an on - line frequency award program is disclosed . a user may access the program on - line and may browse a product catalog for shopping . the user may electronically place an order , upon which the program automatically checks the user &# 39 ; s credit and electronically issues a purchase order to the supplying company . the program also calculates award points , updates the award account of enrolled users , and communicates that number of awarded points to the user . enrolled users may browse through an award catalog and electronically redeem an amount of awarded points towards an award . the program then electronically places an award redeeming order with the fulfillment house and updates the user &# 39 ; s award account .