A method, computer
system, and
computer program product for encouraging customer loyalty is provided. The method includes the steps of: (1) one or more partners defining a
loyalty program, the
loyalty program defining loyalty rewards, cross-promotional partner rewards and prizes associated with one or more activities; (2) registering one or more members with the
loyalty program, whereby their registration includes the provision of registered form of
payment data for one or more registered form of
payment types of each of the one or more participants; (3) collecting financial data corresponding to transactions of the one or more members associated with the one or more partners, and providing said financial data to a loyalty engine; (4) providing access to the loyalty engine to the one or more members, the loyalty engine permitting the one or more partners: (a) to define the rules defining the loyalty program, including special partner rewards including cross-promotional rewards between partners, loyalty rewards, and chances to win prizes; (b) to monitor the effectiveness of the loyalty program; and (c) to modify the loyalty program to enhance its effectiveness. The computer
system includes the loyalty engine of the invention. The
computer program product consists of a
server application that includes the loyalty engine of the invention. Partners access a number of
software utilities linked to the loyalty engine to assess the effectiveness of the loyalty programs and customize the attributes of the loyalty programs to improve effectiveness. Members access the loyalty engine real time and use loyalty reward actions for prize opportunities.