Universal redemption vehicle

1. A reward point system comprising:

a system computing device comprising:

at least one processor; and

a memory in electronic communication with the at least one processor, said memory storing a redemption vehicle application configured, upon execution, to cause the system computing device to, at least:

receive a user redemption request, the user redemption request including information identifying a reward account associated with a user;

receive, after receiving the user redemption request, user selection of a quantity of points; and

generate, in response to the user redemption request, a profile data structure comprising an indication of industry vertical, a specification of a set of merchants of the industry vertical eligible to participate in a redemption and a translation formula associated with the industry vertical specifying a transformation of reward points into a redemption currency, wherein the set of merchants eligible to participate in the redemption is based at least in part on a privileged status of the user with respect to the reward account such that a first privileged status with respect to the reward account is associated with a first nonempty set of merchants and a second privileged status with respect to the reward account is associated with a second set of merchants that contains and is larger than the first nonempty set of merchants and wherein the translation formula is based at least in part on a number of reward points associated with a reward account of the user such that the higher the number of reward points associated with the reward account, the fewer the number of reward points transformed by the translation formula per unit of redemption currency, said profile data structure configured to be processed in order to generate a redemption vehicle device loaded with the redemption currency in accordance with the translation formula identified in the profile data structure and such that identifying information in the profile data structure is applied to the newly generated redemption vehicle device, wherein the redemption currency on the redemption vehicle device can be redeemed at any of the set of merchants eligible to participate in the redemption as indicated in the profile data structure.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the redemption vehicle application is further configured, upon execution, to cause the system computing device to determine if a user's point balance meets a minimum balance required for a monetary value in the industry vertical.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the redemption vehicle application is further configured, upon execution, to cause the system computing device to add points to a user's point balance.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the industry vertical is selected from the group consisting of:

lodging;

retail purchases;

airlines;

car rentals;

entertainment related activities;

sporting events;

sporting activities;

cruises; and

travel packages.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the redemption vehicle application is further configured, upon execution, to cause the system computing device to transmit the profile data structure.

6. The system of claim 5 , further comprising:

a vehicle manufacture machine in electronic communication with the system computing device, said vehicle manufacture machine configured to, at least:

receive the profile data structure; and

process the profile data structure in order to generate the redemption vehicle device.

7. A method for providing a redemption vehicle device comprising:

maintaining a reward account for a user, the reward account associated with a number of reward points;

receiving, by a system computing device over a network, a redemption request, said system computing device comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores a redemption vehicle application configured, upon execution, to cause the processor to perform one or more steps associated with providing a redemption vehicle device;

generating, by the system computing device, a redemption vehicle profile data structure in response to the redemption request, said redemption vehicle profile data structure comprising an indication of an industry vertical comprised of a plurality of merchants, a specification of a set of the plurality of merchants eligible to participate in a redemption and a translation formula associated with the industry vertical specifying a transformation of reward points into a redemption currency, wherein the set of the plurality of merchants eligible to participate in a redemption is based at least in part on a privileged status of the user with respect to the reward account such that a first privileged status with respect to the reward account is associated with a first nonempty set of merchants and a second privileged status with respect to the reward account is associated with a second set of merchants that contains and is larger than the first nonempty set of merchants and wherein the translation formula is based at least in part on the number of reward points associated with the reward account such that the higher the number of reward points associated with the reward account, the fewer the number of reward points transformed by the translation formula per unit of redemption currency;

generating, by the system computing device, a redemption vehicle device in response to and based on the redemption vehicle profile data structure wherein the redemption vehicle device is loaded with the redemption currency in accordance with the translation formula identified in the profile data structure, and the redemption currency on the redemption vehicle device can be redeemed at any of the set of the plurality of merchants eligible to participate in the redemption as indicated in the profile data structure; and

applying, by the system computing device, identifying information in the profile data structure to the newly generated redemption vehicle device.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein receiving a redemption request further comprises:

determining if a minimum balance of points is available to fulfill the redemption request; and

presenting an option to add points so as to meet the minimum balance.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the industry vertical is selected from the group consisting of:

lodging;

retail purchases;

airlines;

car rentals;

entertainment related activities;

sporting events;

sporting activities;

cruises; and

travel packages.

10. The method of claim 7 , wherein the translation formula is based at least in part on a privileged status of the user with respect to the reward account.

11. The method of claim 7 , wherein:

the reward account is associated with a number of reward points;

a status of the user is determined based at least in part on the number of reward points associated with the reward account; and

the translation formula is based at least in part on the determined status of the user.

12. The method of claim 7 , wherein the user has a targeted status determined based at least in part on the user being a member of a corresponding targeted population and the translation formula is based at least in part on the determined targeted status of the user.

13. A method for providing a redemption vehicle device comprising:

receiving, by a system computing device, a redemption vehicle profile data structure, said redemption vehicle profile data structure comprising an indication of industry vertical, a specification of a set of merchants of the industry vertical eligible to participate in the redemption and a translation formula associated with the industry vertical specifying a transformation of reward points into a redemption currency, wherein the set of merchants eligible to participate in the redemption is based at least in part on a privileged status of a user with respect to a reward account such that a first privileged status with respect to the reward account is associated with a first nonempty set of merchants and a second privileged status with respect to the reward account is associated with a second set of merchants that contains and is larger than the first nonempty set of merchants, wherein the industry vertical is comprised of a plurality of merchants and a number of reward points are received from one or more of the plurality of merchants that comprise the industry vertical, wherein the translation formula is based at least in part on the number of reward points associated with the reward account such that the higher the number of reward points associated with the reward account, the fewer the number of reward points transformed by the translation formula per unit of redemption currency, and wherein said system computing device comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores a redemption vehicle application configured, upon execution, to cause the processor to perform one or more steps associated with providing a redemption vehicle device; and

generating, by the system computing device, a redemption vehicle device in response to and based on the redemption vehicle profile data structure wherein the redemption vehicle device is loaded with the redemption currency in accordance with the translation formula identified in the redemption vehicle profile data structure, such that identifying information in the profile data structure is applied to the newly generated redemption vehicle device and such that the redemption currency on the redemption vehicle device can be redeemed at any of the set of the plurality of merchants eligible to participate in the redemption as indicated in the profile data structure.