Rewards program with payment artifact permitting conversion/transfer of non-negotiable credits to entity independent funds

• US 8,668,146 B1
• Filed: 11/20/2012
• Issued: 03/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/25/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: JBSHBM, LLC
• Original Assignee: Brian K. Buchheit, Sean I. Mcghie
• Inventors: McGhie, Sean I., Buchheit, Brian K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Labaze, Edwyn
• Application Number:
  US13/681,493
• Time in Patent Office: 476 Days
• Field of Search: 235/380, 235/375, 235/379, 235/487, 235/486, 235/382, 705/14, 705/39
• US Class Current: 235/380
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/02 involving a neutral party, e.g. certification authority, notary or trusted third party [TTP]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/06 Private payment circuits, e.g. involving electronic currency used among participants of a common payment scheme
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/105 involving programming of a portable memory device, e.g. IC cards, "electronic purses"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/28 Pre-payment schemes, e.g. "pay before"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/381 Currency conversion
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0227 Frequent usage incentive value reconciliation between diverse systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0228 On-line clearing houses

Abstract

An entity establishes a non-negotiable credit account for a member of the loyalty program. The member of the loyalty program is provided with a payment artifact. Non-negotiable credits are added to the account in response to the payment artifact being used for purchases of goods or services. Quantities of the non-negotiable credits are redeemable for member selected goods or services per terms-of-use of the loyalty program. A subset of the non-negotiable credits are convertible to entity independent funds of a different loyalty program of a commerce partner. The entity independent funds are redeemable for commerce partner goods or commerce partner services of the different loyalty program.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

a computer for a loyalty program of an entity establishing a non-negotiable credit account for a member of the loyalty program, wherein the loyalty program is an airline loyalty program or a hotel loyalty program, wherein the member of the loyalty program is provided with a payment artifact, wherein the payment artifact is a credit card or a debit card linked to the loyalty program;

the computer adding non-negotiable credits to the non-negotiable credit account in response to the payment artifact being used for purchases of goods or services with venders accepting the payment artifact, wherein the non-negotiable credits are frequent flyer miles or hotel reward points, wherein the non-negotiable credits have restrictions on use, wherein the restrictions on use specify a restricted list of goods or services;

the computer redeeming quantities of the non-negotiable credits of the non-negotiable credit account for member selected ones of the goods or services of the restricted list,

wherein an agreement exists between the entity and a commerce partner, wherein the agreement permits members to convert the non-negotiable credits to entity independent funds, wherein entity independent funds are different loyalty points of a different loyalty program of the commerce partner, wherein the agreement specifies that the entity is to compensate the commerce partner in an agreed upon amount of cash or credit for conversions of non-negotiable credits to entity independent funds, wherein the entity independent funds are redeemable per the different loyalty program for the commerce partner goods or for the commerce partner services, wherein the commerce partner goods or the commerce partner services are not included in the restricted list; and

the computer subtracting a subset of the non-negotiable credits from the non-negotiable credit account in response to an occurrence of a conversion operation, wherein said conversion operation converts at least a portion of the subset of non-negotiable credits into a new quantity of entity independent funds of the different loyalty program, wherein the entity provides compensation for the subtracted quantity of the non-negotiable credits, wherein the commerce partner receives at least a portion of the compensation, wherein the new quantity of entity independent funds is redeemable by the member for member selected ones of the commerce partner goods or the commerce partner services.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the computer serves a set of Web pages to the member, wherein the set of Web pages are Web pages of a Web site of the loyalty program, wherein the Web site permits redemption of quantities of the non-negotiable credits for goods or services of the restricted list, and wherein the Web site provides a selectable option, wherein the computer initiates the conversion operation in response to the conversion option being selected.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein per terms-of-use of the loyalty program, the non-negotiable credits of the non-negotiable credit account have no cash or monetary value.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein per terms-of-use of the loyalty program, the non-negotiable credits of the non-negotiable credit account have at least one restriction-on-use related to an expiration date.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein per terms-of-use of the loyalty program, the entity has expressly reserved a right of imposing new expiration conditions on quantities of previously granted non-negotiable credits of the non-negotiable credit account.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the entity provides the non-negotiable credits to incentive the member to utilize the payment artifact for purchases with venders, wherein the entity charges venders that accept the payment artifact in accordance with a ratio of amounts spent for purchases using the payment artifact.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the agreement or terms-of-use of the loyalty program permits members to convert the non-negotiable credits to the entity independent funds in accordance with a fixed credits-to-funds conversion ratio.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the entity charges the member a fee for converting the non-negotiable credits to the entity independent funds, wherein the fee is specified in terms-of-use of the loyalty program, wherein the fee is an amount in cash, credit, or in non-negotiable credits.

9. A method comprising:

a computer for a different loyalty program of a commerce partner establishing a funds account for a member of the different loyalty program, wherein the different loyalty program is an airline loyalty program or a hotel loyalty program, wherein the member of the different loyalty program is provided with a payment artifact, wherein the payment artifact is a credit card or a debit card linked to the different loyalty program;

the computer adding entity independent funds to the funds account in response to the payment artifact being used for purchases of goods or services with venders accepting the payment artifact, wherein the entity independent funds are frequent flyer miles or hotel reward points, wherein the different loyalty program redeems entity independent funds for commerce partner goods or commerce partner services;

wherein an agreement exists between the commerce partner and an entity, wherein the agreement permits members to convert non-negotiable credits to entity independent funds, wherein the non-negotiable credits are loyalty points of a loyalty program of an entity, wherein the agreement specifies that the entity is to compensate the commerce partner in an agreed upon amount of cash or credit for conversions of non-negotiable credits to entity independent funds, wherein the non-negotiable credits are redeemable per the loyalty program for a restricted list of goods or services;

the computer adding a new quantity of the entity independent funds of the funds account in response to an occurrence of a conversion operation, wherein said conversion operation converts non-negotiable credits into the new quantity entity independent funds of the different loyalty program, wherein the commerce partner receives compensation from the entity for adding the new quantity of independent funds to the funds account; and

the computer redeeming quantities of the entity independent funds of the funds account for member selected ones of the commerce partner goods or commerce partner services.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the computer serves a set of Web pages to the member, wherein the set of Web pages are Web pages of a Web site of the different loyalty program, wherein the Web site permits redemption of quantities of the entity independent funds for the commerce partner goods or commerce partner services, and wherein the Web site provides a selectable option, wherein the computer initiates the conversion operation in response to the conversion option being selected.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein per terms-of-use of the different loyalty program, the entity independent funds of the funds account have no cash or monetary value.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein per terms-of-use of the different loyalty program, the entity independent funds of the funds account have at least one restriction-on-use related to an expiration date.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein per terms-of-use of the different loyalty program, the commerce partner has expressly reserved a right of imposing new expiration conditions on quantities of previously granted entity independent funds of the funds account.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the commerce partner provides the non-negotiable credits to incentive the member to utilize the payment artifact for purchases with venders, wherein the commerce partner charges venders that accept the payment artifact in accordance with a ratio of amounts spent for purchases using the payment artifact.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein the agreement or terms-of-use of the different loyalty program permits members to convert the non-negotiable credits to the entity independent funds in accordance with a fixed credits-to-funds conversion ratio.

16. The method of claim 9, wherein the commerce partner charges the member a fee for converting the non-negotiable credits to the entity independent funds, wherein the fee is specified in terms-of-use of the different loyalty program, wherein the fee is an amount in cash, credit, or in entity independent funds.

17. A method comprising:

computing equipment, having at least one processor executing program instructions that are digitally encoded in at least one storage device, serving members a set of Web pages for a Web site of a loyalty program of an entity, said set of Web pages showing a member accessing the Web pages quantities of non-negotiable credits of a non-negotiable credit account, wherein the non-negotiable credits are loyalty points of the loyalty program, wherein the loyalty program redeems quantities of the non-negotiable credits for a restricted list of goods or services, wherein the set of Web pages provide an indication of a set of two or more commerce partners as well as an indication that quantities of the non-negotiable credits are convertible or transferrable to entity independent funds of the commerce partners, said commerce partners having commerce partner loyalty programs that are different from the loyalty program of the entity, said commerce partner loyalty programs maintaining different forms of entity-independent funds for their members, said different forms of entity independent funds comprising frequent flyer miles, credit card reward points, different loyalty points, or entertainment credits, wherein the entity independent funds of the commerce partner loyalty programs are redeemable by members for commerce partner goods or commerce partner services, wherein the commerce partner goods or commerce partner services are not in the restricted list, wherein each of the commerce partners are independent entities from said entity;

computing equipment, having at least one processor executing program instructions that are digitally encoded in at least one storage device, redeeming, via the Web site, quantities of the non-negotiable credits of the non-negotiable credit account for member selected ones of the goods or services of the restricted list;

computing equipment, having at least one processor executing program instructions that are digitally encoded in at least one storage device, receiving a member selection made via the Web site of the loyalty program to convert or transfer a subset of non-negotiable credits possessed by the member into entity independent funds of one of the commerce partner loyalty programs; and

computing equipment, having at least one processor executing program instructions that are digitally encoded in at least one storage device, responsive to processing the member selection, subtracting at least the subset of non-negotiable credits from the non-negotiable credit account of the member.

18. A method of claim 17, wherein the loyalty program is an airline loyalty program or a hotel loyalty program, wherein the non-negotiable credits are frequent flyer miles or hotel reward points.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the member of the loyalty program is provided with a payment artifact, wherein the payment artifact is a credit card or a debit card linked to the loyalty program, said method further comprising:

a computer for the loyalty program adding non-negotiable credits to the non-negotiable credit account in response to the payment artifact being used for purchases of goods or services with venders accepting the payment artifact.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein an agreement exists between the entity and the commerce partners, wherein the agreement permits members to convert non-negotiable credits to the different entity independent funds, wherein the agreement specifies that the entity is to compensate the commerce partners in an agreed upon amount of cash or credit for redemptions of non-negotiable credits that occur by converting the non-negotiable credits to the different entity independent funds.

21. A computer program product comprising:

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 a non-negotiable credit account for a member of a loyalty program of an entity, wherein the loyalty program is an airline loyalty program or a hotel loyalty program, wherein the member of the loyalty program is provided with a payment artifact, wherein the payment artifact is a credit card or a debit card linked to the loyalty program;

add non-negotiable credits to the non-negotiable credit account in response to the payment artifact being used for purchases of goods or services with venders accepting the payment artifact, wherein the non-negotiable credits are frequent flyer miles or hotel reward points, wherein the non-negotiable credits have restrictions on use, wherein the restrictions on use specify a restricted list of goods or services;

redeem quantities of the non-negotiable credits of the non-negotiable credit account for member selected ones of the goods or services of the restricted list,

wherein an agreement exists between the entity and a commerce partner, wherein the agreement permits members to convert the non-negotiable credits to entity independent funds, wherein entity independent funds are different loyalty points of a different loyalty program of the commerce partner, wherein the agreement specifies that the entity is to compensate the commerce partner in an agreed upon amount of cash or credit for conversions of non-negotiable credits to entity independent funds, wherein the entity independent funds are redeemable per the different loyalty program for the commerce partner goods or for the commerce partner services, wherein the commerce partner goods or the commerce partner services are not included in the restricted list; and

subtract a subset of the non-negotiable credits from the non-negotiable credit account in response to an occurrence of a conversion operation, wherein said conversion operation converts at least a portion of the subset of non-negotiable credits into a new quantity of entity independent funds of the different loyalty program, wherein the entity provides compensation for the subtracted quantity of the non-negotiable credits, wherein the commerce partner receives at least a portion of the compensation, wherein the new quantity of entity independent funds is redeemable by the member for member selected ones of the commerce partner goods or the commerce partner services.

22. The computer program product of claim 21, further comprising:

the program instructions to serve a set of Web pages to the member, wherein the set of Web pages are Web pages of a Web site of the loyalty program, wherein the Web site permits redemption of quantities of the non-negotiable credits for goods or services of the restricted list, and wherein the Web site provides a selectable option, wherein the computer initiates the conversion operation in response to the conversion option being selected.

23. The computer program product of claim 21, wherein per terms-of-use of the loyalty program, the non-negotiable credits of the non-negotiable credit account have no cash or monetary value.

24. The computer program product of claim 21, wherein per terms-of-use of the loyalty program, the non-negotiable credits of the non-negotiable credit account have at least one restriction-on-use related to an expiration date.

25. The computer program product of claim 21, wherein per terms-of-use of the loyalty program, the entity has expressly reserved a right of imposing new expiration conditions on quantities of previously granted non-negotiable credits of the non-negotiable credit account.

26. The computer program product of claim 21, wherein the entity provides the non-negotiable credits to incentive the member to utilize the payment artifact for purchases with venders, wherein the entity charges venders that accept the payment artifact in accordance with a ratio of amounts spent for purchases using the payment artifact.

27. The computer program product of claim 21, wherein the agreement or terms-of-use of the loyalty program permits members to convert the non-negotiable credits to the entity independent funds in accordance with a fixed credits-to-funds conversion ratio.

28. The computer program product of claim 21, wherein the entity charges the member a fee for converting the non-negotiable credits to the entity independent funds, wherein the fee is specified in terms-of-use of the loyalty program, wherein the fee is an amount in cash, credit, or in non-negotiable credits.

29. A computer program product comprising:

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 a funds account for a member of a different loyalty program of a commerce partner, wherein the different loyalty program is an airline loyalty program or a hotel loyalty program, wherein the member of the different loyalty program is provided with a payment artifact, wherein the payment artifact is a credit card or a debit card linked to the different loyalty program;

add entity independent funds to the funds account in response to the payment artifact being used for purchases of goods or services with venders accepting the payment artifact, wherein the entity independent funds are frequent flyer miles or hotel reward points, wherein the different loyalty program redeems entity independent funds for commerce partner goods or commerce partner services;

wherein an agreement exists between the commerce partner and an entity, wherein the agreement permits members to convert non-negotiable credits to entity independent funds, wherein the non-negotiable credits are loyalty points of a loyalty program of an entity, wherein the agreement specifies that the entity is to compensate the commerce partner in an agreed upon amount of cash or credit for conversions of non-negotiable credits to entity independent funds, wherein the non-negotiable credits are redeemable per the loyalty program for a restricted list of goods or services;

add a new quantity of the entity independent funds of the funds account in response to an occurrence of a conversion operation, wherein said conversion operation converts non-negotiable credits into the new quantity entity independent funds of the different loyalty program, wherein the commerce partner receives compensation from the entity for adding the new quantity of independent funds to the funds account; and

redeem quantities of the entity independent funds of the funds account for member selected ones of the commerce partner goods or commerce partner services.

30. The computer program product of claim 29, further comprising:

the program instructions to serve a set of Web pages to the member, wherein the set of Web pages are Web pages of a Web site of the different loyalty program, wherein the Web site permits redemption of quantities of the entity independent funds for the commerce partner goods or commerce partner services, and wherein the Web site provides a selectable option, wherein the computer initiates the conversion operation in response to the conversion option being selected.

31. The computer program product of claim 29, wherein per terms-of-use of the different loyalty program, the entity independent funds of the funds account have no cash or monetary value.

32. The computer program product of claim 29, wherein per terms-of-use of the different loyalty program, the entity independent funds of the funds account have at least one restriction-on-use related to an expiration date.

33. The computer program product of claim 29, wherein per terms-of-use of the different loyalty program, the commerce partner has expressly reserved a right of imposing new expiration conditions on quantities of previously granted entity independent funds of the funds account.

34. The computer program product of claim 29, wherein the commerce partner provides the non-negotiable credits to incentive the member to utilize the payment artifact for purchases with venders, wherein the commerce partner charges venders that accept the payment artifact in accordance with a ratio of amounts spent for purchases using the payment artifact.

35. The computer program product of claim 29, wherein the agreement or terms-of-use of the different loyalty program permits members to convert the non-negotiable credits to the entity independent funds in accordance with a fixed credits-to-funds conversion ratio.

36. The computer program product of claim 29, wherein the commerce partner charges the member a fee for converting the non-negotiable credits to the entity independent funds, wherein the fee is specified in terms-of-use of the different loyalty program, wherein the fee is an amount in cash, credit, or in entity independent funds.

37. A computer program product comprising:

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;

serve members a set of Web pages for a Web site of a loyalty program of an entity, said set of Web pages showing a member accessing the Web pages quantities of non-negotiable credits of a non-negotiable credit account, wherein the non-negotiable credits are loyalty points of the loyalty program, wherein the loyalty program redeems quantities of the non-negotiable credits for a restricted list of goods or services, wherein the set of Web pages provide an indication of a set of two or more commerce partners as well as an indication that quantities of the non-negotiable credits are convertible or transferable to entity independent funds of the commerce partners, said commerce partners having commerce partner loyalty programs that are different from the loyalty program of the entity, said commerce partner loyalty programs maintaining different forms of entity-independent funds for their members, said different forms of entity independent funds comprising frequent flyer miles, credit card reward points, different loyalty points, or entertainment credits, wherein the entity independent funds of the commerce partner loyalty programs are redeemable by members for commerce partner goods or commerce partner services, wherein the commerce partner goods or commerce partner services are not in the restricted list, wherein each of the commerce partners are independent entities from said entity;

redeem, via the Web site, quantities of the non-negotiable credits of the non-negotiable credit account for member selected ones of the goods or services of the restricted list;

receive a member selection made via the Web site of the loyalty program to convert or transfer a subset of non-negotiable credits possessed by the member into entity independent funds of one of the commerce partner loyalty programs; and

responsive to processing the member selection, subtract at least the subset of non-negotiable credits from the non-negotiable credit account of the member.

38. A computer program product of claim 37, wherein the loyalty program is an airline loyalty program or a hotel loyalty program, wherein the non-negotiable credits are frequent flyer miles or hotel reward points.

39. The computer program product of claim 37, wherein the member of the loyalty program is provided with a payment artifact, wherein the payment artifact is a credit card or a debit card linked to the loyalty program, said computer program product further comprises:

program instructions to add non-negotiable credits to the non-negotiable credit account in response to the payment artifact being used for purchases of goods or services with venders accepting the payment artifact.

40. The computer program product of claim 37, wherein an agreement exists between the entity and the commerce partners, wherein the agreement permits members to convert non-negotiable credits to the different entity independent funds, wherein the agreement specifies that the entity is to compensate the commerce partners in an agreed upon amount of cash or credit for redemptions of non-negotiable credits that occur by converting the non-negotiable credits to the different entity independent funds.

41. A system comprising:

one or more processors;

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, wherein the one or more processors execute the program instructions to;

establish a non-negotiable credit account for a member of a loyalty program of an entity, wherein the loyalty program is an airline loyalty program or a hotel loyalty program, wherein the member of the loyalty program is provided with a payment artifact, wherein the payment artifact is a credit card or a debit card linked to the loyalty program;

add non-negotiable credits to the non-negotiable credit account in response to the payment artifact being used for purchases of goods or services with venders accepting the payment artifact, wherein the non-negotiable credits are frequent flyer miles or hotel reward points, wherein the non-negotiable credits have restrictions on use, wherein the restrictions on use specify a restricted list of goods or services;

redeem quantities of the non-negotiable credits of the non-negotiable credit account for member selected ones of the goods or services of the restricted list,

wherein an agreement exists between the entity and a commerce partner, wherein the agreement permits members to convert the non-negotiable credits to entity independent funds, wherein entity independent funds are different loyalty points of a different loyalty program of the commerce partner, wherein the agreement specifies that the entity is to compensate the commerce partner in an agreed upon amount of cash or credit for conversions of non-negotiable credits to entity independent funds, wherein the entity independent funds are redeemable per the different loyalty program for the commerce partner goods or for the commerce partner services, wherein the commerce partner goods or the commerce partner services are not included in the restricted list; and

subtract a subset of the non-negotiable credits from the non-negotiable credit account in response to an occurrence of a conversion operation, wherein said conversion operation converts at least a portion of the subset of non-negotiable credits into a new quantity of entity independent funds of the different loyalty program, wherein the entity provides compensation for the subtracted quantity of the non-negotiable credits, wherein the commerce partner receives at least a portion of the compensation, wherein the new quantity of entity independent funds is redeemable by the member for member selected ones of the commerce partner goods or the commerce partner services.

42. The system of claim 41, further comprising:

the program instructions to serve a set of Web pages to the member, wherein the set of Web pages are Web pages of a Web site of the loyalty program, wherein the Web site permits redemption of quantities of the non-negotiable credits for goods or services of the restricted list, and wherein the Web site provides a selectable option, wherein the computer initiates the conversion operation in response to the conversion option being selected.

43. The system of claim 41, wherein per terms-of-use of the loyalty program, the non-negotiable credits of the non-negotiable credit account have no cash or monetary value.

44. The system of claim 41, wherein per terms-of-use of the loyalty program, the non-negotiable credits of the non-negotiable credit account have at least one restriction-on-use related to an expiration date.

45. The system of claim 41, wherein per terms-of-use of the loyalty program, the entity has expressly reserved a right of imposing new expiration conditions on quantities of previously granted non-negotiable credits of the non-negotiable credit account.

46. The system of claim 41, wherein the entity provides the non-negotiable credits to incentive the member to utilize the payment artifact for purchases with venders, wherein the entity charges venders that accept the payment artifact in accordance with a ratio of amounts spent for purchases using the payment artifact.

47. The system of claim 41, wherein the agreement or terms-of-use of the loyalty program permits members to convert the non-negotiable credits to the entity independent funds in accordance with a fixed credits-to-funds conversion ratio.

48. The system of claim 41, wherein the entity charges the member a fee for converting the non-negotiable credits to the entity independent funds, wherein the fee is specified in terms-of-use of the loyalty program, wherein the fee is an amount in cash, credit, or in non-negotiable credits.

49. A system comprising:

one or more processors;

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, wherein the one or more processors execute the program instructions to;

establish a funds account for a member of a different loyalty program of a commerce partner, wherein the different loyalty program is an airline loyalty program or a hotel loyalty program, wherein the member of the different loyalty program is provided with a payment artifact, wherein the payment artifact is a credit card or a debit card linked to the different loyalty program;

add entity independent funds to the funds account in response to the payment artifact being used for purchases of goods or services with venders accepting the payment artifact, wherein the entity independent funds are frequent flyer miles or hotel reward points, wherein the different loyalty program redeems entity independent funds for commerce partner goods or commerce partner services;

wherein an agreement exists between the commerce partner and an entity, wherein the agreement permits members to convert non-negotiable credits to entity independent funds, wherein the non-negotiable credits are loyalty points of a loyalty program of an entity, wherein the agreement specifies that the entity is to compensate the commerce partner in an agreed upon amount of cash or credit for conversions of non-negotiable credits to entity independent funds, wherein the non-negotiable credits are redeemable per the loyalty program for a restricted list of goods or services;

add a new quantity of the entity independent funds of the funds account in response to an occurrence of a conversion operation, wherein said conversion operation converts non-negotiable credits into the new quantity entity independent funds of the different loyalty program, wherein the commerce partner receives compensation from the entity for adding the new quantity of independent funds to the funds account; and

redeem quantities of the entity independent funds of the funds account for member selected ones of the commerce partner goods or commerce partner services.

50. The system of claim 49, further comprising:

the program instructions to serve a set of Web pages to the member, wherein the set of Web pages are Web pages of a Web site of the different loyalty program, wherein the Web site permits redemption of quantities of the entity independent funds for the commerce partner goods or commerce partner services, and wherein the Web site provides a selectable option, wherein the computer initiates the conversion operation in response to the conversion option being selected.

51. The system of claim 49, wherein per terms-of-use of the different loyalty program, the entity independent funds of the funds account have no cash or monetary value.

52. The system of claim 49, wherein per terms-of-use of the different loyalty program, the entity independent funds of the funds account have at least one restriction-on-use related to an expiration date.

53. The system of claim 49, wherein per terms-of-use of the different loyalty program, the commerce partner has expressly reserved a right of imposing new expiration conditions on quantities of previously granted entity independent funds of the funds account.

54. The system of claim 49, wherein the commerce partner provides the non-negotiable credits to incentive the member to utilize the payment artifact for purchases with venders, wherein the commerce partner charges venders that accept the payment artifact in accordance with a ratio of amounts spent for purchases using the payment artifact.

55. The system of claim 49, wherein the agreement or terms-of-use of the different loyalty program permits members to convert the non-negotiable credits to the entity independent funds in accordance with a fixed credits-to-funds conversion ratio.

56. The system of claim 49, wherein the commerce partner charges the member a fee for converting the non-negotiable credits to the entity independent funds, wherein the fee is specified in terms-of-use of the different loyalty program, wherein the fee is an amount in cash, credit, or in entity independent funds.

57. A system comprising:

one or more processors;

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, wherein the one or more processors execute the program instructions to;

serve members a set of Web pages for a Web site of a loyalty program of an entity, said set of Web pages showing a member accessing the Web pages quantities of non-negotiable credits of a non-negotiable credit account, wherein the non-negotiable credits are loyalty points of the loyalty program, wherein the loyalty program redeems quantities of the non-negotiable credits for a restricted list of goods or services, wherein the set of Web pages provide an indication of a set of two or more commerce partners as well as an indication that quantities of the non-negotiable credits are convertible or transferrable to entity independent funds of the commerce partners, said commerce partners having commerce partner loyalty programs that are different from the loyalty program of the entity, said commerce partner loyalty programs maintaining different forms of entity-independent funds for their members, said different forms of entity independent funds comprising frequent flyer miles, credit card reward points, different loyalty points, or entertainment credits, wherein the entity independent funds of the commerce partner loyalty programs are redeemable by members for commerce partner goods or commerce partner services, wherein the commerce partner goods or commerce partner services are not in the restricted list, wherein each of the commerce partners are independent entities from said entity;

redeem, via the Web site, quantities of the non-negotiable credits of the non-negotiable credit account for member selected ones of the goods or services of the restricted list;

receive a member selection made via the Web site of the loyalty program to convert or transfer a subset of non-negotiable credits possessed by the member into entity independent funds of one of the commerce partner loyalty programs; and

responsive to processing the member selection, subtract at least the subset of non-negotiable credits from the non-negotiable credit account of the member.

58. A system of claim 57, wherein the loyalty program is an airline loyalty program or a hotel loyalty program, wherein the non-negotiable credits are frequent flyer miles or hotel reward points.

59. The system of claim 57, wherein the member of the loyalty program is provided with a payment artifact, wherein the payment artifact is a credit card or a debit card linked to the loyalty program, said system further comprises:

program instructions to add non-negotiable credits to the non-negotiable credit account in response to the payment artifact being used for purchases of goods or services with venders accepting the payment artifact.

60. The system of claim 57, wherein an agreement exists between the entity and the commerce partners, wherein the agreement permits members to convert non-negotiable credits to the different entity independent funds, wherein the agreement specifies that the entity is to compensate the commerce partners in an agreed upon amount of cash or credit for redemptions of non-negotiable credits that occur by converting the non-negotiable credits to the different entity independent funds.