For immediate publication
Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C)
3 August 2010
Passengers to Benefit from Citi and Czech Airlines Cooperation
With the new Citi ČSA MasterCard World credit card, customers can quickly earn their way
to a bonus ticket just by spending on their card, with the chance to earn 20,000 bonus miles
after the first transaction. The new card is very first MasterCard World credit card on the
Czech market.
PRAGUE – Citi, in cooperation with Czech Airlines,
recently launched the prestigious Citi ČSA MasterCard
World credit card on the Czech market. Aside from the
new, stylish black design, the card provides a number of
attractive benefits to customers, including a welcome
bonus of 20,000 for the first retail transaction or cash
withdrawal during their first month as card holder.
For the bonus of 20,000 miles customers may choose a
return bonus ticket to the selected European countries
Thereafter, customers can earn bonus miles with Czech
Airlines just by regularly using their Citi ČSA MasterCard
World credit card.
On 4 August 2010, the first ever branded Czech Airlines
aircraft will depart from Prague’s Ruzyne airport with a graphic of the new Citi ČSA credit card on
its fuselage.
“We are happy indeed to work with Citibank in introducing new, attractive features on the Citi
ČSA MasterCard World credit card. We are pleased to promote our cooperation with Citibank,
using an unconventional and new advertising – branding one of our planes. This is historically the
first promotional branding on a fuselage and if this form of advertising succeeds, we will continue
in such marketing activities with other partners,” added Tomáš Hrdlička, senior Manager Loyalty
Programs & CRM..
“We appreciate that Czech Airlines, our long-term partner, supports our ongoing efforts to bring
new attractive products to the Czech consumer. We are very pleased to introduce to Czech
Airlines passengers and Citi card holders a product combining the numerous benefits of a Citi
credit card with the advantages of the ČSA OK Plus Frequent Flyer Programme,” says Parag
Dhingra, Cards Product & Business Development Head Citibank Europe plc,.
With the launch of this new credit card, card holders will have the chance to earn a special bonus
of 20,000 miles with Czech Airlines during the promotional period up to 30 September 2010. After
this period, customers can still earn up to 20,000 bonus miles on their first month as a card holder
if they meet standard conditions. Under these conditions, customers will earn a Welcome bonus
of 10,000 miles for the first retail transaction or cash withdrawal on their card. They can then earn
an additional 10,000 miles once their total spend or withdrawal on the card has reached at least
CZK 15,000 within their first month as card holder.
MasterCard World products always carry a distinctive World identifier and “bar” which signifies
the card incorporates a market leading rewards programme, in this case the market leading OK
Plus programme from Czech Airlines.
It is a unique and flexible card platform that allows issuing banks to succeed in the intensely
competitive battle to satisfy the demands of premium cardholders. These financially aware
consumers:


Appreciate the value of features and benefits tailored to reflect their lifestyles
Seek out value for money and use discretion in making purchasing decisions
The Citi ČSA World MasterCard is the latest and very welcome addition to the family of World
products in Europe. “We identified a group of cardholders with a specific lifestyle and needs. We
tailored the World MasterCard, which has worked successfully in several countries, for them.
Citibank offers a very attractive product, cleverly complemented by a České aerolinie loyalty
scheme. I believe there is a great need for this card in the Czech Republic and that its holders will
be happy with it,” said Brian Lang, MasterCard Europe’s General Manager for the Czech
Republic and Slovakia.
The Citi ČSA MasterCard World credit card provides card holders with various opportunities to
earn their way to a bonus ticket on flight with Czech Airlines. Among the benefits of the card
include 4 miles per CZK 100 spent on the card or withdrawn from an ATM and an anniversary
bonus of 5,000 miles every year (if average monthly spend is at least CZK 15,000). Customers
also have access to travel insurance and concierge services as part of the benefits of their card.
The Citi ČSA MasterCard World is an international payment card, which allows customers to avail
of discounts of up to 25 % from merchant partners under the Citi Club programme and discounts
from partners of programme MasterCard Elite and MasterCard World.
The summer promotional event for the Citi ČSA MasterCard World credit card will also be
supported by a press promotion and advertising in both terminals of Prague’s Ruzyne Airport.
To apply for this prestigious card, customers do not need to switch their current banking
relationship or open a current account with Citibank. For more information on Citibank and this
product, please visit www.citikarta.cz.
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Citi
Citi, the leading global financial services company, has approximately 200 million customer
accounts and does business in more than 140 countries. Through Citicorp and Citi Holdings, Citi
provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial
products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment
banking, securities brokerage, and wealth management. Additional information may be found at
www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com.
Czech Airlines
Czech Airlines, as the flag carrier airline of the Czech Republic, provides connections from
Prague, and increasingly also “via” Prague, to important destinations in Europe, the Middle East,
and North Africa. In cooperation with its partners presently offers connections to 113 destinations
in 46 countries around the world. Together with its subsidiaries, Czech Airlines offers to
passengers a high quality of service.
Since 2001, Czech Airlines is a member of the global airline alliance SkyTeam providing
customers from member airlines access to an extensive global network with more destinations,
more frequencies and more connectivity. The 13 members are: Aeroflot, Aeroméxico, Air Europa,
Air France, Alitalia, China Southern, Czech Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Kenya Airways, KLM Royal
Dutch Airlines, Korean Air, Tarom Romanian Air Transport and Vietnam Airlines. SkyTeam offers
its 395 million annual passengers a worldwide system of more than 13,000 daily flights to 898
destinations in 169 countries. SkyTeam celebrates its 10th anniversary in June 2010.
For ten years in a row, Czech Airlines has won the “Best Airline” award (TTG Travel Awards).
Since 2004, Czech Airlines has also held primacy in the competition for the title “Best Airline
Based in Central/Eastern Europe”, awarded by the international aviation organization Official
Airline Guide. In 2009, the Airline defended the title “Best Airline in Central Europe”, bestowed
annually by the independent organization Skytrax. Czech Airlines holds a certificate under the
ISO 14001 standard (environmental protection) and a certificate under IOSA (IATA Operational
Safety Audit).
Contact for media:
Branislav Cehlárik
Public Affairs Officer for Czech and Slovak Republics
Evropská 178, 166 40 Praha 6, Czech Republic
Mob.: + 420 775 864 444; + 421 905 894 845
Tel.: + 420 233 061 661; + 421 2 58230 472
[email protected]
Hana Hejsková
Ředitelka Komunikace a tisková mluvčí Českých aerolinií
Jana Kašpara 1, 160 08 Praha 6
T:+420 220 116 220
F:+420 220 1150 397
e-mail: [email protected].