Citibank and the Taj group of hotels have joined hands to launch the Taj Epicure Diners Club card, the first hotel co-branded card in the country.

The chip-cum magnetic strip card is targeted at existing Diners Club card members and the Taj group’s Inner Circle and Epicure members. The charge card, which comes at an annual fee of Rs 2,000 has a captive base of 70,000 Diners Club, Epicure and Inner Circle members to tap into. About 20,000 of these members are expected to avail of the new card in the first year itself.

The card, which will work in a closed loop, comes with a rewards programme that allows cardholders to earn back 10% of food and beverage spends at participating Taj properties in the form of Epicure points. For instance, Rs 10,000 spent, would earn the card holder Epicure points worth Rs 1,000 that can then be used to settle bills at participating Taj hotels. Reward points earned by Diners Club cardholders can also be converted into Epicure points even if the points earned have been from spends at other hotel properties.

Members can also earn Taj Inner Circle points for spends on room charges, telecommunications, laundry and business centre facilities at participating Taj hotels. These points can be redeemed for hotel stays and merchandise options.

The chip-based card would enable cardholders to instantly redeem their points in full or part settlement of their bills when they dine and stay at Taj properties. However, while most card issues offer reward points to cardholders, the value of which is only about 1%, the Taj-Citi co-branded card, by offering 10% of spends as rewards, will be eating into the Taj group’s margins on F&B and room revenues. "We expect that by offering such a product to our customers, spends on F&B and hotel stays will increase, off-setting our loss of net revenue margins. Our customers have also been asking us for a smart, user-friendly programme." Said Ajoy K Misra, senior vice-president (sales and marketing), Taj group.