MasterCard Sweeps Promises 500 Free Flights

Playing on the “priceless” fun of spontaneously hopping a plane to a dream destination, MasterCard Worldwide has launched a summer sweepstakes that will award a grand prize of 500 round trip airline tickets to anywhere in the world.

In the MasterCard Win 500 Flights sweepstakes, every time a cardholder uses MasterCard for a purchase between July 1 and Aug. 31, he or she is entered for a chance to win tickets that can be applied for flights for themselves, friends and family. Purchases made with a MasterCard co-branding partner card, including cards linked to American Airlines, Frontier and U.S. Airways, double the entrant’s chances. Card users may also double their chances by using a MasterCard to book flights with those airline partners.

“The program has the same aspect of sharing that made our Win 12 Cars campaign so successful last summer,” said Cheryl Guerin, VP, promotions and interactive, MasterCard Worldwide. The program’s goal is to drive preference and transaction frequency among cardholders, she said.

Supporting the sweeps is a daily poll at Priceless.com that tracks travelers’ top motives for taking to the skies this summer. The poll echoes a TV spot, “Best Coffee,” that began June 1, which follows a circle of ladies as they search for the perfect cup of coffee; that search leads them on a hunt for the perfect slice of pie.

Consumers in five markets also have an opportunity to preview the travel experience via a tour through the reconditioned body of a 727 “Limo Plane.” Appearances in New York City’s Union Square, Chicago’s Navy Pier and sites in Pittsburgh, Houston and Philadelphia will run through the end of July. Each Limo Plane venue allows visitors to enter the sweeps while meeting a local celebrity and learning more about the dining, shopping and spa highlights of the host city.

Project Support Team, Inc., Danbury, CT, executes the sweeps. In addition to TV, print, 30 million statement inserts and online are driving participation.