SBI Card launches PRIME: A unique credit card for the neo-premium consumer

SBI Card launches PRIME: A unique credit card for the neo-premium consumer

~A unique premium card designed for today`s new age premium customer - urban, young affluent professionals

~Partnership with Vistara, Trident Hotels, Reliance Retail, BigBasket, Pizza Hut, Priority Pass to offer exclusive benefits to cardholders

SBI Card, one of India’s leading credit card issuers, today launched ‘SBI Card PRIME’, a premium credit card targeted at the growing segment of urban, young affluent consumers. SBI Card PRIME is designed to complement the lifestyles of these evolving, neo affluent consumers, clubbing exclusive lifestyle privileges with enhanced value on their daily spends.

The premium consumer in India is changing. With rising disposable income, urban professionals are aspiring for a superior lifestyle at an early stage in their lives.  There is a perceptible shift in the premium consumer segment, with more consumers in this segment now falling into the 25-35 age group. Over 50% of SBI Card`s premium customers today are in this age bracket. Moreover, this shift has been driven by urban consumers.

This neo-premium customer - the urban, young affluent consumer - has a different set of expectations than the mature affluent consumer. These consumers are positive about the current economic situation and confident that their incomes will continue to rise. They seek new experiences, have high aspirations, believe they deserve more and are demanding – while they desirepremium lifestyle privileges in line with their aspirations and evolving tastes, they also want to maximize value. Studies reveal that these consumers are driven by certain motivators - Looking Better, Eating Better and Having more Fun are key. This is evident in the rising spends on Travel, Entertainment, Dining and Apparel categories by this consumer cohort.Over 30% of all spends by this consumer segment are on these categories, in line with their lifestyle goals.

The SBI Card PRIME has been thoughtfully designed to reward this aspiring, travel-savvy, growing urban professional with the right mix of premium lifestyle privileges and enhanced value on their regular shopping experience.

SBI Card PRIME brings cardholders the best lifestyle privileges such as complimentary membership to loyalty programs of marquee brands like Vistara and Trident Hotelsand complimentary international airport lounge access through the Priority Pass Program. Launched on the Visa Signature platform, the card offers exclusive travel benefits such as domestic airport lounge access as well as worldwide offers like discounts on car rentals, 24/7 concierge services etc.

Through the Club Vistara Silver Membership, cardholders will be able to enjoy benefits such as earning CV Points on bookingVistara flights; priority airport check-in; increased baggage allowance; complimentary Lounge Access and One Class Upgrade vouchers. The Trident Privilege program Red tier membership will offer exclusive benefits for SBI Card PRIME cardholders such as 1000 Welcome Bonus Points for new members to the program, hotel credit and added bonus points during the first stay as well as general membership benefits such as 10% discount on all bookings on tridenthotels.com, express check-in and late check-out along with other attractive joining and members only benefits.

In keeping with this consumer segment`s focus on value maximization, along with a superior lifestyle SBI Card PRIME also offers the highest tangible value in its category. Among other benefits, this card gives consumers accelerated reward points at Preferred Partners viz., – Reliance Fresh, Reliance SMART, Reliance Trends, Reliance Footprints, BigBasket, Sahakari Bhandar etc.

Commenting on the launch of SBI Card PRIME, Mr. Vijay Jasuja, CEO, SBI Card said, “We have observed that the premium customer is changing. There has been an increase in the proportion of urban, young affluent consumers in our premium customer base. With their rising incomes and aspirations for a superior lifestyle, these customers present a strong opportunity.  We have designed the SBI Card PRIME to complement the unique needs and lifestyles of these aspiring, travel-savvy, young professionals.  SBI Card PRIME will offer customers in this space access to a premium lifestyle together with the highest tangible value in its segment. We are very pleased to partner with some of the leading brands in their categories - Vistara, Trident Hotels, Reliance Retail, Big Basket and Pizza Hut - to bring this unique card to our customers. With the introduction of SBI Card PRIME we look to significantly enhance our penetration in the new premium segment”

Commenting on the partnership, Mr. Phee Teik Yeoh, CEO, Vistara, said, “The growing affluence in India is the biggest driver of the increase in consumption, especially in travel. It has led to a shift in the consumers' values with greater emphasis on quality and value, reflecting their aspirations and progressive lifestyle. Club Vistara is specifically designed to cater to the evolving needs of today’s frequent traveler. Inspired by the feedback from a wide spectrum of our customers, Club Vistara has undergone a make over to be the fastest rewarding and the least restrictive frequent flyer program with a slew of unique benefits. Through our partnership with SBI Card and by extending the Club Vistara benefits to their Prime cardholders, we invite the SBI Card Prime cardholders to our unique program and to ‘fly the new feeling’ with Vistara. Welcome aboard!”

Mr. Damodar Mall, CEO Grocery Retail, Reliance Retail Limited said, “As modern retail, our customers expect us to bring the latest product & service choices to them. This includes ways in which people can pay at our stores. We are naturally very happy to join hands with leaders like SBI Card to encourage more cash-free payments for daily necessities at our RelianceFresh & Smart stores.”

Mr. Prashant Gaur, Chief Brand Officer – Pizza Hut (Indian Sub-continent) at Yum! Brands said, “We are delighted to have partnered with SBI Card to offer this unique value proposition to India’s young urban consumers – patrons of both Pizza Hut & SBI Card. We believe the milestone offers presented by SBI Card PRIME, provides great value to our customers, who can avail it at any of our Pizza Hut outlets in India.”

Mr. Vipul Parekh (Co Founder, CMO & CFO), BigBasket said,"We are very happy to partner with SBI Card. SBI Card, with their increasing young, urban affluent consumer base has become a

key partner for us. We are happy to announce an exclusive reward program where BigBasket customers will get 15 Reward points per Rs 100 spent, on shopping with the SBI Card PRIME." 

Highlights of the SBI Card PRIME:

·         10 reward points per INR 100 spent on dining, entertainment departmental stores and grocery spends

·         20 bonus reward points per INR 100 spent on cardholder`s birthday

·         15 Reward points per INR 100 spent at Preferred partners – RelianceFresh, Reliance Smart, Reliance Trends, Reliance Footprints, BigBasket 

·         Milestone benefits:

o   Quarterly - Dining gift voucher worth INR 1000 from Pizza Hut on quarterly spends of INR 50,000

o   Annual - Gift voucher worth INR 7000 from Yatra.com/ Pantaloons on annual spends of INR 500,000

·         Waiver of renewal fee if annual spends exceed INR 300,000

·         Welcome vouchers worth INR 3000 from popular travel, lifestyle and apparel brands

·         20 reward points per INR 100 spent on all utility bills paid via standing instructions on the SBI Card PRIME

·         Fuel surcharge waiver across petrol pumps in India

·         NFC enabled card allowing contactless payments

The card also has a variant on the Mastercard World platform. The card will come with a joining fee of INR 2999. With the introduction of SBI Card PRIME, all customers holding SBI Platinum credit card will be transitioned to the superior PRIME platform, and will enjoy the enhanced privileges and rewards associated with SBI Card PRIME.

About SBI Card

SBI Cards and Payment Services Private Limited (SBI Card) is an Indian financial services company to offer Indian consumers extensive access to a wide range of world-class, value-added payment products and services. Presently, the brand has a wide customer base of 4.8 million. With a market share of 15%, SBI Card operates through over 90 locations in India. SBI Card is based on the value proposition of “Make Life Simple”.

Visit www.sbicard.com for more details.