Geographic loyalty system and method

Abstract

The invention facilitates a loyalty system which is associated with pre-determined geographic locations and/or services and goods offered in a specific geographic area. The system is configured with one product platform with a modularized approach to facilitate the development of market specific rewards and communication materials. The loyalty points may be earned within a specific geographic location, then redeemed in one geographic location, a subset of locations or without restrictions. Similarly, the loyalty points may be earned in one geographic location, a subset of locations or without restrictions, then redeemed only in a specific geographic location. The geographic features of the system may be implemented using existing data that is associated with geographic areas such as, for example, zip codes, retailer identification codes, service establishment codes and/or the like. The geographic area information may be associated with the consumer, merchant, processing system and/or any other part of the overall system.

1 - 20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . A method, comprising:
 determining, by a computer-based system, a first geographical area of a purchase;   determining an amount of geographical loyalty points to add to a loyalty account based on the first geographical area;   determining whether the geographical loyalty points are redeemable in a second geographical area of a subsequent purchase; and   in response to the geographical loyalty points being redeemable in the second geographical area, applying at least a portion of the geographical loyalty points to the subsequent purchase.   
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21 , further comprising maintaining a database for storing the geographical loyalty points in the loyalty account corresponding to a participant. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 21 , further comprising determining the first geographical area based on data from a point-of-sale terminal. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 23 , further comprising informing a consumer of the geographical loyalty points in real-time at the point-of-sale terminal. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein said determining an amount of geographical loyalty points based on the purchase data includes calculating the geographical loyalty points using at least one of a formula, ratio, percentage, consumer level, cellular phone caller location, global positioning system information, point level, retailer level, manufacturer level, and reward level. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the first and second geographical areas are the same geographical area. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 21 , further comprising converting the geographical loyalty points to a different amount of geographical loyalty points for redemption in a third geographical area. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 21 , further comprising at least one of pooling, gifting and transferring the geographical loyalty points. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 21 , further comprising determining, by a computer-based system, a third geographical area of another purchase having a same purchase price as the purchase; and
 determining a different amount of geographical loyalty points to add to the loyalty account based on the third geographical area.   
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 21 , further comprising facilitating earning the geographical loyalty points in a specified geographic area. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 21 , further comprising providing an award to a participant, wherein the award includes at least one of a coupon, certificate, gift card, code, good, and service. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 21 , further comprising:
 determining whether the geographical loyalty points are redeemable in a third geographical area of another subsequent purchase; and   in response to the geographical loyalty points being redeemable in the third geographical area, applying at least a portion of the geographical loyalty points to the another subsequent purchase, wherein the geographical loyalty points have a greater redemption value in the second geographical area than in the third geographical area.   
     
     
         33 . A non-transitory, tangible computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by a computer-based system for facilitating earning loyalty points, cause the computer-based system to perform operations comprising:
 determining, by the computer-based system, an amount of geographical loyalty points to add to a loyalty account based on purchase data, wherein the purchase data indicates a first geographical area;   determining whether the geographical loyalty points are redeemable in a second geographical area of a subsequent purchase; and   in response to the geographical loyalty points being redeemable in the second geographical area, applying at least a portion of the geographical loyalty points to the subsequent purchase.   
     
     
         34 . The non-transitory, tangible computer readable medium of  claim 33 , wherein the operations further comprise receiving a request related to a geographic redemption area to redeem an amount of the geographical loyalty points. 
     
     
         35 . The non-transitory, tangible computer readable medium of  claim 33 , wherein the operations further comprise receiving a request related to a geographic redemption area to redeem an amount of the geographical loyalty points based upon a rewards catalog, wherein the rewards catalog includes at least one of: paper catalog, online catalog, customized catalog, customized catalog based upon geographic area information and customized catalog based upon levels of participants. 
     
     
         36 . The non-transitory, tangible computer readable medium of  claim 33 , wherein the operations further comprise calculating an exchange rate for geographical loyalty points between geographic areas. 
     
     
         37 . A system comprising:
 a tangible, non-transitory memory configured to communicate with a processor, the tangible, non-transitory memory having instructions stored thereon that are executable to perform operations comprising:   determining, by a computer-based system, a first geographical area of a purchase;   determining an amount of geographical loyalty points to add to a loyalty account based on the first geographical area;   determining whether the geographical loyalty points are redeemable in a second geographical area of a subsequent purchase; and   in response to the geographical loyalty points being redeemable in the second geographical area, applying at least a portion of the geographical loyalty points to the subsequent purchase.   
     
     
         38 . The system of  claim 37 , wherein the determining whether the geographical loyalty points are redeemable in a second geographical area of a subsequent purchase is based on at least one of: zip codes, retailer identification codes, retailer item identifier, store identifier, warranty data, service establishment codes, SKU codes, UPC manufacturer codes, consumer ID, retailer ID, manufacturer ID, purchaser profile, consumer enrollment data, retailer loyalty identifier, consumer account, aggregate consumer account, consumer profile, supplementary member profile, and third party provider information. 
     
     
         39 . The system of  claim 37 , wherein the determining the first geographical area of the purchase is based on retailer information. 
     
     
         40 . The system of  claim 37 , wherein the determining the first geographical area of the purchase is based on a residence of a participant.