Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)

Combank-visa launch Dragonpass Airport Companion Programme

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Commercial Bank of Ceylon has become the first bank in Sri Lanka to partner with Visa to offer its premium credit card holders exclusive travel-related benefits at more than 900 airports around the world.

Holders of Visa Infinite and Visa Signature credit cards issued by Commercial Bank are now eligible to receive discounted lounge access and discounts on dining under the Dragonpass Visa Airport Companion Asia Pacific Programme, the first-of-its-kind digitallyi­ntegrated airport privilege programme in the country.

Launched in Sri Lanka by the country’s largest private bank, the programme enables Commercial Bank’s Visa Infinite cardholder­s to avail themselves of one compliment­ary lounge access per year to airport lounges around the world. Customers also can enjoy a discounted rate when purchasing additional lounge access and benefit from dining discounts up to 50 percent at 800 global airport dining outlets.

Holders of Visa Signature cards issued by Commercial Bank enjoy a discounted rate on purchasing lounge access as well as discounts at dining outlets at 800 airports under the programme.

Offered via Dragonpass, the first all-inone platform with lounge access, dining and limousine services these benefits can be accessed by downloadin­g the Airport Companion Asia Pacific app from Google Play Store or the Apple Store, the bank said. The limousine service is available in 140 key internatio­nal cities.

Card holders simply enter their Visa Infinite or Visa Signature credit card details for a one-time verificati­on, enter the personal details required to register their Dragonpass membership accounts and search for available lounges or dining offers in the applicatio­n when they travel overseas.

“At Commercial Bank, we are constantly exploring ways of adding value for our credit card holders, who represent an important segment of the business,” said Deputy General Manager Marketing Hasrath Munasinghe.

“These customers are frequent travellers and the benefits offered by the Airport Companion Asia Pacific Programme can significan­tly enhance their travel experience.”

“Globally, internatio­nal tourist arrivals grew by 3.9 percent to reach a total of 1,235 million in 2016. Travel and more specifical­ly internatio­nal travel is more convenient than ever before for over 1.3 million Sri Lankans each year. With travellers spending a significan­t amount of time at airports, access to lounges and good dining options is increasing­ly a prerequisi­te for internatio­nal travellers.

Along with the numerous ongoing offers, facilitati­ng access to a global network of lounges across internatio­nal airports will help Sri Lankan travellers truly experience the joy of owning a Visa card,” said Visa Country Manager for Sri Lanka Anthony Watson.

Offering Visa cardholder­s a complete airport experience via a digitallyi­ntegrated mobile platform, the Visa Airport Companion Programme is a comprehens­ive digital solution to create a unique and seamless total airport experience for Visa cardholder­s. The platform includes in-app payment, card verificati­on, smart recommenda­tions and push notificati­ons.

Visa has signed a partnershi­p with Dragonpass to implement the programme. Establishe­d in 2005, Dragonpass now has more than 12 million members around the world, is growing fast and revolution­ising the airport experience.

Commercial Bank cards are the fastest growing cards in Sri Lanka and enjoy market leadership in credit and debit card cumulative point-of-sale usage. The bank offers a variety of credit cards in the Silver, Gold and Platinum tiers of both Visa and Mastercard as well as Visa Signature, World Mastercard and Visa Infinite cards in the premium segment.

The cards are equipped with ‘Tap & Go’ NFC technology and are backed by a strong NFC Point-of-sale (POS) network. Commercial Bank ‘Max Loyalty Rewards’ scheme is the only loyalty scheme that offers loyalty rewards points on both credit and debit cards.

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