Chef Jessie, Antonio's join Visa's affluent dining platform

MANILA – Some of the Philippines’ most sought-after restaurants are now part of Visa Epic Experiences, the global payments company’s affluent dining platform.

Among them are the three dining outlets run by renowned chef Jessie Sincioco – Top of the Citi by Chef Jessie, Chef Jessie Rockwell Club, and the newly opened Chef Jessie Grill at the Grove by Rockwell – as well as the fine dining restaurant Antonio’s in Tagaytay, and Enye by chef Chele Gonzalez in Cebu.

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Also part of the platform are Metro Manila favorites like Kettle and Fireside by Kettle, Tender Bob’s, Maisen, Pablo and Pablo Mini, Paul Boulangerie, St. Marc Café, Hide Yamamoto, La Cabrera, Reserve Gastro Tavern, Reserve Liquor Lounge, Smith Butcher and Grill, 22 Prime, Flame, Bar One, Black Olive, The Brewery at the Palace, Draft Restaurant, Early Bird, Moonshine Kitchen, Pablo Bistro, Sugar Factory, the Wine Club, Artisan Cellar Door, Carpaccio Restaurante, Chesa Bianca, I Am Angus, Salu, Epilogue, Jasmine, High Street Café, Raging Bull Chophouse and Bar, Canton Road, and Green Pastures.

These provincial restaurants are also included in this year’s Visa Epic Experiences: Sushisake, Urban Table, Azure, Saffron Café, Score Sports Bar, La Gondola, The Lobby Lounge, Mizu, Tin Gow, Uno, Subo, Restaurant Verbena, Villa Caemilla, Aozora, and Mori.

Those who present their Visa credit card at participating establishments can enjoy special offers, from discounts to a complimentary glass or bottle of wine.

Stuart Tomlinson, Visa country manager for the Philippines and Guam, noted how many Filipinos spend a lot on food and travel.

“Filipinos love to travel and dine and this is proven from our data, where we see almost half of all Filipino cardholders spend on these categories. With these in mind, we are introducing the fifth edition of Visa Epic Experiences,” Tomlinson said.

“Every year, we make an effort to revamp and introduce new offerings to make this platform bigger and better for our cardholders.”

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The perks offered by the Visa Epic Experiences platform are available to all Visa cards issued anywhere in the world, and are valid until March 15, 2019.

It also covers discounts on published room rates and massage services at high-end hotels like Anya Resort Tagaytay, Club Paradise Palawan, Crimson Resort & Spa Mactan, Discovery Suites, Discovery Country Suites, and Discovery Shores Boracay.

The complete list of offers and participating establishments is available on Visa’s website.

Meanwhile, Visa also introduced this year its digital concierge app, where Signature and Infinite cardholders can view special offers, book hotel accommodations, and make restaurant reservations.

This after the global payments company conducted a survey and found that most Filipino respondents make reservations for flights, accommodations, and restaurants on their own because they find it troublesome to have someone else doing it for them.

The online survey, which was conducted last April and covered 500 cardholders in the Philippines, noted that Filipino’s top concerns about making concierge requests via phone or e-mail include “having to verify their identity and card number to each request made” (66%), “waiting a few days for customer representatives to respond to their requests” (63%), and “miscommunication when speaking to a customer service representative over the phone” (56%).