REWARD EXCHANGE METHOD AND SYSTEM WITH CONTROL OF EXCHANGED REWARDS AND MONETARY CONSIDERATION
An item may be purchased using a combination of rewards and monetary consideration, wherein a maximum allowable reward payment portion (or correspondingly a minimum monetary consideration amount) is established by the merchant, the reward issuer, or an online reward exchange operator. The user may select, using for example a user interface slider control, the desired number of rewards to redeem (up to the maximum allowable amount) and the corresponding monetary consideration portion is displayed. The transaction may then be executed wherein the selected rewards are redeemed and the balance is paid for with the corresponding monetary consideration.
1 . A computer-implemented method for operating a reward exchange system comprising:
a) transmitting to a remote computing device purchase price information comprising:
(i) a purchase price for an item for sale from a merchant, wherein the purchase price may be paid with a reward payment portion and a monetary consideration portion, the reward payment portion equivalent to a value of rewards that may be redeemed by a user from at least one reward issuer towards payment of the purchase price for the item; and
(ii) a maximum allowable reward payment portion amount for the reward payment portion of the purchase price; and
b) receiving from the remote computing device a purchase request for the item, the purchase request comprising
(i) a desired amount of the reward payment portion and
(ii) a desired amount of the monetary consideration portion;
c) wherein
(i) the desired amount of the reward payment portion does not exceed the maximum allowable reward payment portion for the reward payment portion amount of the purchase price, and
(ii) the total value of
(A) the desired amount of the reward payment portion and
(B) the desired amount of the monetary consideration portion
is equivalent to the purchase price for the item.
2 . The method of claim 1 further comprising transmitting a user interface instruction to provide a slider control at the remote computing device, the slider control allowing a user to select along an axis the desired amount of the reward payment portion only up to the maximum allowable reward payment portion.
3 . The method of claim 2 further comprising calculating the desired amount of the monetary consideration portion as a function of the desired amount of the reward payment portion selected with the slider control.
4 . The method of claim 1 further comprising transmitting a user interface instruction to display the purchase price information at the remote computing device.
5 . The method of claim 4 wherein the user interface instruction further comprises an input box control element that is displayed to allow entry of the purchase request.
6 . The method of claim 1 wherein the maximum allowable reward payment portion amount is established by the merchant.
7 . The method of claim 1 wherein the maximum allowable reward payment portion amount is established by the at least one reward issuer.
8 . The method of claim 1 wherein the maximum allowable reward payment portion amount is established by an operator of the online reward exchange system.
9 . The method of claim 1 wherein the maximum allowable reward payment portion amount is established as a percentage of the purchase price.
10 . The method of claim 1 wherein the maximum allowable reward payment portion amount is established as a value.
11 . The method of claim 1 wherein the maximum allowable reward payment portion amount is established as a number of reward points.
12 . The method of claim 1 further comprising
d) executing a transaction for the purchase of the item by
(i) redeeming the rewards of the reward payment portion received in the purchase request,
(ii) executing a monetary transaction for the monetary consideration portion, and
(iii) providing the item to the user.
13 . The method of claim 1 comprising
d) determining a plurality of items that may be purchased with the desired amount of the reward payment portion and the desired amount of the monetary consideration portion; and
e) transmitting to the remote computing device a description of the plurality of items that may be purchased with the desired amount of the reward payment portion and the desired amount of the monetary consideration portion.
14 . The method of claim 13 wherein the plurality of items that may be purchased with the desired amount of the reward payment portion and the desired amount of the monetary consideration portion may be purchased from a predefined cluster of merchants, wherein merchant in said cluster of merchants agrees to provide items at the purchase price that may be paid for with a reward payment portion and a monetary consideration portion, utilizing the maximum allowable reward payment portion amount for the reward payment portion of the purchase price.
15 . The method of claim 1 wherein the maximum allowable reward payment portion is modified over time in accordance with an expiration date of the item for purchase.
16 - 29 . (canceled)
30 . A reward exchange computer programmed to:
a) transmit to a remote computing device purchase price information comprising:
(i) a purchase price for an item for sale from a merchant, wherein the purchase price may be paid with a reward payment portion and a monetary consideration portion, the reward payment portion equivalent to a value of rewards that may be redeemed by a user from at least one reward issuer towards payment of the purchase price for the item; and
(ii) a maximum allowable reward payment portion amount for the reward payment portion of the purchase price; and
b) receive from the remote computing device a purchase request for the item, the purchase request comprising
(i) a desired amount of the reward payment portion and
(ii) a desired amount of the monetary consideration portion;
c) wherein
(i) the desired amount of the reward payment portion does not exceed the maximum allowable reward payment portion for the reward payment portion amount of the purchase price, and
(ii) the total value of
(A) the desired amount of the reward payment portion and
(B) the desired amount of the monetary consideration portion
is equivalent to the purchase price for the item.
31 . The reward exchange computer of claim 30 further programmed to transmit a user interface instruction to provide a slider control at the remote computing device, the slider control allowing a user to select along an axis the desired amount of the reward payment portion only up to the maximum allowable reward payment portion.
32 . The reward exchange computer of claim 31 wherein the desired amount of the monetary consideration portion is calculated as a function of the desired amount of the reward payment portion selected with the slider control.
33 . The reward exchange computer of claim 30 further programmed to transmit a user interface instruction to display the purchase price information at the remote computing device.
34 . The reward exchange computer of claim 33 wherein the user interface instruction further comprises an input box control element that is displayed to allow entry of the purchase request.
35 - 83 . (canceled)