System and method for granting promotional rewards to credit account holders

Abstract

A system and method for providing promotional rewards is provided. First, a promotional reward is communicated to a customer. The promotional reward offer comprises a promotional reward associated with one or more promotional reward-earning behaviors and a promotional time frame. The offer may specify a customer population, and the customer may be enrolled in the promotional reward program if the customer is determined to be in the population. The customer is credited a promotional reward if the customer accomplishes the promotional reward-earning behavior(s) within the promotional time frame. The customer may also be enrolled in a base reward program. The promotional rewards and base rewards may be accumulated in a customer account. A system for implementing a promotional rewards program is also provided.

1 . A method of implementing multiple promotional rewards programs comprising: 
 communicating at least one promotional reward offer from a first promotional rewards program and at least one promotional reward offer from a second promotional rewards program to a customer, wherein each of the at least one promotional reward offer comprises a promotional reward associated with a promotional reward-earning behavior and a promotional time frame; and    crediting the promotional reward from the first promotional rewards program and the second promotional rewards program to the customer if the customer accomplishes the promotional reward-earning behavior within the promotional time frame.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the crediting of the promotional reward from the first promotional rewards program and the second promotional rewards program to the customer is simultaneous.  
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the first promotional rewards program is on the same account as the second promotional rewards program.  
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the first promotional rewards program is on a different account as the second promotional rewards program.  
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the promotional reward from the second promotional rewards program is stacked with the promotional reward from the first promotional rewards program.  
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the first promotional rewards program is different from the second promotional rewards program.  
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  wherein at least one of the first promotional rewards program and the second promotional rewards program is a third party program.  
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1  wherein at least one of the first promotional rewards program and the second promotional rewards program is a partner program.  
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1  wherein at least one of the first promotional rewards program and the second promotional rewards program has a base reward program, wherein the customer is enrolled in the base reward program prior to the offer of the promotional reward.  
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one promotional reward is further associated with a defined population.  
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising: 
 determining that the customer is a member of the defined population.    
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising: 
 determining that the customer is a member of the defined population; and    verifying the promotional reward-earning behavior by processing customer transaction information.    
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 verifying the promotional reward-earning behavior by processing customer transaction information.    
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein verifying the promotional reward-earning behavior comprises verifying a cardholder acceptor ID of a transaction.  
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein verifying the promotional reward-earning behavior comprises verifying a bank identification number of a transaction  
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein verifying the promotional reward-earning behavior comprises verifying a standard industry code of a transaction.  
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein verifying the promotional reward-earning behavior comprises verifying an amount of a transaction.  
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein verifying the promotional reward-earning behavior comprises verifying a location of a transaction.  
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein verifying the promotional reward-earning behavior comprises verifying a merchant description of a transaction.  
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein verifying the promotional reward-earning behavior comprises verifying a frequency of a plurality of customer transactions.  
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein verifying the promotional reward-earning behavior comprises verifying a transaction type of a transaction.  
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein verifying the promotional reward-earning behavior comprises using a financial transaction network and verifying the reward-earning behavior comprises at least one of a visit or the use of an account.  
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the promotional time period comprises specific days or a specific time of day.  
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the promotional reward offer is a phased offer.  
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the promotional reward offer is a multi-tiered offer.  
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the reward-earning behavior comprises at least one of: 
 credit or debit card transaction; accumulating a specific amount of charges; charging a specific amount; charging a certain number of transactions; transacting at a specific location; paying a balance; paying interest; linking with another account; making a deposit; making a withdrawal; drafting a check; paying a fee for a banking service; transferring a balance; issuing a convenience check; accessing a line of credit; purchasing from a merchant; checking and savings account activity; setting up a recurring payment; enabling an auto-payment; paying an annual fee; paying a rewards fee; transactions with Bank partners; transactions with third parties; brokerage transactions; purchasing or selling securities; depositing funds; transferring holdings from an external account to a Bank account; transferring a balance; opening a checking account; opening a credit or debit account; applying for a loan or other credit account; paying a balance on time; and maintaining at least a specified minimum balance; having a specific account balance at a specific time; having above or below a specific average daily balance; revolving an account balance; having an inactive account; maintaining a type of account balance; taking a cash advance; using a convenience check; and using an account card for identification purposes.    
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the promotional reward-earning behavior comprises one or more of the following: 
 using an account card for an identification purpose that does not result in debiting an account; and    using a convenience check.    
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the promotional reward comprises at least one of: 
 a product;    a service;    points, miles or other reward currency;    a discount;    a coupon; and    cash, checks, Treasury bills, stocks, bonds, or other financial instruments.    
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the promotional reward comprises at least one of: 
 a gift card or other stored value; and    an upgrade in account status or other recognition.    
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 exchanging the promotional reward for a second reward.    
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 30 , further comprising: 
 issuing the second reward to the customer.    
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 converting a customer reward account sponsored by one institution into another reward account sponsored by another institution.    
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 32 , further comprising: 
 converting a promotional reward associated with the customer reward account sponsored by one institution to a different reward.    
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 receiving a customer request to exchange a customer's earned reward for a second award; and    exchanging the earned award for the second award.    
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the promotional reward is a different reward than the base reward.  
     
     
         36 . A system for enabling customers to earn multiple promotional rewards comprising: 
 an offer setup processor configured to generate at least one promotional reward offer from a first promotional rewards program and a second promotional rewards program, wherein a customer simultaneously earns at least one promotional reward from each of the at least first promotional rewards program and the second promotional rewards program by accomplishing one or more specific reward-earning behaviors during a promotional time frame.    
     
     
         37 . The system of  claim 36 , further comprising: 
 an enrollment processor configured to enroll customers into at least a first promotional rewards program and a second promotional rewards program by processing promotional reward offer data and customer account data; and    a qualifying processor configured to process customer transaction data to determine whether a customer transaction earns a reward.    
     
     
         38 . A method of implementing multiple promotional rewards programs comprising: 
 communicating at least two promotional reward offers from each of at least two promotional rewards programs to a customer, wherein each of the at least two promotional reward offers comprises a promotional reward associated with a promotional reward-earning behavior and a promotional time frame;    crediting the at least two promotional rewards to the customer if the customer accomplishes the promotional reward-earning behavior within the promotional time frame; and    accumulating two or more promotional rewards and two or more base rewards in a single customer reward account, wherein the two or more promotional rewards are accumulated when the customer accomplishes one or more promotional reward-earning behaviors, and the base reward is accumulated when the customer accomplishes a base reward-earning behavior pursuant to a base reward program associated with the at least two promotional reward programs,    wherein the reward-earning behavior comprises at least one of: credit or debit card transaction; accumulating a specific amount of charges; charging a specific amount; charging a certain number of transactions; transacting at a specific location; paying a balance; paying interest; linking with another account; making a deposit; making a withdrawal; drafting a check; paying a fee for a banking service; transferring a balance; issuing a convenience check; accessing a line of credit; purchasing from a merchant; checking and savings account activity; setting up a recurring payment; enabling an auto-payment; paying an annual fee; paying a rewards fee; transactions with Bank partners; transactions with third parties; brokerage transactions; purchasing or selling securities; depositing funds; transferring holdings from an external account to a Bank account; transferring a balance; opening a checking account; opening a credit or debit account; applying for a loan or other credit account; paying a balance on time; and maintaining at least a specified minimum balance; having a specific account balance at a specific time; having above or below a specific average daily balance; revolving an account balance; having an inactive account; maintaining a type of account balance; taking a cash advance; using a convenience check; and using an account card for identification purposes, and    wherein the promotional reward comprises at least one of: a product; a service; points, miles or other reward currency; a discount; a coupon; cash, checks, Treasury bills, stocks, bonds, or other financial instruments, a gift card or other stored value; and an upgrade in account status or other recognition.