With six airlines and hundreds of hotels as partners, the Explorer Card, its issuers insist, is your best and most effective tool yet as you exact revenge on a waning pandemic by giving in to your pent-up wanderlust.
By Alex Y. Vergara
How can you effectively exact “revenge” if you’re not equipped with the right tools to do it? Before your imagination gets the better of you, we’re not referring to the conventional form of revenge, but to the so-called revenge travel, which a growing number of Filipinos have started to embark on.
And just in time, as pent-up travel reaches its peak, BDO Unibank, Inc. and American Express have launched the American Express Explorer Credit Card in the Philippines for aspiring as well as frequent travelers raring to explore the world again.
Simply known as “the Explorer Card,” one of its best features is it allows cardmembers to earn American Express’ “Membership Rewards” points, which never expires and can be redeemed for air miles with a range of airlines. It also allows cardmembers to earn hotel loyalty points with thousands of hotel properties, which not only allows them to travel for less, but also gives them greater flexibility and choice.
But weren’t there enough credit cards, including those geared for travelers, already even in the post-pandemic world? Amex and BDO disagree.
“Why another credit card?” Nanette Regala, BDO senior vice president and consumer banking group marketing head, asks before answering her own question. “Almost three years on since traveling either for leisure or business had been disrupted, everyone wants to travel again and we’re giving our cardholders, our BDO clients, a good reason to, while giving them a little more incentive.”
And with a “value proposition” of P40 spent to one mile (which is transferrable to six mileage partners: Mabuhay Miles, KrisFlyer, Cathy Membership, Royal Orchid Plus, Enrich and Delta SkyMiles), the Explorer Card is designed to give you “greater flexibility,” adds Regala, and more reasons to get rid of any lingering pandemic-related apprehensions by simply packing your bags and allowing your wanderlust to take over.
Both chains under the Marriott and Hilton brands also offer added convenience and benefits, which are unique only to all Explorer cardmembers. They can transfer and use their accumulated points on either Hilton or Marriott properties while earning a free night stay. This feature extends to both Hilton and Marriott’s chain of properties here in the Philippines.
From Amex’s point of view, partnering with BDO enables them to better focus on their target market, the traveler, which is encapsulated by the global company’s classic tagline: “Don’t leave home without it.” This and the fact that Amex and BDO have been partners since 2005, nearly 20 years of partnership built on trust and fueled by synergy.
“I love working with BDO because they don’t just create a product,” says Sanjiv Malhorta, VP and GM, global network services, South East Asia and South Pacific, American Express. “They create products with specific groups of people in mind.”
He adds: “Yes, a credit card is a credit card. They’re all the same in reality, but BDO designs its products with a segment in mind. When you think of travel, especially overseas, you think of American Express. And that became part of our DNA, an image which extends beyond individual consumers to include large companies, which issues American Express corporate cards to all their employees.”
In short, this client segment, especially in the era of revenge travel, is best catered to by the Explorer Card. So, when BDO started conceptualizing a product geared specifically for travelers, it was incumbent upon one of the country’s biggest universal banks to again join forces with Amex.
The Explorer Card was first introduced by American Express in Australia in 2016 and in Hong Kong in 2021. Now, American Express, in partnership with BDO, is bringing it within reach of clients in the Philippines—a first in Southeast Asia. The new card now also forms part of the growing range of BDO-issued American Express cards.
