Ray Van Eng (05/30/97)
Organizers of the program are sending out a "smart" version of one of the following cards to thousands of frequent travelers and corporate customers for use with the pilot: Embedded inside the card is a IBM multiple function computer chip (MFC) that features a microprocessor with 8K memory. The card will carry name and address information about the traveler, profiles about his or her hotel and car rental requirements, an assortment of numbers on the person's HHonors Worldwide guest-reward scheme and airline loyalty programs. The trial which represents the first time a multiple application smart card is being in the United States on a broad scale will last from June to the end of this year. Staring with the Chicago O'Hare Hilton, seven other hotels around the country will quickly join the program: Burbank Airport Hilton, Philadelphia Airport Hilton, North Raleigh Hilton, Houston Hobby Airport Hilton, Orlando North Hilton, Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport Hilton, and Bellevue Hilton.
Upon check-in to a participating Hilton hotel, the cardholder can bypasses the line-ups at the front desk and inserts the card into a special kiosk located at the lobby and be able to review his/her reservation, room type, duration of stay, Hilton HHonors Worldwide member's profile, car rental etc. The kiosk will issue an electronic hotel room, direction to get there etc. If needed, the traveler can make corrections such as name and address changes or switching to a different frequent flyer program on the spot at the kiosk, and the updated information and the accumulated HHonors Worldwide points earned each time he or she uses the kiosk will be stored on the card for future references. Upon check out, the kiosk will print out the receipt. At the present time, payment can be made using the mag stripe on the back side of the Amex Corporate or the Hilton Optima smart card (but not the Diamond VIP card) via a conventional credit card reader. Amex said that future generations of the smart card will enable electronic commerce with billing details and transaction reports stored on the smart card itself for easy auditing and expense tracking. This opens up opportunities for the credit card issuer to provide value-added services for their customers. This pilot is just another example of the travel industry's
desire to make the corporate travel process a more convenient, less time
consuming (especially those precious moments wasted in line-ups for the
weary frequent travelers) and a more efficient electronic system with a
greater paper trail reduction and better enhancement of merchant loyalty
and rewards programs. |
© Copyright Ray Van Eng 1997 - 1999. All Rights Reserved.
Cardholder
convenience is first manifested at special American Airlines' AAccess Boarding
gates where a smart card reader will issue the traveler an electronic pass
for quick boarding to the airplane. This program has actually been in place
in 1996 when Amex first announced their in-house trial.