(TAN): Marriott International has announced the launch of Marriott Bonvoy The BEST Shinhan Card, offered exclusively by Visa, enabling cardholders to accelerate the number of Marriott Bonvoy points they earn, which can be redeemed for free nights at more than 7,600 hotels across 30 extraordinary brands around the world.
This will be the first hotel industry credit card in South Korea where cardholders can earn Marriott Bonvoy points and enjoy member benefits that come with elite status, the hotel group said.
In designing the Marriott Bonvoy The BEST Shinhan Card, the two companies analyzed the spending and travelling behaviour of Koreans, finding that they love to travel (9% of credit card spend is on overseas spend) and enjoy dining out (11% of credit card spend). Korea is the second largest outbound travel market in Asia: in pre-Covid 2019, the Korea Tourism Organization reported more than 28 million outbound Koreans compared to 14 million in 2014 — presenting an opportunity for overseas spend once international resumes.
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“It is very meaningful that our customers will be able to enjoy differentiated benefits and membership anywhere in the world via the launch of Marriott Bonvoy The BEST Shinhan Card card,” said Youngjin Lim, CEO of Shinhan Card. “In partnership with Marriott, the world’s No. 1 hotel company, we will continue to make our best efforts to provide broader value to customers so as to evolve into a ‘Life & Finance Platform’ company, our future direction.”
“We are pleased to introduce Marriott Bonvoy The BEST Shinhan card in South Korea, making travel more meaningful and rewarding for members of Marriott Bonvoy,” said Bart Buiring, chief sales & marketing officer, Marriott International Asia Pacific. “This credit card launch underscores our commitment to providing members with an unmatched array of benefits and travel experiences that meet their needs, including the opportunity to accelerate the number of Marriott Bonvoy points they earn at our hotels around the world, and points that can be used for hotel stays, through their daily purchases.”
Marriott Bonvoy is the award-winning travel program from Marriott International comprising a portfolio of 30 hotel brands including JW Marriott, Sheraton and Courtyard, a home rental offering, all-inclusive resorts and hundreds of thousands of experiences across 133 countries and territories. Members can earn and redeem points for free nights, accelerating the points they earn with co-branded credit cards.
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Patrick Yoon, country manager of Visa Korea, said: “With the Marriott Bonvoy The Best Shinhan Card, consumers will not only gain access to unique benefits at Marriott properties but also enjoy benefits at more than 61 million merchants globally where Visa is accepted.”
With Marriott Bonvoy The BEST Shinhan Card, cardholders can enjoy rich earn ratios and become a Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite member upon sign up. Platinum Elite Status is also more achievable with Cardholders enjoying 5,000 bonus points after spending KRW 10 million, and 10,000 bonus points after spending KRW 20M. Cardholders will immediately be awarded Platinum status upon KRW 60 million spend in an accounting year.
