MasterCard: Putting a premium on priceless moments

MANILA, Philippines - Even as the world is now globalized, consumer market is becoming more segmented, defined by people who are very specific in what they want and lifestyles that are exacting.

Take the premium credit card industry in the Philippines — it’s a market that has proven resilient through economic slowdowns globally and tough times locally, a segment made up of affluent consumers who continue to travel, to shop, to reward themselves for all their hard work. 

In short, these are people who have arrived. They have created their wealth and are now looking for unique ways to enjoy it.

MasterCard understands this market very well. This is a company that uses its “unique combination of expertise, industry-leading insight, and globally integrated resources” to help its clients — the banks issuing MasterCard — come up with offerings tailor-fit for the affluent. MasterCard works with industry experts such as business strategist and economist Dr. Yuwa Herick-Wong to look at economic data and trends particularly in the Asia Pacific region to understand why consumers behave the way they do.

“The market today is not one-size-fits-all,” says MasterCard senior country manager and vice president Poch Villa-Real. “Your life moves through various cycles. The banking client starts off from being a student, he graduates then takes on an entry-level job, then he does well. In short, he goes up, and his needs change, and so do his views on life. That’s the concept of differentiated banking products. One of the insights we provide to banks is how to manage cardholders because they’re not all the same.”

For the premium market, MasterCard has 13 card programs with six banks: Allied Bank Premium, Mabuhay Miles World, and Mabuhay Miles Platinum MasterCard; BDO Platinum, and Titanium MasterCard; HSBC Premier MasterCard; Metrobank World, and Platinum MasterCard; PNB Platinum MasterCard; RCBC Bankard Black, and Diamond MasterCard; and Security Bank Platinum, and AIM-Alumni Platinum MasterCard. Two more platinum cards are going to be launched in the near future.

“We don’t deal directly with consumers — the banks do. The value that we bring to the table is that as a co-interested participant, we are able to help our banks look at things in a new way,” says Villa-Real. “For as long as it is successful for the banks, it is successful to us.”

One of the insights that MasterCard has gained about the whys and hows of commerce is “that you don’t necessarily give the same products to everybody and not everybody wants or needs the benefits of a higher-end product.”

For its premium market, MasterCard has a slew of services and offerings that certainly fit the needs of the affluent. Rather than reward them with the usual free products, MasterCard rewards them with priceless moments and experiences.

Judith Dayrit, MasterCard vice president for marketing and member relations, says, “We want to give cardholders memorable experiences. The last one that we did was the ‘24 Shangri-La Nights.’ We gave five winners 24 room nights at any Shangri-La Hotel in the region — whether it’s in Boracay, Singapore or Sydney. Sure you can get a free overnight stay at a hotel in other contests — that’s nothing new — but to be able to stay for 24 nights, and not necessarily consecutive nights, in any Shangri-la Hotel in the region, that’s priceless.”

Because this is a market that values travel, in another promotion MasterCard gave away five million PAL Mabuhay Miles to five winners who won a million miles each. Imagine being able to travel with the whole family several times for free!

“With MasterCard Moments, what we strive to do is provide priceless experiences to people,” says Villa-Real. “We’re paying more attention to what our constituents really want and they are just not impressed with ordinary promotions. The reality of life is that if it happens every day and to everybody else, it’s not special.”

Special, however, is the treatment that cardholders get when they travel abroad. The MasterCard Concierge Service, for instance, can get World MasterCard cardholders reservations in a hot new restaurant in, say, New York or Paris. Or what if you’re in California and you want to find out which Broadway plays are showing in LA? The MasterCard Concierge Service can get you the answer and you can begin planning your priceless moment.

“It’s not necessarily a discount but a delightful surprise. You still pay for it — but it just becomes available to you as a special arrangement behind the scenes by the different MasterCard offices around the world,” says Villa-Real, who has been in the credit card business since 1987 and has seen how the business in the Philippines has evolved.

A recognized and accepted brand globally (MasterCard Worldwide processes approximately 21 billion transactions each year), MasterCard is in more than 210 countries and territories. And because it recognizes that the affluent move from one corner of the globe to another — often at a moment’s notice — it has the Global Service, a toll-free number that has proven very helpful to travelers — and in 80 languages, too.

“If you lose your card, you can call Global Service which will then connect you to your bank,” says Villa-Real. “But what if you have three or four different banks that issued your MasterCard? You just need to call one number, the Global Service, but this is of course is assuming that you know your card numbers. It can send you a replacement card wherever you are.”

MasterCard does know how to create priceless moments for cardholders.