Loyalty incentive program using transaction cards

A tangible, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon that, if executed by a computer based system, causes the computer based system to perform a method comprising:

• creating, by the computer based system, an offer for a rewards program,
• wherein the offer is based on offer information and merchant information from a merchant, and
• wherein the offer and the offer information are stored in an offer database and the merchant information is stored in a merchant database, and
• defining, by the computer based system, offer parameters associated with the offer,
• registering, by the computer based system, a transaction account with the rewards program;
• linking, by the computer based system, the transaction account to a reward program identifier that indicates that the transaction account is associated with the rewards program, in response to the registering the transaction account with the rewards program,
• wherein the transaction account is accessed by an offer distribution engine that is configured to distribute offers from the offer database to the transaction account;
• authorizing, by an authorization server of the computer based system, a transaction with the merchant in response to a user initiating the transaction with the merchant using the transaction account,
• wherein the authorization is based on a first amount of credit associated with the transaction account;
• reducing, by the computer based system, an amount of available credit for the transaction account by a transaction amount included with the authorization;
• receiving, by the computer based system and in response to the authorizing, transaction information for the transaction from the merchant for the transaction between the merchant and the user;
• identifying, by the computer based system and in response to the authorizing, the merchant as an identified merchant based on the transaction originating with the merchant;
• determining, by the computer based system and from the transaction information and in response to the authorizing, the transaction date;
• accessing, by the computer based system and in response to the authorizing, a plurality of offers associated with a plurality of merchants;
• selecting, by the computer based system and in response to the accessing, a subset of the plurality of offers associated with the identified merchant;
• analyzing, by the computer based system and in response to the selecting, the transaction amount and the transaction date to determine that the transaction information qualifies for a reward in accordance with a first offer of the subset of offers;
• determining, by the computer based system and in response to the selecting, the reward based on the offer parameters, an attribute of the transaction account, the transaction information, a type of the offer, and a rule;
• applying, by the computer based system, the reward as a credit to the transaction in the transaction account during a settlement operation;
• adjusting, by the computer based system, the amount of the available credit for the transaction account, in response to the applying the reward;
• linking, by the computer based system, the reward with the transaction information associated with the transaction and based on the registering the transaction account with the rewards program;
• generating, by the computer based system, a record of the reward associated with the transaction account used to conduct the transaction, wherein the record of the reward is associated with a charge associated with the transaction information corresponding to the transaction;
• and
• displaying, by the computer based system, an indicator of an amount of the reward on a statement in connection with the charge corresponding to the transaction.

A system comprising:

• a network interface communicating with a memory;
• the memory communicating with a processor;
• and
• the processor, when executing a computer program, is configured to perform operations comprising:
• creating, by the processor, an offer for a rewards program,
• wherein the offer is based on offer information and merchant information from a merchant, and
• wherein the offer and the offer information are stored in an offer database and the merchant information is stored in a merchant database, and
• defining, by the processor, offer parameters associated with the offer,
• registering, by the processor, a transaction account with the rewards program;
• linking, by the processor, the transaction account to a reward program identifier that indicates that the transaction account is associated with the rewards program, in response to the registering the transaction account with the rewards program,
• wherein the transaction account is accessed by an offer distribution engine that is configured to distribute offers from the offer database to the transaction account;
• authorizing, by an authorization server of the processor, a transaction with the merchant in response to a user initiating the transaction with the merchant using the transaction account,
• wherein the authorization is based on a first amount of credit associated with the transaction account;
• reducing, by the processor, an amount of available credit for the transaction account by a transaction amount included with the authorization;
• receiving, by the processor and in response to the authorizing, transaction information for the transaction from the merchant for the transaction between the merchant and the user;
• identifying, by the processor and in response to the authorizing, the merchant as an identified merchant based on the transaction originating with the merchant;
• determining, by the processor and from the transaction information and in response to the authorizing, the transaction date;
• accessing, by the processor and in response to the authorizing, a plurality of offers associated with a plurality of merchants;
• selecting, by the processor and in response to the accessing, a subset of the plurality of offers associated with the identified merchant;
• analyzing, by the processor and in response to the selecting, the transaction amount and the transaction date to determine that the transaction information qualifies for a reward in accordance with a first offer of the subset of offers;
• determining, by the processor and in response to the selecting, the reward based on the offer parameters, an attribute of the transaction account, the transaction information, a type of the offer, and a rule;
• applying, by the processor, the reward as a credit to the transaction in the transaction account during a settlement operation;
• adjusting, by the processor, the amount of the available credit for the transaction account, in response to the applying the reward;
• linking, by the processor, the reward with the transaction information associated with the transaction and based on the registering the transaction account with the rewards program;
• generating, by the processor, a record of the reward associated with the transaction account used to conduct the transaction, wherein the record of the reward is associated with a charge associated with the transaction information corresponding to the transaction;
• and
• displaying, by the processor, an indicator of an amount of the reward on a statement in connection with the charge corresponding to the transaction.