UAE: Starwood Ties Up With Emirates NBD To Create Hospitality Card

Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide’s loyalty programme, Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG), has partnered with Emirates NBD to create the Emirates NBD Starwood Preferred Guest World Mastercard.

Credit card allows travellers in the UAE to redeem points across the hotel chain’s 1,200 properties and over 1,000 restaurants.

The credit card allows travellers in the UAE to redeem points across the hotel chain’s 1,200 properties and over 1,000 restaurants in more than 100 countries. They will also be able to earn the SPG Gold status.

Suvo Sarkar, senior executive vice-president and group head of retail banking and wealth management at Emirates NBD, said that the card targets businessmen, leisure travellers and even people that do not often travel.

“People that don’t travel so much, that go once or twice a year to their country, can get points from their shopping and dining domestically and use these points to go on a holiday,” he explained.

He noted that 17 per cent of Emirates NBD cardholders’ spending is on hotels and dining, while 13 per cent is on travel.

The Emirates NBD Starwood Preferred Guest World Mastercard is a contactless payment card. Sarkar said that contactless payments are growing in the UAE, where 18-20 per cent of merchants currently have contactless payment terminals.