This is epic: Wine, dine, and travel with Visa

I went to the Visa Epic Experiences press  luncheon last Thursday because, frankly , I was mainly looking forward to an epicurean experience. It was held at Chef Jessie at Rockwell Club where I love her carrot and pumpkin soup, alugbati salad, grilled Chilean sea bass, seafood risotto  and of course, chocolate soufflé for dessert. Quite a glutton’s agenda,yes.

Chef Jessie Sincioco is one chef whose cooking I have been loving for many years. And she also happened to be the choice  chef for Pope  Francis’ four-day visit to the Philippines in 2015, as well as the ASEAN Summit of heads of state in 2017

The editors  enjoyed her epicurean feast, which included cochinillo and wagyu beef steak. The surprise bonus treat came in the form of Stuart Tomlinson, the Visa country manager for the Philippines and Guam. Stuart’s stories about  his travels and his previous posts in Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam , and now, the Philippines, were epic. Never a dull moment with this lovable traveler who has never met a country he didn’t like.

Stuart remembers Singapore for its non-stop construction work, Malaysia for its interesting political times, and Vietnam for its sweeping scenes (also meaning that he would  see people sweeping the streets daily).

 What about  the Philippines?  “It is the country which makes me feel like a rock star. I have never seen so many cameras clicking during Visa’s events. The Philippines indeed is the selfie capital of the world.”

As a special for Epic Experiences 2018, its fifth installment, Visa Platinum, Visa Signature, and Visa Infinite cardholders can enjoy either a complimentary glass or a bottle of wine at some of the Philippines’ most premium dining establishments.

Stuart’s memories about other countries are epic, but most epic to him are the current offerings in the Visa Epic Experiences with its constantly evolving program of exclusive dining and travel privileges for cardholders worldwide.

All Visa cardholders, including tourists from all over the world, can discover unforgettable trips and gastronomic experiences by presenting their Visa card at over 60 choice establishments nationwide. Visa cardholders can enjoy epicurean offerings from well-known establishments like Kettle in Manila to Taza Fresh Table in Tagaytay to Enye by Chele Gonzalez in Cebu, and Subo in Boracay.

Now on its fifth year, the promo Visa includes sought-after restaurants such as Antonio’s, Chef Jessie’s Group of Restaurants, Maisen, Pablo Bistro, Samba, Epilogue and many others introduced into the Visa Epic Experiences affluent dining platform — a wine and dine series exclusive to Visa Platinum, Visa Signature, and Visa Infinite cardholders. Cardholders can enjoy either a complimentary glass or a bottle of wine at some of the Philippines’ finest dining establishments.

Visa Epic Experiences also include travel offers such as 25 per cent discount off published room rates at Anya Resort Tagaytay,  and Discovery Suites, 60 percent off published room rates and 30 percent off massage services at Crimson Resort & Spa Mactan.

“Filipinos love to travel and dine and this is proven from our data, where we see almost half of all Filipino cardholders spend on these categories. With this in mind, we are introducing the fifth edition of Visa Epic Experiences. Every year, we make an effort to revamp and introduce new offerings to make this platform bigger and better for our cardholders. Filipino cardholders and tourists from all over the world who own a Visa card will be able to enjoy exclusive dining and travel privileges, where they can create unforgettable life memories with their families and loved ones,” says Stuart.

The Visa Epic Experiences perks are available to all Visa cards issued anywhere in the world. Visa cardholders can enjoy all the offers on the Visa Epic Experience platform today until March 15, 2019.

Visa Digital Concierge app makes it easier

This year, Visa also introduced the Visa Digital Concierge app, where Visa Signature and Visa Infinite cardholders can view the Visa Epic Experiences offers, and also book hotel accommodations and make restaurant reservations through the app.

Traditionally, cardholders need to dial a hotline or email a concierge service provider to engage their services. The new Visa concierge mobile app offers a real-time channel for affluent consumers to arrange for services such as hotel, flight and restaurant reservations, event ticket purchases or other enquiries.

A recent survey conducted by Visa found that most Filipinos make flight reservations, accommodation and dining reservations on their own because they find it troublesome to have someone else doing it for them.

Top concerns raised about making concierge requests via hotline and email include having to verify their identity and card number for each request made (66 percent), waiting a few days for the customer service representatives to respond to their requests (63 percent), and miscommunication when speaking to a customer service representative over the phone (56 percent).

The Visa Concierge mobile app simplifies these traditional concierge processes. It is equipped with a live-chat function, which enables consumers to chat with a customer service representative directly to make personalized and bespoke requests. Through this feature, they can get instant results and prompt responses to their requests.

For more information, please visit www.visa.com.ph. - VISA Philippines