American Express offers clients good reasons to eat out and shop

MANILA, Philippines - Antonio’s Fine Dining, Aubergine and Abe are among the top five restaurants in the Philippines listed by the prestigious Miele Guide, which aspires to be the most reliable and credible restaurant guide for Asia.

Keenly attuned to the preferences of its affluent clients who immensely enjoy dining, American Express has enlisted these three restaurants to offer special treats to its card members who use their credit cards at these establishments to pay for their meals. The three highly rated restaurants are part of American Express Selects, a global program that entitles card members to enjoy more than 5,000 privileges and special offers globally.

The Miele Guide, which is respected by many of the Philippines’ top food writers, has also included Antonio’s Fine Dining in Tagaytay among its top 20 restaurants in Asia — alongside Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo icons for excellent cuisine. In its website (www.mieleguide.com), it cites chef Antonio Escalante, the name behind the restaurant, for his “commitment to fine cuisine” and for his menu that “is still spoon-worthy as its ambience is swoon-worthy.” At Antonio’s, American Express card members receive a raclette appetizer of pickled vegetables and boiled potatoes free of charge to prepare their palates for the highly rated salads and entrees.

Described by the guide as the new kid on the block that has “catapulted itself into the ranks of our Top 20 (Asia) with impressive aplomb,” Aubergine is a two-year-old French restaurant at the corner of 5th Avenue and 32nd at Bonifacio Global City. It serves French dishes with “classical roots” but tweaked for the contemporary palate. American Express card members who dine there enjoy a free dessert for a minimum purchase of P1,500.

Listed by the guide as one of the top five restaurants in the Philippines, together with Antonio’s and Aubergine, Filipino restaurant Abe at Serendra offers card members its signature pork binagoongan at no charge for a minimum purchase of P1,000.

According to Ma. Nannette R. Regala, first vice president of BDO, which issues American Express cards in the Philippines, the Selects program has gained an enthusiastic following among card members because of the company’s keen sensitivity to their preferences. “We aspire to come up with treats and savings in restaurants, retail stores, and establishments most preferred by our valued card members.”

Early this year, American Express Selects offered card members special privileges in 41 hotel partners, 35 retail merchants, 120 dining outlets, and 25 wellness merchants in the Philippines alone. In October, it recruited an additional 17 retail merchants and 24 more dining outlets in the country to participate in the program. When card members travel abroad they can enjoy more than 5,000 privileges and benefits offered by merchants participating in the American Express Selects program around the world. 

BDO marketing program manager Abigail Aguilar-Cifra explains that American Express Selects has adopted a global platform to make the card member feel that he truly has access to “A World of Privileges.” On the other hand, dining outlets and merchants that participate in the program enjoy access to card members who frequently like to travel and try out the offerings available to them elsewhere.

As one client remarked, “American Express Selects gives me more reasons to eat out more often. The offers are simply too tempting to pass up.” Another card member on a shopping trip recalls availing of significant savings simply because she “was using the right card.”

For more information on American Express credit cards and the Selects program, call the 24-hour customer service hotline at 814-4777.