Electronic transaction system with entitlement and promotion engines

Abstract

A system for selling and administering the redemption of travel site access and other privileges to consumers has a computer connected to the Internet that pushes and pulls data to and from a database including site and privilege data, such as, description, cost, purchases, access code, privilege redemption and promotion data. The consumer may purchase access to sites and goods over the Internet and are provided with an access code which can be presented to the consumer in a variety of forms in accordance with the consumer's preference. In one embodiment, the code is sent to a mobile phone or computer. Optionally, the mobile device can communicate with a point of sale device to allow access to a given site. The mobile device may also be used to send promotions, such as discounts, to the consumer, which may be programmatically selected and sent based upon logistical, empirical, timing and marketing criteria. Point of sale devices and human representatives may facilitate non-technical consumer use by conducting selected functions, such as the sale and redemption of privileges and the communication of promotions.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A method for selling site-related privileges over the Internet to consumers through consumer's digital devices connected to the Internet, comprising:
 (A) storing data pertaining to a plurality of sites and associated available privileges, including privilege description and cost data, in a database in a digital data storage device accessible to a computer connected to the Internet;   (B) programming the computer with a program that accesses the database and the Internet and is capable of performing steps (C) through (K) and (M) below;   (C) querying the consumer via a consumer interface presented on the Internet and available to the consumer's digital device connected to the Internet to view data concerning sites of interest and related privileges;   (D) retrieving data from the database related to privileges of interest to the consumer in response to consumer responses in step (C);   (E) presenting the data retrieved in step (D) to the consumer;   (F) querying the consumer to select privileges to purchase;   (G) in the event that the consumer elects to purchase a privilege, presenting payment options to the consumer and recording responsive payment option information provided by the consumer in the database;   (H) recording privilege purchase data pertaining to the privileges purchased by the consumer, in the database;   (I) developing access data through which the consumer may access purchased privileges and storing the access data in the database in association with the privilege purchase data pertaining to one or more purchased privileges;   (J) communicating the access data to the consumer to empower the consumer to redeem the purchased privileges;   (K) when the consumer chooses to redeem the privileges purchased, receiving access data from the consumer and retrieving privilege purchase data from the database that is associated with the access data;   (L) upon receiving valid access data, permitting the consumer to redeem purchased privileges by granting access to the privileges; and   (M) recording redemption data in the database.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step (J) of communicating is by communication sent over the Internet to a digital device accessible to the consumer. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the step (K) of receiving access data from a consumer is via a chain of communication from the digital device to a point of sale device, over the Internet, to the computer. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the step (J) of communicating is by email. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the access data is printable and further comprising the step of printing the access data on a substrate and wherein the step (K) of receiving includes scanning the printed access data at a point of sale device. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein, when purchased privilege data retrieved from the database in step (K) indicates that there are no redeemable purchased privileges associated with the access data received from the consumer, then step (L) grants access to no privileges. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the denial of privileges is based upon the access data having been reported as lost or stolen. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the steps (C) through (I) may be repeated in the event that a consumer wishes to purchase additional privileges in addition to those previously purchased. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the steps of selecting a media type for storing the access data in step (I) and selecting how the access data is communicated to the consumer in step (J). 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the step of selecting media type includes selecting from at least one of an email, a card with a magnetic strip, a smart card, a substrate with a bar code, a substrate with a matrix code, a thumb drive, a substrate with printed access data thereon and a memory stick. 
     
     
         11 . A method for selling site-related privileges to consumers having access to a mobile communication device, comprising:
 (A) storing data pertaining to a plurality of sites and associated available privileges, including privilege identification and cost data, in a database in a digital data storage device accessible to a computer;   (B) invoking a program in the computer that accesses the database and that performs steps (D) through (I), below;   (C) querying a consumer to select privileges to purchase;   (D) in the event that the consumer elects to purchase a privilege, recording privilege purchase data pertaining to the privilege purchased by the consumer, in the database;   (E) developing access data through which the consumer may access purchased privileges and storing the access data in the database in association with the privilege purchase data;   (F) communicating the access data to the consumer's mobile communication device to empower the consumer to redeem the purchased privileges;   (G) when the consumer chooses to redeem the privileges purchased, receiving access data from the consumer and retrieving privileges purchase data from the database that is associated with the access data;   (H) upon receiving valid access data, permitting the consumer to redeem purchased privileges by granting access to the privileges; and   (I) recording redemption data in the database.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11  wherein the mobile communication device is at least one of a telephone, a personal computer, a personal digital assistant, a net-book, and an e-book reader. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the point of sale device has a scanner and the mobile communication device has a display and wherein the step (K) of receiving access data includes reading the access data displayed in visually perceptible form on the mobile communication device with the scanner of the point of sale device. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the mobile communication device communicates with the point of sale device via near field communication. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the quantity of privileges purchased may be expressed in a combination of number of admissions, ranging from 1 to any given number, over a given time period, ranging from a given limited time to an unlimited time. 
     
     
         16 . A system for selling site-related privileges to consumers with access to a mobile communication device and to the Internet and subsequently administering the redemption of the privileges by the consumers, comprising:
 a digital data storage device;   a database having a data structure capable of storing data pertaining to a plurality of sites and associated available privileges, including privilege description and cost data, the database also capable of storing data pertaining to privileges purchased by consumers, access data by which the consumers access purchased privileges, privilege redemption data and promotion data, all in digital form and stored in the data storage device; and   a computer programmed with an entitlement engine, the computer being connected to the data storage device and capable of retrieving and writing data from and to the database under the control of the entitlement engine and of generating, storing and communicating access data through which the consumer may access privileges, the computer capable of being connected to the Internet to allow the exchange of data with consumers, wherein   the computer is programmed with (i) a consumer interface capable of presenting data from the database pertaining to available privileges and receiving data from the consumer pertaining to privilege purchases for storage in the database, (ii) a verification interface capable of receiving access data and communicating access to purchased privileges granted by the entitlement engine, and (iii) a promotion engine capable of retrieving promotion data from the database for presentation to the consumer via the mobile communication device.   
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the promotion data includes incentive data, consumer communication data identifying details required for presenting the promotion data to the customer's mobile communication device and criteria data that is tested to determine whether the promotion data will be sent to a given consumer, the promotion engine being capable of periodically comparing empirical data concerning the consumer against criteria data to ascertain whether given promotion data should be sent and sending the promotion data to the consumer when the criteria is met. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the promotion engine is capable of writing scheduling data to the database indicating a given time for sending promotions, of checking the time, and of sending a promotion to the consumer at an allotted time. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 18 , wherein the promotion engine has an interface capable of receiving the data used by the promotion engine as input by a user and storing the data in the database, the promotion engine interface also being capable of allowing a user to associate promotions to site-related privileges and to set criteria and timing data for sending the promotions to the consumer. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the entitlement engine is capable of sending access data to the mobile communication device. 
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the verification interface is capable of receiving access data from the mobile communication device through the intermediation of a point of sale device connected to the Internet.