American Express celebrates 100th anniversary in the Philippines

Manila, 31 May 2016 - This year marks the 100th anniversary of American Express establishing a business presence in the Philippines. To kick off its centennial celebration, BDO and American Express have unveiled the revitalization of two key card products aimed at strengthening its leadership position in the frequent traveler and affluent customers segments: the Cathay Pacific American Express® Elite Credit Card and the iconic Platinum Card® from American Express.

The Cathay Pacific American Express Elite Credit Card now comes with improved mileage earn rates, offering Cardmembers new and faster ways to earn and redeem Asia Miles. In addition, from now till 31 October 2016, Cardmembers can stand a chance to be one of the 50 lucky winners to win 50,000 Asia Miles each.

Designed for the affluent seasoned traveler and their family, the Platinum Card offers a better travel experience and a world of rewards and benefits for its Cardmembers. Platinum members can enjoy new benefits such as:

Complimentary business class companion ticket with Philippines Airlines,

Unlimited complimentary airport lounge access at over 900 airports for Basic and Supplementary Cardmembers

Complimentary Meet & Assist service for departure and arrival at NAIA Terminals 1 and 3, and at Clark and Davao international airports

Complimentary enrollment into elite membership status of leading hotel loyalty programs such as Shangri-la Golden Circle A welcome gift of US$200 travel voucher "Congratulations on American Express' 100th anniversary in the Philippines. It is a great milestone which well demonstrates our partner's long-term commitment to the local market." says Ma. Nannette R. Regala, BDO Senior Vice President and Consumer Lending Group Marketing Head, "To better match our Cardmembers' lifestyles, BDO and American Express are raising the bar with enhanced, exclusive benefits for these two products that will provide greater value, stronger personal recognition and a more rewarding travel experience for the frequent-travellers and high networth customer segments. As the exclusive cardissuing and merchant-acquiring bank partner of American Express in the country, we've been working together on a range of centennial events and other special promotional offers to engage and reward local customers and merchants, which we'll announce in due course."

"The first American Express office in Asia was in the Philippines. We are very proud to have been actively participating in the Philippine market for an entire century, which is an essential part of American Express' 166 years of history. To mark this special milestone in the Philippines, we have specially created a commemorative logo which we will use till end 2016," says Mr. Sanjiv Malhotra, Vice President of Business Development, Bank Partners, Partner Card Services Asia at American Express. "Moving forward, we remain committed to providing our customers, together with our partners, with the world-class products and services they are looking for. In BDO, we are proud to have a partner who shares our core values of trust, integrity and commitment in customer service."

In 1916, American Express opened its first office in the country at 36 Escolta in Manila, offering shipping services, custom brokerage and Travellers Cheques. Today, American Express has jointly launched with our local issuing partners a total of 14 products, which are sought after by frequent travellers, digitalsavvy mobile wallet users and corporate clients in the Philippine market. American Express has also established through local partnerships a network of affiliated merchants that span the whole country. In addition, the company also plays an active role in philanthropic giving in the country in terms of disaster relief, historic preservation, and community service.