Amid the hot news related to digital payments, Mastercard has just brought a more traditional announcement: a new credit card focused on very high-income customers. The launch took place at the Hotel Palácio Tangará, in São Paulo, this Monday (20).
Brazil, Mastercard’s third largest market in the world, was the second country to receive the product, called Mastercard World Legend – which will also be made of metal or ceramic, offering exclusive benefits in the travel, gastronomy and entertainment categories.
The card has seven confirmed issuing financial institutions and banks, which account for 40% of credit card spending in the country and which must define their own policies when defining eligible customers for the Mastercard World Legend. The spending range on the card is one of the criteria guided by Mastercard, but the company did not provide further details.
“The bank may choose to adopt a strategy of offering the card to a customer who does not spend as much, but who is important to them. He, the bank, will offer it as a benefit. We want to give this freedom to banks”, said Leonardo Linares, senior vice president of Product and Service Solutions at Mastercard in Brazil.
The fact is: to have the Legend you need a “bullet in the needle”. During the presentation, Mastercard gathered data on who it targets with the new card: the richest 1% in Brazil, which accounts for 27.4% of the national income, with an average monthly income of R$90 thousand and, within this small universe, the richest 0.1%, which has an average annual income of R$4.6 million.
Benefits
A global survey by the company, which included Brazilians, showed that 59% of high-end consumers prefer to invest in experiences rather than material goods. Still in this group, 86% showed more frequent use of credit cards compared to the general consumer average (65%). Furthermore, a PYMNTS Intelligence survey showed that 74% of premium card users used at least one benefit in the last year, compared to just 32% among traditional card holders.
These were some data that, according to Mastercard executives, guided the characteristics of the Mastercard World Legend, which is above Black cards and offers a selection of benefits divided into three pillars: travel, gastronomy and entertainment.
Among the main benefits are the anytime check-in and check-out at luxury hotels, such as Palácio Tangará (SP), Belmond Copacabana Palace (RJ), Unique Garden (SP), Botanique (Campos do Jordão), B Hotel (Brasília), Clara Artes (Inhotim), Pousada Maravilha (Fernando de Noronha) and VIK Retreats (Uruguay and Chile).
The benefit is one of the great highlights of the product, as it gives the card customer almost an extra daily rate depending on the chosen schedule arrangement.
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In gastronomy, the card promotes gastronomic experiences in Michelin establishments, with priority reservations, exclusive menus and a free voucher. Among the participating establishments are: Corrutela, DOM, Fame Osteria, Huto, Jun Sakamoto, Kazuo, Kinoshita, Kuro, Maní, Oizumi Sushi, Ryo and Tangará Jean-Georges, in São Paulo, and Casa 201, in Rio de Janeiro.
In the entertainment category, among the benefits offered are: art curation by the Nara Roesler gallery, guided tours by a art advisore invitations and guided tours to the main national and international fairs.
Exclusive of exclusives
Within Mastercard World Legend there will be the exclusive group of exclusives: the Exclusive category, which will offer even more differentiated benefits. One of them is the courtesy of a second ticket when purchasing a business class ticket.
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Furthermore, starting in November, Legend customers will be able to enjoy the company’s first gastronomic and well-being space, called “Taste of Priceless”, at Guarulhos International Airport, which will offer a menu designed by chef Alex Atala.
In the marketing strategy, fashion consultant and businesswoman Constanza Pascolato, Brazilian navigator and writer Amyr Klink, singer and actor Seu Jorge and chef Alex Atala were chosen as Legend ambassadors.
Impact on business
The product is not intended to change Mastercard’s revenue indicators specifically, but rather to position the brand among the richest.
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“The specific objective of World Legend is not to bring a very large volume, because it is a restricted product”, said Linares.
Still, according to the executive, Mastercard continues with the objective of .
“We have other initiatives to be present in more purchasing occasions, Click to Pay is one of them. Public transport. Soon we will have more news – this is one of the issues that we work a lot on. There are several strategic fronts. One of them is to expand use, the habit. And there is the other front of aspirational products”, said Linares.
