrolled in a merchant'"'"'s consumer rewards program;

links between two or more consumers enrolled in the consolidated consumer rewards system;

whereby data content of the merchant-consumer rewards platform is altered by the data received from the consumer rewards platform.

47. The consolidated consumer rewards method of claim 35 wherein the consumer rewards platform is operatively connected to multiple merchant consumer rewards platforms to receive data from the merchant-consumer rewards system selected from the group of:

enrollment by a consumer in a merchant'"'"'s consumer reward program;

information pertaining to consumers already enrolled in a merchant'"'"'s consumer rewards program;

information pertaining to a merchant'"'"'s consumer rewards program;

information pertaining to consumer transactions with a merchant which affect consumer rewards from a merchant'"'"'s consumer rewards program for each consumer number, whereby data content of the consolidated consumer rewards platform is altered by the data received from the merchant consumer rewards platform.

48. The consolidated consumer rewards method of claim 35 wherein the consumer rewards platform is operatively connected to the card vendor system to send consumer rewards point details to the card vendor system.

49. The consolidated consumer rewards method of claim 35 wherein the consumer rewards platform is operatively connected to the card vendor system to receive data from the card vendor system selected from the group of:

new consumer details;

card number change details;

consumer unsubscribe details; and

requests for consumer rewards details.

50. The consolidated consumer rewards method of claim 35 wherein the card vendor system is configured and operative to provide participating consumers with rewards point details as part of the consumer'"'"'s vendor card statement.

51. The consolidated consumer rewards method of claim 35 wherein the unique consumer number is in the form of data on a device which is used as a data transfer device in connection with a consumer transaction with a merchant.