Patent ID: 8620731

Claim:
A system for determining an award amount accrued to a consumer due to at least one transaction, the transaction involving the consumer's use of a financial alternative to currency to purchase goods or services, the system comprising: a database containing a data record of the transaction and an account record for the consumer, the account record including a dollar-value sum which includes the transaction amount; and a computing device coupled to the database for accessing at least one of the records and for calculating the award amount, from either the dollar-value sum or the transaction amount, by applying thereto an award formula comprising a selected award rate from an inverted tier structure comprising a first tier corresponding to a first value range of goods or services purchased and providing a first award rate and a second tier corresponding to a second value range of goods or services purchased and providing a second award rate, wherein the minimum of the second value range is higher than the maximum of the first value range and the second award rate is lower than the first award rate, the inverted tier structure being stored in the computing device.