Conversion of credits to funds
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- at least one of one or more computers establishing an account for non-negotiable credits provided by an entity to one or more users;
at least one of the one or more computers detecting a set of two or more interactions between the entity and at least one of the one or more users, each of the interactions earning a quantity of non-negotiable credits, wherein the earned quantities of non-negotiable credits for each of the interactions are added to the account; and
at least one of the one or more computers subtracting a quantity of the non-negotiable credits from the account, said subtracted quantity of non-negotiable credits corresponding to a quantity of negotiable funds or a quantity of entity independent funds in accordance with a conversion rate established during a conversion operation for converting the non-negotiable credits to negotiable funds or entity independent funds, wherein the quantity of negotiable funds or entity independent funds resulting from the conversion operation are able to be applied to one or more purchases with at least one commerce partner that accepts the negotiable funds or the entity independent funds for purchases but does not directly accept the non-negotiable credits for purchases.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
In one embodiment, non-negotiable credits from a user interaction with a credit providing entity can be identified. The credits can be associated with an entity with which a user has previously interacted. The previous interactions can earn the credits, which are non-negotiable credits. The credit providing entity can present the user with indicia indicating credit redemption opportunities. Responsive to a user request, a conversion agency can convert a quantity of the non-negotiable credits to a quantity of negotiable funds, wherein the conversion agency is not directly associated with the entity. The user can be permitted to access the quantity of negotiable funds, wherein the quantity of negotiable funds are able to be applied to user specified purchases, wherein at least a portion of the user specified purchases involve at least one vender that does not honor the non-negotiable credits.
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Citations
50 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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at least one of one or more computers establishing an account for non-negotiable credits provided by an entity to one or more users; at least one of the one or more computers detecting a set of two or more interactions between the entity and at least one of the one or more users, each of the interactions earning a quantity of non-negotiable credits, wherein the earned quantities of non-negotiable credits for each of the interactions are added to the account; and at least one of the one or more computers subtracting a quantity of the non-negotiable credits from the account, said subtracted quantity of non-negotiable credits corresponding to a quantity of negotiable funds or a quantity of entity independent funds in accordance with a conversion rate established during a conversion operation for converting the non-negotiable credits to negotiable funds or entity independent funds, wherein the quantity of negotiable funds or entity independent funds resulting from the conversion operation are able to be applied to one or more purchases with at least one commerce partner that accepts the negotiable funds or the entity independent funds for purchases but does not directly accept the non-negotiable credits for purchases. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A method comprising:
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one or more computers granting one or more users a quantity of non-negotiable credits in response to the one or more users interacting with an entity providing the non-negotiable credits; and at least one of the one or more computers indicating a conversion of the non-negotiable credits to entity independent funds, wherein the entity expressly disclaims liability from usages of the entity independent funds resulting from the conversion, wherein the entity explicitly indicates that the provided non-negotiable credits have no cash value, wherein the entity independent funds are able to be directly used for purchasing goods or services via a storefront, wherein the storefront does not permit direct usage of the non-negotiable credits for the purchasing of goods or services. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A method comprising:
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a credit providing entity providing one or more customers with one or more credit earning customer incentive activities, wherein upon successful completion of the one or more credit earning customer incentive activities by a customer, the activity providing entity grants the customer a quantity of non-negotiable credits; and the non-negotiable credit providing entity presenting the customer with indicia to inform the customer of opportunities for redeeming the earned quantity of non-negotiable credits on purchases with one or more venders that are different legal entity than the credit providing entity, wherein the credit providing entity asserts that the granted non-negotiable credits have no cash value, and wherein the one or more venders redeem the non-negotiable credits, which were received from the customer for purchases, with the credit providing entity as part of a previously established agreement between the one or more venders and the credit providing entity, wherein at least one of the providing of the credit earning customer incentive activities and the presenting of the indicia to inform the customer about opportunities for redeeming is performed by a computer executing program instructions stored in a memory. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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44. A computer program product comprising:
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one or more non-transitory computer-readable mediums; program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more non-transitory computer-readable mediums, to establish an account for non-negotiable credits provided by an entity to one or more users; program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more non-transitory computer-readable mediums, to detect a set of two or more interactions between the entity and at least one of the one or more users, each of the interactions earning a quantity of non-negotiable credits, wherein the earned quantities of non-negotiable credits for each of the interactions are added to the account; and program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more non-transitory computer-readable mediums, to subtract a quantity of the non-negotiable credits from the account, said subtracted quantity of non-negotiable credits corresponding to a quantity of negotiable funds or a quantity of entity independent funds in accordance with a conversion rate established during a conversion operation for converting the non-negotiable credits to negotiable funds or entity independent funds, wherein the quantity of negotiable funds or entity independent funds resulting from the conversion operation are able to be applied to one or more purchases with at least one commerce partner that accepts the negotiable funds or the entity independent funds for purchases but does not directly accept the non-negotiable credits for purchases.
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45. A computer program product comprising:
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one or more non-transitory computer-readable mediums; program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more non-transitory computer-readable mediums, to grant one or more users a quantity of non-negotiable credits in response to the one or more users interacting with an entity providing the non-negotiable credits; and program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more non-transitory computer-readable mediums, to indicate a conversion of the non-negotiable credits to entity independent funds, wherein the entity expressly disclaims liability from usages of the entity independent funds resulting from the conversion, wherein the entity explicitly indicates that the provided non-negotiable credits have no cash value, wherein the entity independent funds are able to be directly used for purchasing goods or services via a storefront, wherein the storefront does not permit direct usage of the non-negotiable credits for the purchasing of goods or services. - View Dependent Claims (46, 47)
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48. A computer program product comprising:
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one or more non-transitory computer-readable mediums; program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more non-transitory computer-readable mediums, to provide one or more customers with one or more credit earning customer incentive activities, wherein upon successful completion of the one or more credit earning customer incentive activities by a customer, the activity providing entity grants the customer a quantity of non-negotiable credits; and program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more non-transitory computer-readable mediums, to present the customer with indicia to inform the customer of opportunities for redeeming the earned quantity of non-negotiable credits on purchases with one or more venders that are different legal entity than a credit providing entity, wherein the credit providing entity asserts that the granted non-negotiable credits have no cash value, and wherein the one or more venders redeem the non-negotiable credits, which were received from the customer for purchases, with the credit providing entity as part of a previously established agreement between the one or more venders and the credit providing entity, wherein at least one of the providing of the credit earning customer incentive activities and the presenting of the indicia to inform the customer about opportunities for redeeming is performed by a computer executing program instructions stored in a memory. - View Dependent Claims (49, 50)
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Specification