An electronic points system that allows consumers to redeem online those
points that were earned offline is described. In one implementation, the
offline-online points system is applied to a soft drink bottle caps
program. A soft drink company is sponsoring a promotions program where
certain bottle caps are worth so many points. A consumer buys a soft
drink bottle at a local store. The lucky consumer discovers that he is
the beneficiary of a winning bottle cap, and in particular, a bottle cap
that is worth N points. Instead of redeeming this winning bottle cap in
the traditional way, the consumer logs onto the soft drink company's
website and registers his bottle cap code. Thereafter, after
registration, the consumer can redeem these points for any merchandise
that is available for purchase with these points at any participating
company's online store.