Conversion of loyalty points for gaming to a different loyalty point program for services
First Claim
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1. A method comprising:
- a computer serving a set of one or more Web pages for a loyalty program of a company that provides a computer implemented game, a platform upon which the computer implemented game runs, or gaming services for the computer implemented game, wherein playing the computer implemented game earns loyalty points for the loyalty program as recorded in a credits account of a corresponding one of the members, wherein the company is referred to as an entity, wherein the loyalty points are referred to as non-negotiable credits, wherein the Web pages are able to be rendered by one or more client-side browsers, which run on the one or more client-machines, wherein upon being rendered within one of the client-side browsers a corresponding user interface for the client-side browser presents a quantity of member earned loyalty points for the loyalty program, wherein the entity redeems the loyalty points via the Web pages in exchange for a restricted set of goods or services provided by the entity to the members as part of the loyalty program, wherein upon being rendered within one of the client-side browsers the user interface presents a conversion option permitting one of the members to;
a) convert quantities of the loyalty points into quantities of different loyalty points of a different loyalty program of a commerce partner;
orb) convert quantities of the different loyalty points into quantities of the loyalty points, orc) convert quantities of the loyalty points into quantities of different loyalty points and to convert quantities of different loyalty points into quantities of loyalty points,wherein the different loyalty points are referred to as entity independent funds and are recorded in a funds account, wherein the different loyalty points are redeemable for commerce partner services that the commerce partner provides to members of the different loyalty program, wherein the commerce partner services are not included in the restricted set of goods or services, wherein the commerce partner services for which the different loyalty points are redeemable comprise;
a) travel services for an airline owned, operated, or managed by the commerce partner or by a subsidiary or parent of the commerce partner,b) lodging services for a hotel owned, operated, or managed by the commerce partner or by a subsidiary or parent of the commerce partner,c) travel services for a train owned, operated, or managed by the commerce partner or by a subsidiary or parent of the commerce partner,d) travel services for a cruise ship owned, operated, or managed by the commerce partner or by a subsidiary or parent of the commerce partner,e) vehicle rental services for a vehicle owned, operated, or managed by the commerce partner or by a subsidiary or parent of the commerce partner,f) financial services for a final service company that provides credit cards to a set of members wherein usage of the credit cards with retailers accepting the credit cards earn different loyalty points for the different loyalty program, org) combinations of one of more of any of the travel services, the lodging services, the vehicle rental services, or the financial services as specified by a) through f),wherein the different loyalty program of the commerce partner is a hotel, airline, rental car, train, cruise ship, or a financial service loyalty program, wherein the funds account is neither owned nor controlled by the entity or by any subsidiary or parent of the entity, wherein the credits account is neither owned nor controlled by the commerce partner or by any subsidiary or parent of the commerce partner, wherein the entity does not;
a) accept the different loyalty points as payment for any of the goods or services of the restricted set;
orb) accept the different loyalty points as payment for any of the goods or services of the restricted set without quantities of the different loyalty points being converted into quantities of loyalty points,wherein an agreement exists between the entity and the commerce partner, wherein the agreement permits members to;
a) convert quantities of the loyalty points into quantifies of the different loyalty points;
b) convert quantities of the different loyalty points into the loyalty points, orc) convert quantities of the loyalty points into quantities of different loyalty points and to convert quantities of different loyalty points into quantities of loyalty pointswherein the agreement specifies that the entity or the commerce partner are to provide compensation to the other in an agreed upon amount for conversions between the loyalty points and the different loyalty points;
the computer responsive to receiving a message indicating a selection of the conversion option, processing the selection to effectuate changes in the served set of Web pages; and
responsive to the processing, the computer serving one or more Web pages or Web page updates that include the effectuated changes to at least one of the one or more client machines, wherein upon being rendered within one of the client-side browsers the user interface is updated with the effectuated changes, wherein the updated user interface presents a changed quantity of the loyalty points possessed by one of the members, said changed quantity resulting at least in part from a conversion performed responsive to the selection of the conversion option, wherein the computer serves the set of one or more Web pages, receives the selection, and serves the one or more Web pages or Web page updates that include the effectuated changes within a single user-interactive Web session.
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Abstract
A graphical user interface includes a conversion option to convert quantities of loyalty points of a loyalty program of an entity into different loyalty points of a different loyalty program of a commerce partner. The different loyalty points are accepted by a commerce partner as at least partial payment for commerce partner services provided by the commerce partner as part of the different loyalty program. The commerce partner does not accept the loyalty points as payment for commerce partner services, at least without requiring the loyalty points be first converted to different loyalty points. Responsive to a received selection of the conversion option, a computer presents within a user interface a quantity of available different loyalty points for use as payment for the commerce partner services. The quantity of available different loyalty points results from converting the subset of loyalty points into the quantity of available different loyalty points.
1271 Citations
27 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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a computer serving a set of one or more Web pages for a loyalty program of a company that provides a computer implemented game, a platform upon which the computer implemented game runs, or gaming services for the computer implemented game, wherein playing the computer implemented game earns loyalty points for the loyalty program as recorded in a credits account of a corresponding one of the members, wherein the company is referred to as an entity, wherein the loyalty points are referred to as non-negotiable credits, wherein the Web pages are able to be rendered by one or more client-side browsers, which run on the one or more client-machines, wherein upon being rendered within one of the client-side browsers a corresponding user interface for the client-side browser presents a quantity of member earned loyalty points for the loyalty program, wherein the entity redeems the loyalty points via the Web pages in exchange for a restricted set of goods or services provided by the entity to the members as part of the loyalty program, wherein upon being rendered within one of the client-side browsers the user interface presents a conversion option permitting one of the members to; a) convert quantities of the loyalty points into quantities of different loyalty points of a different loyalty program of a commerce partner;
orb) convert quantities of the different loyalty points into quantities of the loyalty points, or c) convert quantities of the loyalty points into quantities of different loyalty points and to convert quantities of different loyalty points into quantities of loyalty points, wherein the different loyalty points are referred to as entity independent funds and are recorded in a funds account, wherein the different loyalty points are redeemable for commerce partner services that the commerce partner provides to members of the different loyalty program, wherein the commerce partner services are not included in the restricted set of goods or services, wherein the commerce partner services for which the different loyalty points are redeemable comprise; a) travel services for an airline owned, operated, or managed by the commerce partner or by a subsidiary or parent of the commerce partner, b) lodging services for a hotel owned, operated, or managed by the commerce partner or by a subsidiary or parent of the commerce partner, c) travel services for a train owned, operated, or managed by the commerce partner or by a subsidiary or parent of the commerce partner, d) travel services for a cruise ship owned, operated, or managed by the commerce partner or by a subsidiary or parent of the commerce partner, e) vehicle rental services for a vehicle owned, operated, or managed by the commerce partner or by a subsidiary or parent of the commerce partner, f) financial services for a final service company that provides credit cards to a set of members wherein usage of the credit cards with retailers accepting the credit cards earn different loyalty points for the different loyalty program, or g) combinations of one of more of any of the travel services, the lodging services, the vehicle rental services, or the financial services as specified by a) through f), wherein the different loyalty program of the commerce partner is a hotel, airline, rental car, train, cruise ship, or a financial service loyalty program, wherein the funds account is neither owned nor controlled by the entity or by any subsidiary or parent of the entity, wherein the credits account is neither owned nor controlled by the commerce partner or by any subsidiary or parent of the commerce partner, wherein the entity does not; a) accept the different loyalty points as payment for any of the goods or services of the restricted set;
orb) accept the different loyalty points as payment for any of the goods or services of the restricted set without quantities of the different loyalty points being converted into quantities of loyalty points, wherein an agreement exists between the entity and the commerce partner, wherein the agreement permits members to; a) convert quantities of the loyalty points into quantifies of the different loyalty points; b) convert quantities of the different loyalty points into the loyalty points, or c) convert quantities of the loyalty points into quantities of different loyalty points and to convert quantities of different loyalty points into quantities of loyalty points wherein the agreement specifies that the entity or the commerce partner are to provide compensation to the other in an agreed upon amount for conversions between the loyalty points and the different loyalty points; the computer responsive to receiving a message indicating a selection of the conversion option, processing the selection to effectuate changes in the served set of Web pages; and responsive to the processing, the computer serving one or more Web pages or Web page updates that include the effectuated changes to at least one of the one or more client machines, wherein upon being rendered within one of the client-side browsers the user interface is updated with the effectuated changes, wherein the updated user interface presents a changed quantity of the loyalty points possessed by one of the members, said changed quantity resulting at least in part from a conversion performed responsive to the selection of the conversion option, wherein the computer serves the set of one or more Web pages, receives the selection, and serves the one or more Web pages or Web page updates that include the effectuated changes within a single user-interactive Web session. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method comprising:
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a computer serving a set of one or more Web pages for a different loyalty program of a commerce partner to one or more remotely located client machines, wherein the different loyalty program of the commerce partner is a hotel, airline, rental car, train, cruise ship, or financial services loyalty program, wherein the Web pages are able to be rendered by one or more client-side browsers, which run on the one or more client-machines, wherein upon being rendered within one of the client-side browsers a corresponding user interface for the client-side browser presents a quantity of member earned different loyalty points for the different loyalty program, wherein the different loyalty points are referred to as entity independent funds and are recorded in a funds account of the members, wherein the commerce partner redeems the different loyalty points for members via the Web pages in exchange for a set of commerce partner services, wherein the commerce partner services for which the different loyalty points are redeemable comprise; a) travel services for an airline owned, operated, or managed by the commerce partner or by a subsidiary or parent of the commerce partner, b) lodging services for a hotel owned, operated, or managed by the commerce partner or by a subsidiary or parent of the commerce partner, c) travel services for a train owned, operated, or managed by the commerce partner or by a subsidiary or parent of the commerce partner, d) travel services for a cruise ship owned, operated, or managed by the commerce partner or by a subsidiary or parent of the commerce partner, e) vehicle rental services for a vehicle owned, operated, or managed by the commerce partner or by a subsidiary or parent of the commerce partner, f) financial services for a final service company that provides credit cards to a set of members wherein usage of the credit cards with retailers accepting the credit cards earn different loyalty points for the different loyalty program, or g) combinations of one of more of any of the travel services, the lodging services, the vehicle rental services, or the gaming services as specified by a) through f), wherein upon being rendered within one of the client-side browsers the user interface presents a conversion option permitting one of the members to; a) convert quantities of the different loyalty points into quantities of loyalty points of company that provides a computer implemented game, that provides a platform upon which the computer implemented game runs, or that provides gaming services for the computer implemented game, b) convert quantities of the loyalty points into quantities of the loyalty points, or c) convert quantities of the loyalty points into quantities of different loyalty points and to convert quantities of different loyalty points into quantities of loyalty points, wherein loyalty points for the loyalty program are earned through playing the computer implemented game as recorded in a credits account of a corresponding one of the members, wherein the company is referred to as an entity, wherein the loyalty points are referred to as non-negotiable credits, wherein the loyalty points are redeemable for a restricted set of goods or services for the computer implemented game per terms of the loyalty program, wherein the commerce partner services are not in the restricted set of goods or services, wherein the funds account is neither owned nor controlled by the entity or by any subsidiary or parent of the entity, wherein the credits account is neither owned nor controlled by the commerce partner or by any subsidiary or parent of the commerce partner, wherein the commerce partner does not; a) accept the loyalty points as payment for any of the commerce partner services;
orb) accept the loyalty points as payment for any of the commerce partner services without quantities of the loyalty points being converted into quantities of the different loyalty points, wherein an agreement exists between the commerce partner and the entity, wherein the agreement permits members to; a) convert quantities of the different loyalty points into quantifies of the loyalty points, b) convert quantities of the loyalty points into quantities of the different loyalty points, or c) convert quantities of the loyalty points into quantities of different loyalty points and to convert quantities of different loyalty points into quantities of loyalty points, wherein the agreement specifies that the commerce partner or the entity are to provide compensation to the other in an agreed upon amount for conversions between the different loyalty points and the loyalty points; the computer responsive to receiving a message indicating a selection of the conversion option, processing the selection to effectuate changes in the served set of Web pages; and responsive to the processing, the computer serving one or more Web pages or Web page updates that include the effectuated changes to at least one of the one or more client machines, wherein upon being rendered within one of the client-side browsers the user interface is updated with the effectuated changes, wherein the updated user interface presents a changed quantity of the different loyalty points possessed by one of the members, said changed quantity resulting at least in part from a conversion performed responsive to the selection of the conversion option, wherein the computer serves the set of one or more Web pages, receives the selection, and serves the one or more Web pages or Web page updates that include the effectuated changes within a single user-interactive Web session. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method comprising:
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establishing a contract between a company and a commerce partner permitting members of a loyalty program to; a) convert quantities of loyalty points of the loyalty program into quantifies of different loyalty points of a different loyalty program of the commerce partner, b) convert quantities of the loyalty points into quantities of the different loyalty points, or c) convert quantities of the loyalty points into quantities of different loyalty points and to convert quantities of different loyalty points into quantities of loyalty points, wherein per the contract the company and the commerce partner compensate each other on a per point basis for converting member points, wherein the company is referred to as an entity, wherein the loyalty points are referred to as non-negotiable credits, wherein the company is a company that provides a computer implemented game, a platform upon which the computer implemented game runs, or gaming services for the computer implemented game, wherein playing the computer implemented game earns loyalty points for the loyalty program as recorded in a credits account of a corresponding one of the members, wherein the different loyalty points are referred to as entity independent funds, wherein said loyalty points are; a) possessed by the members as a benefit of membership in the loyalty program, b) are maintained in a credits account for the loyalty program, and c) are subject to terms and conditions of the loyalty program, wherein said different loyalty points are; a) possessed by the members as a benefit of membership in the different loyalty program, b) are maintained in a funds account for the different loyalty program, and c) are subject to terms and conditions of the different loyalty program, wherein the credits account is neither owned nor controlled by the commerce partner or by a subsidiary or parent of the commerce partner, wherein the funds account is neither owned nor controlled by the entity or by a subsidiary or parent of the entity, wherein the entity redeems the loyalty points for the members in exchange for a restricted set of goods or services provided by the entity as part of the loyalty program, wherein the different loyalty points are redeemable in exchange for commerce partner services provided by the commerce partner as part of the different loyalty program, wherein the commerce partner services for which the different loyalty points are redeemable comprise; a) travel services for an airline owned, operated, or managed by the commerce partner or by a subsidiary or parent of the commerce partner, b) lodging services for a hotel owned, operated, or managed by the commerce partner or by a subsidiary or parent of the commerce partner, c) travel services for a train owned, operated, or managed by the commerce partner or by a subsidiary or parent of the commerce partner, d) travel services for a cruise ship owned, operated, or managed by the commerce partner or by a subsidiary or parent of the commerce partner, e) vehicle rental services for a vehicle owned, operated, or managed by the commerce partner or by a subsidiary or parent of the commerce partner, f) financial services for a final service company that provides credit cards to a set of members wherein usage of the credit cards with retailers accepting the credit cards earn different loyalty points for the different loyalty program, or g) combinations of one of more of any of the travel services, the lodging services, the vehicle rental services, or the gaming services as specified by a) through f), wherein the different loyalty program of the commerce partner is a hotel, airline, rental car, train, cruise ship, or a financial services loyalty program, wherein the entity does not; a) accept the different loyalty points as payment for any of the goods or services of the restricted set;
orb) accept the different loyalty points as payment for any of the goods or services of the restricted set without quantities of the different loyalty points being converted into quantities of loyalty points, a computer detecting a set of two or more interactions earning additional loyalty points for one of the members in accordance with terms-of-use of the loyalty program, wherein the two or more interactions are ones where one of the members earn loyalty points by playing the computer implemented game, wherein the computer adds the additional loyalty points to the credits account of a member earning the additional loyalty points; and responsive to an indication of a conversion operation occurrence, the computer changing a quantity of loyalty points in the credits account, a changed quantity from the changing being; a) a quantity of loyalty points lost by converting quantities of the loyalty points to quantities of the different loyalty points, or b) a quantity of loyalty points gained by converting quantities of the different loyalty points to quantities of the loyalty points, wherein the funds account changes by a quantity of different loyalty points in an inversely proportional manner to the change of the loyalty points in the credits account as a result of the conversion operation. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method comprising:
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establishing a contract between a commerce partner and a company permitting members of a different loyalty program to; a) convert quantities of different loyalty points of the different loyalty program into quantifies of loyalty points of a loyalty program of the company, b) convert quantities of the loyalty points into quantities of the different loyalty points, or c) convert quantities of the different loyalty points into quantities of loyalty points and to convert quantities of the loyalty points into quantities of the different loyalty points, wherein per the contract the commerce partner and the company compensate each other on a per point basis for converting member points, wherein the company is referred to as an entity, wherein the loyalty points are referred to as non-negotiable credits, wherein the company is a company that provides a computer implemented game, a platform upon which the computer implemented game runs, or gaming services for the computer implemented game, wherein playing the computer implemented game earns loyalty points for the loyalty program as recorded in a credits account of a corresponding one of the members, wherein the different loyalty points are referred to as entity independent funds, wherein said loyalty points are; a) possessed by the members as a benefit of membership in the loyalty program, b) are maintained in a credits account for the loyalty program, and c) are subject to terms and conditions of the loyalty program, wherein said different loyalty points are; a) possessed by the members as a benefit of membership in the different loyalty program, b) are maintained in a funds account for the different loyalty program, and c) are subject to terms and conditions of the different loyalty program, wherein the credits account is neither owned nor controlled by the commerce partner or by a subsidiary or parent of the commerce partner, wherein the funds account is neither owned nor controlled by the entity or by a subsidiary or parent of the entity, wherein the loyalty points entity are redeemed for the members in exchange for a restricted set of goods or services provided by the entity as part of the loyalty program, wherein the commerce partner redeems the different loyalty points in exchange for commerce partner services provided by the commerce partner as part of the different loyalty program, wherein the commerce partner services for which the different loyalty points are redeemable comprise; a) travel services for an airline owned, operated, or managed by the commerce partner or by a subsidiary or parent of the commerce partner, b) lodging services for a hotel owned, operated, or managed by the commerce partner or by a subsidiary or parent of the commerce partner, c) travel services for a train owned, operated, or managed by the commerce partner or by a subsidiary or parent of the commerce partner, d) travel services for a cruise ship owned, operated, or managed by the commerce partner or by a subsidiary or parent of the commerce partner, e) vehicle rental services for a vehicle owned, operated, or managed by the commerce partner or by a subsidiary or parent of the commerce partner, f) financial services for a final service company that provides credit cards to a set of members wherein usage of the credit cards with retailers accepting the credit cards earn different loyalty points for the different loyalty program, or g) combinations of one of more of any of the travel services, the lodging services, the vehicle rental services, or the gaming services as specified by a) through f), wherein the different loyalty program of the commerce partner is a hotel, airline, rental car, train, cruise ship, or a financial services loyalty program, wherein the commerce partner does not; a) accept the loyalty points as payment for any of the commerce partner services;
orb) accept the loyalty points as payment for any of the commerce partner services without quantities of the loyalty points being converted into quantities of the different loyalty points, a computer detecting a set of two or more interactions earning additional different loyalty points for one of the members in accordance with terms-of-use of the different loyalty program, wherein the computer adds the additional different loyalty points to the funds account of a member earning the additional different loyalty points; and responsive to an indication of a conversion operation occurrence, the computer changing a quantity of different loyalty points in the funds account, a changed quantity from the changing being; a) a quantity of different loyalty points lost by converting quantities of the different loyalty points to quantities of the loyalty points, or b) a quantity of different loyalty points gained by converting quantities of the loyalty points to quantities of the different loyalty points, wherein the credits account changes by a quantity of loyalty points in an inversely proportional manner to the change of the different loyalty points in the funds account as a result of the conversion operation. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method comprising:
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at least one of one or more computers, which provides a set of Web pages of a Web site for a different loyalty program of a commerce partner, identifying loyalty points earned by a member as part of a loyalty program of an entity, wherein the loyalty program includes a payment artifact, wherein the loyalty points of the loyalty program are earned as a result of having charged amounts to an account linked to the payment artifact, the amounts charged being for goods or services purchased using the payment artifact, wherein the loyalty points are stored in a credits account as digitally encoded information in at least one storage device, wherein the goods or services purchased were purchased from at least one different entity than the entity, wherein said loyalty program of the entity is able to redeem the loyalty points for a restricted list of goods or services, wherein the loyalty points are referred to as non-negotiable credits, wherein the different loyalty points are referred to as entity independent funds and are recorded in a funds account, wherein the different loyalty points are redeemable for commerce partner services that the commerce partner provides to members of the different loyalty program, wherein the commerce partner services are not included in the restricted set of goods or services, wherein the commerce partner services for which the different loyalty points are redeemable comprise; a) travel services for an airline owned, operated, or managed by the commerce partner or by a subsidiary or parent of the commerce partner, b) lodging services for a hotel owned, operated, or managed by the commerce partner or by a subsidiary or parent of the commerce partner, c) travel services for a train owned, operated, or managed by the commerce partner or by a subsidiary or parent of the commerce partner, d) travel services for a cruise ship owned, operated, or managed by the commerce partner or by a subsidiary or parent of the commerce partner, e) vehicle rental services for a vehicle owned, operated, or managed by the commerce partner or by a subsidiary or parent of the commerce partner, f) financial services for a final service company that provides credit cards to a set of members wherein usage of the credit cards with retailers accepting the credit cards earn different loyalty points for the different loyalty program, g) gaming services or virtual items for a computer implemented game or a platform upon which the computer implemented game runs, wherein the computer implemented game or the platform is owned, operated or managed by the commerce partner, or h) combinations of one of more of any of the travel services, the lodging services, the vehicle rental services, or the financial services as specified by a) through g), wherein the different loyalty program of the commerce partner is a hotel, airline, rental car, train, cruise ship, gaming platform, gaming service, or game-specific loyalty program'"'"' at least one of one or more computers receiving, during a Web session involving the member and the Web site, a request to transfer or convert quantities of the loyalty points to quantities of different loyalty points, wherein the commerce partner is a company that is not the entity, during the Web session and responsive to the request to transfer or convert the quantities of loyalty points to quantities of different loyalty points, at least one of one or more computers transferring or converting at least a subset of the loyalty points into quantities of entity independent funds, wherein the commerce partner provides the commerce partner services for sale though the Web site, wherein in absence of the loyalty points being converted or transferred into the different loyalty points, the Web site of the commerce partner does not accept the loyalty points as payment for the commerce partner services. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification
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Current AssigneeJBSHBM, LLC
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Original AssigneeBrian K. Buchheit, Sean I. Mcghie
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InventorsMcGhie, Sean I., Buchheit, Brian K.
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Primary Examiner(s)Labaze, Edwyn
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Application NumberUS13/969,896Time in Patent Office337 DaysField of Search235/380, 235/375, 235/379, 235/487, 235/486, 235/382, 705/14, 705/17, 705/14.32, 705/14.33, 705/39, 463/25, 463/20, 463/13US Class Current235/380CPC Class CodesG06Q 20/02 involving a neutral party, ...G06Q 20/06 Private payment circuits, e...G06Q 20/105 involving programming of a ...G06Q 20/28 Pre-payment schemes, e.g. "...G06Q 20/381 Currency conversionG06Q 30/0226 Incentive systems for frequ...G06Q 30/0227 Frequent usage incentive va...G07F 17/3244 Payment aspects of a gaming...
