Digital concierge application

• US 10,460,350 B2
• Filed: 12/31/2012
• Issued: 10/29/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Visa International Service Association (Visa, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Visa International Service Association (Visa, Inc.)
• Inventors: Polo, Andres
• Primary Examiner(s): Andrei, Radu
• Application Number:
  US13/732,166
• Publication Number:
  US 20130173390A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,493 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0244 Optimization
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/0021 Image watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/0064 Geometric transfor invariant watermarking, e.g. affine transform invariant

Abstract

Embodiments of the invention are directed to methods, systems, and apparatuses for providing digital concierge services through a portable electronic device. The digital concierge may be provided through an application installed on a portable electronic device that is configured to contact a concierge service, provide filtered and relevant offers including promotions and accountholder benefits, and provide ATM location services for users as they travel. One embodiment of the present invention is directed to a method comprising determining a location of a portable electronic device, receiving concierge data associated with the user, filtering, by a processor, a plurality of offers according to the location of the portable electronic device and the concierge data associated with the user, and presenting filtered offers to a user. Some embodiments may further filter the plurality of offers according to an issuer associated with the user of the portable electronic device.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by a communication element of the portable electronic device, a plurality of offers from an application management server over a communication network, the plurality of offers including global offers and local offers;

storing, on a data storage memory of the portable electronic device, the plurality of offers in an offer data database, the offer data database providing access to the plurality of offers without a connection to the application management server via the communication network;

receiving, by the communication element of the portable electronic device over the communication network from a concierge service computer, concierge data including a travel itinerary with at least one of a hotel reservation, restaurant reservation, and travel arrangement, the concierge service computer associated with a concierge service provider that previously scheduled the at least one of the hotel reservation, the restaurant reservation, and the travel arrangement on behalf of a user, wherein the concierge data is associated with the user of the portable electronic device, the concierge service computer different from the application management server, the plurality of offers different from the concierge data including the travel itinerary with at least one of the hotel reservation, the restaurant reservation, and the travel arrangement;

storing, on the data storage memory of the portable electronic device, the concierge data in a concierge data database;

retrieving, from the data storage memory of the portable electronic device in response to a menu selection by the user via a user interface of the portable electronic device, the plurality of offers from the offer data database without using the connection to the application management server via the communication network;

determining, by a processor of the portable electronic device, a current location of the portable electronic device using a GPS receiver of the portable electronic device;

determining, by the processor of the portable electronic device, based on the concierge data, one or more future locations associated with the user of the portable electronic device by interpreting the travel itinerary to identify when and where the user will be located by determining a future location and a future time for each of the at least one hotel reservation, restaurant reservation, and the travel arrangement in the travel itinerary and mapping each of the future locations of the user on a timeline according to the future location and the future time of each of the at least one hotel reservation, restaurant reservation, and travel arrangement in the travel itinerary; and

filtering, by the processor of the portable electronic device, without using the connection to the application management server via the communication network, the plurality of offers retrieved from the data storage memory of the portable electronic device according to the current location of the portable electronic device, the one or more future locations, and the timeline by;

determining, by the processor of the portable electronic device, a relevance score for each offer of the plurality of offers retrieved from the data storage memory of the portable electronic device, wherein higher relevance scores are provided to the local offers and to offers associated with the one or more future locations according to the timeline, wherein higher relevance scores are provided to future locations at future times closer to a current time compared to future locations at later future times according to the timeline, wherein the relevance score for each offer of the plurality of offers changes according to the current location of the portable electronic device and the current time; and

ordering, by the processor of the portable electronic device, the plurality of offers retrieved from the data storage memory of the portable electronic device according to the relevance score for each offer of the plurality of offers to obtain a filtered plurality of offers;

presenting, via the user interface of the portable electronic device, the filtered plurality of offers to the user of the portable electronic device, wherein offers of the filtered plurality of offers having higher relevance scores are presented before offers having lower relevance scores;

receiving, via the user interface of the portable electronic device, a selection of a selected offer of the filtered plurality of offers from the user;

generating, by the processor of the portable electronic device, a message including the selected offer and a request to redeem or purchase the selected offer;

sending, when the communication element of the portable electronic device has the connection to the application management server, the message including the selected offer and the request to redeem or purchase the selected offer to the application management server over the communication network;

receiving, by the application management server from the portable electronic device, the message including the selected offer and the request to redeem or purchase the selected offer over the communication network; and

redeeming, by the application management server, the selected offer for the user by communicating with a provider associated with the selected offer.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein filtering the plurality of offers further comprises filtering the plurality of offers according to an issuer associated with the user of the portable electronic device, and wherein the plurality of offers include promotions and coupons associated with one or more providers.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the concierge data includes at least one of a service request and a service response associated with the user.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the offers include benefit information associated with an account of the user, and wherein the concierge data includes a service report.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting, by the communication element of the portable electronic device, a request for updated offers to the application management server over the communication network in response to a predetermined event;

receiving, by the communication element of the portable electronic device, the updated offers from the application management server over the communication network;

updating, by the processor of the portable electronic device, the plurality of offers with the updated offers to obtain an updated plurality of offers;

filtering, by the processor of the portable electronic device, the updated plurality of offers; and

storing, on the data storage memory of the portable electronic device, the updated plurality of offers on the portable electronic device.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the predetermined event includes launching of the application, powering on the portable electronic device, or lapsing of a predetermined period of time.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

transmitting, by the communication element of the portable electronic device, the selected offer and user information to a social media network server over the communication network, wherein the social media network server shares the selected offer with other social media network users.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining, by the processor of the portable electronic device, a local concierge service contact using the current location of the portable electronic device;

presenting, via the user interface of the portable electronic device, contact options to the user to connect to the concierge service;

receiving, via the user interface of the portable electronic device, a contact selection of one of the contact options from the user; and

contacting, by the portable electronic device, the concierge service.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of offers further include offers associated with an account issuer, the account issuer being associated with the user of the portable electronic device.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein filtering the plurality of offers includes:

allocating higher relevance scores to the offers associated with the account issuer.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the one or more future locations includes a first future location associated with a first time and a second future location associated with a second time, wherein the first time is before the second time, and wherein filtering the plurality of offers further includes:

allocating, based on the first time and the second time, higher relevance scores to offers associated with the first future location than offers associated with the second future location.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the filtering of the plurality of offers occurs without the portable electronic device being connected to the communication network.

9. A system, comprising:

a portable electronic device, comprising;

a processor;

a communication element;

a data storage memory;

a user interface;

a GPS receiver; and

a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising computer code executable by the process to perform a method, the method comprising;

receiving, by the communication element, a plurality of offers from an application management server over a communication network, the plurality of offers including global offers and local offers;

storing, on the data storage memory, the plurality of offers in an offer data database, the offer data database providing access to the plurality of offers without a connection to the application management server via the communication network;

receiving, by the communication element, concierge data over the communication network from a concierge service computer, concierge data including a travel itinerary with at least one of a hotel reservation, restaurant reservation, and travel arrangement, the concierge service computer being associated with a concierge service provider that previously scheduled the at least one of the hotel reservation, the restaurant reservation, and the travel arrangement on behalf of a user, wherein the concierge data is associated with the user of the portable electronic device;

storing, on the data storage memory, the concierge data in a concierge data database;

retrieving, from the data storage memory, in response to a menu selection by the user via the user interface, the plurality of offers from the offer data database without using the connection to the application management server via the communication network;

determining, by the processor, based on the concierge data, one or more future locations associated with the user of the portable electronic device by interpreting the travel itinerary to identify when and where the user will be located by determining a future location and a future time for each of the at least one hotel reservation, restaurant reservation, and the travel arrangement in the travel itinerary and mapping each of the future locations of the user on a timeline according to the future location and the future time of each of the at least one hotel reservation, restaurant reservation, and travel arrangement in the travel itinerary; and

filtering, by the processor, without using the internet connection, the plurality of offers retrieved from the data storage memory according to the current location of the portable electronic device, the one or more future locations, and the timeline by;

determining, by the processor, a relevance score for each offer of the plurality of offers retrieved from the data storage memory of the portable electronic device, wherein higher relevance scores are provided to the local offers and to offers associated with the one or more future locations according to the timeline, wherein higher relevance scores are provided to future locations at future times closer to a current time compared to future locations at later future times according to the timeline, wherein the relevance score for each offer of the plurality of offers changes according to the current location of the portable electronic device and the current time; and

ordering, by the processor, the plurality of offers retrieved from the data storage memory according to the relevance score for each offer of the plurality of offers to obtain a filtered plurality of offers; and

presenting, via the user interface, the filtered plurality of offers to the user of the portable electronic device, wherein offers of the filtered plurality of offers having higher relevance scores are presented before offers having lower relevance scores;

receiving, via the user interface, a selection of a selected offer of the filtered plurality of offers from the user;

generating, by the processor, a message including the selected offer and a request to redeem or purchase the selected offer;

sending, when the communication element has the connection to the application management server, the message including the selected offer and the request to redeem or purchase the selected offer to the application management server over the communication network;

the application management server, the application management server comprising a second processor and a second non-transitory computer readable medium comprising second computer code executable by the second processor to perform a second method, the second method comprising;

sending, by the application management server, the plurality of offers to the portable electronic device over the communication network;

receiving, by the application management server from the portable electronic device, the message including the selected offer and the request to redeem or purchase the selected offer over the communication network; and

redeeming, by the application management server, the selected offer for the user by communicating with a provider associated with the selected offer; and

the concierge service computer, the concierge service computer comprising a third processor and a third non-transitory computer readable medium comprising third computer code executable by the third processor to perform a third method, the concierge service computer different from the application management server, the plurality of offers different from the concierge data including the travel itinerary with at least one of the hotel reservation, the restaurant reservation, and the travel arrangement, the third method comprising;

sending, by the concierge service computer, the concierge data to the portable electronic device.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the filtering of the plurality of offers further comprises filtering the plurality of offers according to an issuer associated with the user of the portable electronic device, and wherein the plurality of offers include promotions and coupons associated with one or more providers.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the concierge data includes at least one of a service request and a service response associated with the user.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the offers include benefit information associated with an account of the user, and wherein the concierge data includes a service report.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the method further comprises:

transmitting, by the communication element, a request for updated offers to the application management server over the communication network in response to a predetermined event;

receiving, by the communication element, the updated offers from the application management server over the communication network;

updating, by the processor, the plurality of offers with the updated offers to obtain an updated plurality of offers;

filtering, by the processor, the updated plurality of offers; and

storing, on the data storage memory, the updated plurality of offers on the portable electronic device.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the predetermined event includes launching of the application, powering on the portable electronic device, or lapsing of a predetermined period of time.

15. The system of claim 9 wherein the method further comprises:

transmitting, by the communication element, the selected offer and user information to a social media network server over the communication network, wherein the social media network server shares the selected offer with other social media network users.

16. The system of claim 9, wherein the method further comprises:

determining, by the processor, a local concierge service contact using the current location of the portable electronic device;

presenting, via the user interface, contact options to the user to connect to the concierge service;

receiving, via the user interface, a contact selection of one of the contact options from the user; and

contacting, by the portable electronic device, the concierge service.