System and method for e-mail based rewards

Abstract

A system and method provide rewards or loyalty incentives to card member customers. The system includes an enrolled card member customer database, an enrolled merchant database, a participating merchant offer database and a registered card processor. The registered card processor receives a record for charge for a purchase made with an enrolled merchant by an enrolled card member customer and uses the record of charge to determine whether the purchase qualifies for a rebate credit in accordance with an offer. If the purchase qualifies for a rebate credit, the registered card processor provides the rebate credit to an account of the enrolled card member customer. The registered card processor also provides for electronic notification of rewards offers in response to purchases conforming to a specific set of merchant criteria. The system provides a coupon-less way for merchants to provide incentives to customers, and notify customers of other available offers.

1 . A method, comprising:
 enrolling, by a computer based system capable of managing a rewards program, a first transaction account into a coupon-less reward program based on transaction account information and account affiliate information associated with an account affiliate;   analyzing, by the computer based system, transaction information associated with the first transaction account;   associating, by the computer based system, a first transaction account with a first population based on the transaction information and a rule, wherein an offer from an offering merchant is used on the rule provided by the offering merchant;   associating, by the computer based system, the first transaction account with a second population, wherein the second population is defined by preferences provided by the offering merchant;   analyzing, by the computer based system, a plurality of offers provided by a plurality of offering merchants based on the first transaction account being associated with the first population and the second population; and   providing, by the computer based system, offer instructions based on the association of the first transaction account with the first population and the second population.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising providing, by the computer based system, the offer to the account affiliate and based on the association of the first transaction account with the first population and the second population. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first population comprises transaction accounts with transaction information corresponding to a targeted merchant. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the rule is configured to identify the transaction accounts comprising transaction information that is below a first spending threshold corresponding to an offering merchant and above a second spending threshold at a targeted merchant. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a reward is applied to a rewards account. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first population and the second population are defined by a plurality of spending behaviors. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising applying, by the computer based system, a reward based on the transaction information associated with a transaction. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising transmitting, by the computer based system, a notice of the reward through a social network, wherein the transaction account comprises a transaction account profile that is associated with a social network profile. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising adjusting, by the computer based system, at least one of the first population and the second population based on real time spend data, wherein real time spend data corresponds to spend data from a current billing cycle of the transaction account, and wherein the spend data comprises an authorization requests and posted transactions associated with the transaction account. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the first transaction account is added to the second population, based on the real time spend data associated with the first transaction account, wherein the first transaction account is removed from the first population based on the real time spend data associated with the first transaction account and in response to the providing of the offer and the first transaction account being added to the second population. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the first transaction account is added to the second population, based on the real time spend data associated with the first transaction account, wherein the first transaction account is not removed from the first population based on the real time spend data associated with the first transaction account. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising,
 receiving, by the computer based system, the plurality of offers from the plurality of offering merchants;   creating, by the computer based system, a plurality of populations based on the plurality of offers from the plurality of offering merchants; and   defining, by the computer based system, criteria for selection of transaction accounts for the plurality of populations based on the plurality of offers.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising associating, by the computer based system, a plurality of transaction accounts with the plurality of populations based on real time spend data, wherein the real time spend data comprises requests for authorization and posted transactions in a current billing cycle. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising sending, by the computer based system, notice of the offer to the first population. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising providing a reward to the first transaction account based on the real time spend data. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the reward is a monetary value associated with at least one of the posted transactions in a current billing cycle, and an indicator of the monetary value is displayed on a statement associated with the transaction account. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the reward is at least one of an amount of loyalty points, a discount offer, and a monetary value associated with a stored value account. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the plurality of offers from the plurality of offering merchants comprise rules that further define the plurality of populations. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the rules comprise merchant spending criteria, product spending criteria, and spending amount criteria. 
     
     
         20 . A tangible computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon that, if executed by a computer based system capable of managing a rewards program, causes the computer based system to be capable of performing operations comprising:
 enrolling, by the computer based system, a first transaction account into a coupon-less reward program based on transaction account information and account affiliate information associated with an account affiliate;   analyzing, by the computer based system, transaction information associated with the first transaction account;   associating, by the computer based system, a first transaction account with a first population based on the transaction information and a rule, wherein an offer from an offering merchant is based on the rule provided by the offering merchant;   associating, by the computer based system, the first transaction account with a second population, wherein the second population is defined by preferences provided by the offering merchant;   analyzing, by the computer based system, a plurality of offers provided by a plurality of offering merchants based on the first transaction account being associated with the first population and the second population; and   providing, by the computer based system, offer instructions based on the association of the first transaction account with the first population and the second population.   
     
     
         21 . A system comprising:
 a network interface communicating with a memory;   the memory communicating with a processor for managing a rewards program; and   the processor, when executing a computer program, being capable of performing operations comprising:   enrolling, by the processor, a first transaction account into a coupon-less reward program based on transaction account information and account affiliate information associated with an account affiliate;   analyzing, by the processor, transaction information associated with the first transaction account;   associating, by the processor, a first transaction account with a first population based on the transaction information and a rule, wherein an offer from an offering merchant is based on the rule provided by the offering merchant;   associating, by the processor, the first transaction account with a second population, wherein the second population is defined by preferences provided by the offering merchant;   analyzing, by the processor, a plurality of offers provided by a plurality of offering merchants based on the first transaction account being associated with the first population and the second population; and   providing, by the processor, offer instructions based on the association of the first transaction account with the first population and the second population.