Healthcare card incentive program for multiple users

• US 7,590,557 B2
• Filed: 07/31/2006
• Issued: 09/15/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Liberty Peak Ventures, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. (American Express Company)
• Inventors: Sachdev, Sunil, Jagatic, Jason S., Harrison, Sarah E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Trammell, James P
• Assistant Examiner(s): GREGG, MARY M
• Application Number:
  US11/461,392
• Publication Number:
  US 20070185801A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,142 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 705/14.58
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• 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 30/0226 Incentive systems for frequent usage, e.g. frequent flyer miles programs or point systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/06 Asset management; Financial planning or analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/10 Tax strategies

Abstract

A computer-implemented arrangement facilitates purchases by multiple cardmembers using respective transaction instruments, each transaction instrument being associated with a single tax-advantaged account. A merchant'"'"'s requested payment from a point of sale device for a purchase by a cardmember against the tax-advantaged account is received by a host computer system, which determines whether the requested charge is associated with a tax-advantaged qualified expense. The tax-advantaged account is credited with points associated with the value of the charge only if the charge is determined to be for a covered tax-advantaged expense. This process occurs for all other cardmembers making transactions associated with the same tax-advantaged account.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method to facilitate a purchase by at least first and second cardmembers using respective first and second transaction instruments associated with a single tax-advantaged account, comprising:

(a) receiving, at a host computer, a request from a merchant to charge a purchase by the first cardmember against the tax-advantaged account for a transaction using the first transaction instrument at a point of sale device;

(b) electronically determining whether the first cardmember charge is for a covered tax-advantaged expense;

(c) electronically crediting the tax-advantaged account with points, stored at a database server, associated with a value of the first cardmember charge only if the first cardmember charge is determined to be for a covered tax-advantaged expense;

(d) receiving, at the host computer, a request from a merchant to charge a purchase by the second cardmember against the tax-advantaged account for a transaction using the second transaction instrument at a point of sale device;

(e) electronically determining whether the second cardmember charge is for a covered tax-advantaged expense;

(f) electronically crediting the tax-advantaged account with points, stored at the database server, associated with a value of the second cardmember charge only if the second cardmember charge is determined to be for a covered tax-advantaged expense;

(g) determining an amount of points awarded for the purchases by the first and second cardmembers based on whether or not the purchases qualify as a tax-advantaged expense and based on whether or not the charges can automatically be determined as to their tax-advantaged qualification or they can only be manually determined to be tax-advantaged qualified.

2. The computer-implemented method according to claim 1, wherein said tax-advantaged account is a healthcare account.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the value of points awarded for a purchase by the first cardmember is different from the value of points awarded for a purchase by the second cardmember.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the value of points awarded when the charges can automatically be determined as to their tax-advantaged qualification is higher than the value of points when the charges can only be manually determined to be tax-advantaged qualified.