Card companies' campaigns expected to boost Songkran spending

The government is offering an additional income-tax deduction of up to Bt15,000 for individual taxpayers who dine at restaurants that issue tax invoices from April 9 to April 17, apart from the current Bt15,000 tax deduction for taxpayers who spend money on domestic travel.
In response to the incentives, Krungsriayudhya Card has joined hands with more than 1,000 restaurants to offer discounts of up to 50 per cent for spending in the dining category, and is offering 12-times reward points for spending in the travel category.
Managing director Wanvimol Kanoktanaporn said the company hoped its campaign would help drive spending growth of more than 10 per cent in the former category, and 20 per cent in the latter.
Last year, Krungsriayudhya Card reported spending growth of 14 per cent and 21 per cent in these categories, respectively.
Pittaya Vorapanyasakul, executive vice president for credit-card business at Krungthai Card (KTC), said she expected her company’s credit-card spending on dining during the Songkran festival to grow by 50-60 per cent from the same period last year.
KTC credit-card spending on dining came in at Bt5 billion during 2015, ranking it the 10th biggest ticket size, while shopping was the top-ranked category for the company.
 The company hopes that the tax deduction for dining during Songkran will boost sentiment among cardholders, even though the ticket size is smaller than that for shopping, she added.

xxxxxx
KTC is partnering with 43 restaurant brands totalling 800 branches nationwide to offer discounts of up to 20 per cent when diners use its cards, plus Forever Rewards points equal to the amount spent.
Kasikornbank, meanwhile, has launched a “Dine and Travel Nationwide during the Songkran Festival, and Get Bt500 Cash Back” campaign.
The bank’s credit cardholders are entitled to get Bt500 cash back for at least five spending transactions on food and accommodation, with a combined value of Bt20,000 or more by April 30.
Sudrutai Thongsong, senior vice president, and head of the Credit Card and Debit Card Product Management and Marketing Department, said the bank hoped its cardholders’ spending on dining and travel this month would grow 10-15 per cent compared to the same period last year.
In general, customers will have used credit cards for spending on hotel bookings ahead of April, therefore actual spending this month will be lower than spending on accommodation in March.
However, the tax deduction on dining will help boost credit cardholders’ sentiment, and the urban dweller’s lifestyle is to use credit cards for dining because operators offer both reward-points accumulation and discounts.