Points management system

Abstract

A method for use an earned autopay account, an available autopay account, an earned points account, and an available points account each associated with a customer. The method includes storing a cache including first and second numbers of points stored in the available autopay account and the available points account, respectively. A points authorization request requesting a first transaction amount is received from a requesting computing device. A second transaction amount is subtracted from the first and/or second numbers of points. A points redemption request including a third transaction amount is sent to the payment processing computing device. Each of the first, second, and third transaction amounts includes a particular monetary value and/or a corresponding transaction number of points. The payment processing computing device subtracts the third transaction amount from the available points account and/or the available autopay account.

The invention claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 storing, by a payment processing computing device, an earned autopay account, an available autopay account, an earned points account, and an available points account;   storing, by the payment processing computing device, one or more points in the earned autopay account when autopay is turned on;   storing, by the payment processing computing device, one or more points in the earned points account when autopay is turned off;   moving, by the payment processing computing device, any points stored in the earned points account to the available points account after completion of a first billing cycle;   moving, by the payment processing computing device, any points stored in the earned autopay account to the available autopay account after completion of the first billing cycle;   automatically transferring, by the payment processing computing device, a monetary value of any points stored in the available autopay account to a credit card account after completion of a second billing cycle, the second billing cycle occurring after the first billing cycle; and   responding, by a reward redemption computing device, to a request from a requesting computing device for an available amount calculated as a function of any points stored in the available autopay account and any points stored in the available points account and forwarding the available amount to the requesting computing device.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein responding to the request comprises:
 obtaining a first number of points stored in the available autopay account from a cache stored on or accessible by the reward redemption computing device, the cache being stored on a computing device that is remote from the payment processing computing device; and   obtaining a second number of points stored in the available points account from the cache, the available amount being a sum of the first and second numbers.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein responding to the request comprises:
 obtaining a first number of points stored in the available autopay account from a cache stored on or accessible by the reward redemption computing device, the cache being stored on a computing device that is remote from the payment processing computing device;   obtaining a second number of points stored in the available points account from the cache; and   calculating a monetary value of a sum of the first and second numbers, the available amount being the monetary value.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the requesting computing device is a point of sale device at a merchant. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the requesting computing device is a merchant computing device operating an e-commerce website, and
 the request is sent to the reward redemption computing device by the e-commerce website.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the function comprises adding a first number of points stored in the available autopay account to a second number of points stored in the available points account, and
 the available amount is a sum of the first and second numbers.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the function comprises:
 adding a first number of points stored in the available autopay account to a second number of points stored in the available points account, and   multiplying a sum of the first and second numbers by a conversion value to obtain a monetary value, the available amount being the monetary value.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving, by the reward redemption computing device, a points authorization request requesting a particular monetary value;   sending, by the reward redemption computing device, a points redemption request comprising the particular monetary value to the payment processing computing device; and   subtracting, by the payment processing computing device, the particular monetary value from at least one of the available points account and the available autopay account.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 transferring, by the payment processing computing device, any points stored in the available autopay account to the available points account before the payment processing computing device subtracts the particular monetary value from the at least one of the available points account and the available autopay account, wherein the payment processing computing device subtracts the particular monetary value from the available points account only.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 subtracting, by the reward redemption computing device, the particular monetary value from a cache stored on or accessible by the reward redemption computing device before sending the points redemption request to the payment processing computing device.   
     
     
         11 . A method for use with a payment processing computing device storing an earned autopay account, an available autopay account, an earned points account, and an available points account each associated with a customer; the method comprising:
 storing, by a reward redemption computing device, a cache comprising a first number of points stored in the available autopay account, and a second number of points stored in the available points account;   receiving, by the reward redemption computing device, a points authorization request from a requesting computing device, the points authorization request requesting a first transaction amount comprising at least one of a particular monetary value and a transaction number of points, the particular monetary value corresponding to the transaction number of points;   subtracting, by the reward redemption computing device, a second transaction amount from at least one of the first and second numbers of points, the second transaction amount comprising at least one of the particular monetary value and the transaction number of points; and   sending, by the reward redemption computing device, a points redemption request comprising a third transaction amount to the payment processing computing device, the third transaction amount comprising at least one of the particular monetary value and the transaction number of points, the payment processing computing device subtracting the third transaction amount from at least one of the available points account and the available autopay account.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 receiving, by the reward redemption computing device, a balance request from the requesting computing device before receiving the points authorization request, the balance request requesting an available amount calculated as a function of the first and second numbers of points; and   forwarding, by the reward redemption computing device, the available amount to the requesting computing device in response to the balance request.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 transferring, by the reward redemption computing device, the first number of points into the second number of points before subtracting the transaction number of points from the at least one of the first and second numbers of points.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the requesting computing device is a point of sale device at a merchant. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the points authorization request is received from an e-commerce website operated by the requesting computing device. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 receiving, by the reward redemption computing device, a first instruction to turn on autopay for a rewards account from a customer computing device; and   sending, by the reward redemption computing device, a second instruction to the payment processing computing device to turn on autopay for the rewards account, after a next billing cycle, the payment processing computing device transferring a total monetary value of any points stored in the available autopay account to the rewards account and then transferring any points stored in the earned autopay account into the available autopay account.