MasterCard Picks New York as First “Priceless City”

MasterCard is now inviting cardholders to “see New York as it should be seen” as NYC is officially the first destination on the map of its new Priceless Cities program. Home to millions of MasterCard carriers, among them a high concentration of both World and World Elite program members, New York was the obvious choice as the premiere city in the card-issuing company’s new program.

MasterCard chief marketing officer Alfredo Gangotena said, "Priceless Cities is an evolution from celebrating priceless moments to enabling priceless experiences. I personally am proud to launch this program here in New York, my hometown, and one of the greatest cities in the world."

The Big Apple portion of the MasterCard promotion features opportunities like overnight campouts at the Bronx Zoo, super exclusive Yankee events, as well as access to special happenings at theaters, restaurants and assorted other “consumer passion point” destinations.

The Priceless Cities program is an example of just one of the ways card issuers are going about courting consumers with good credit ratings. Other examples are solicitations with generous airline mile reward programs or 0% balance transfer offers.

The new program launched last week on Military Island in Times Square. MasterCard flaunted the fact that it is the official credit card of Major League Baseball as the July 14 event featured appearances by three real-live Bronx Bombers: Mike Torrez, Bernie Williams and Bucky Dent.
In days leading up to the unveiling of Priceless Cities, Gangotena noted that, “this special event will represent several of our Priceless New York offerings, bringing to life the quintessential New York experiences available to consumers who have a MasterCard card.”

The main aim of Priceless Cities is to offer MasterCard users access to unique experiences, select offers and special events, with the hopes that more consumers will be inspired to regularly make MasterCard their top plastic pick.

In the near future, MasterCard intends to expand the Priceless Cities campaign to include Madrid, South Africa and Puerto Rico in addition to more destinations in the U.S.

In order to partake of Priceless Cities, MasterCard cardholders must register their World Elite cards in the program using MasterCard’s website. Other MasterCard holders can also participate by signing up for email alerts.

Bryant Park

Bryant Park is a financial consultant for one of the companies listed on Wall Street. He writes on a variety of topics ranging from credit cards to different loans that can be availed by consumers. He holds a bachelor degree in Financial Services from Dartmouth College.