Cebu Pac promo converts Citibank visa credit card to one-way ticket

To help boost domestic tourism, a budget carrier and the Philippines' largest foreign commercial bank have converted the latter’s travel visa credit card to a “one-way” ticket, allowing new cardholders to travel to any of the airline's domestic destinations. The new cardholders of Citibank’s travel visa credit card will have the option to travel to one of the destinations offered by Cebu Pacific free of charge, said Cebu Pacific’s vice president for marketing and distribution Candice Iyog at the launching of the travel visa credit card Tuesday.   “When we launched the card, what we had in mind was to give more opportunities for everyone to travel,” Iyog added.   For Iyog, this promo – which will run until November 30 – would boost domestic tourism not just in major cities like Manila, Davao and Cebu, but also in “secondary cities” like Iloilo, Davao, Puerto Prinsesa, Cagayan de Oro, Bacolod and Busuanga, among others.   “A lot of people look at tourism in the main hubs like Manila, Cebu and Davao. [However, our flights] would help boost tourism in the other secondary cities,” Iyog said.   “We’ve always believed in the potential of air travel in the Philippines. We are an archipelago. [Thus], there is really a need to connect all the islands,” she added.     Citibank’s senior vice president for credit payment Ramon del Rosario said the idea “is for us to go to local tourism. We are trying to find a good way for our customers to get encouraged to travel within the country, in our promotion of the ‘It’s More Fun in the Philippines’ campaign. It targets local tourism itself.”   The card is the most successful credit card of Citibank to date, showing double-digit growth since its launch last year, Del Rosario said without citing the exact figures.   Citibank’s managing director Bea Tan said their clients could earn points for every purchase using the credit card. The points could then earn the holder free vouchers, discounts and even free tickets to domestic destinations.   “If you consolidate your [expenses] with this card, you will be able to earn enough points that will allow you to avail free tickets… It will be able to propel the frequency of a person’s travel plan,” Tan told GMA News Online.     The free one-way ticket covers all domestic destinations of Cebu Air except for Caticlan. Travel period is until February 15, 2013.   Budget carrier   In their efforts to grow its operations, Cebu Pacific is planning to expand their fleet to 41 aircraft at the end of the year from the current 39, Iyog said. She said they plan to double their fleet in the next nine years.   The budget carrier has 39 aircraft as of August this year – the largest fleet in the country – with an average age of 3.6 years. For the first half this year, the listed operator of Cebu Pacific – Cebu Air Inc. – has reported a net income of P1.736 billion, a 28.9 percent decline from last year.   Iyog cited high fuel costs for the year, which she said dragged their income for the first semester.   But she noted that they have maintained their usual “formula” in achieving profitability such as offering cheaper flights for their client base.   Cebu Pacific has flown over 6.9 million passengers for the first half of the year. The firm intends to double that to 14 million passengers by the end of the year, according to its disclosure. — KBK, GMA News