Visa makes card history with record 'Win a Dream Home' grand prize

From tomorrow (September 14) Visa cardholders will be able to participate in the largest promotion ever organised independently by Visa International in the region. The six-week promotion also includes additional prizes worth more than US$100,000.

Based on card usage at retail outlets, Visa and Visa Electron cardholders making five or more purchases at merchants during the "Win a Dream Home" promotion will automatically be eligible for a chance to win the grand prize of US$275,000 that can be spent on a dream home anywhere in the world. Runners-up and weekly winners will be awarded more than US$100,000 worth of prizes including plasma screen televisions, Bang & Olufsen hi-fi systems and Nokia mobile phones.

"The launch of the Win a Dream Home promotion makes card history in the Middle East. This is our largest independent promotion in the region. More than 60 member banks and 6 million Visa cardholders across the GCC and Lebanon will be eligible to participate in the promotion," said Peter Scriven, Visa International's General Manager for the Middle East.

"With more than five Visa transactions made every second in the region, GCC and Lebanon residents are fast converting to secure and convenient card-based transactions and are moving away from traditional cash purchases. Our Win a Dream Home promotion is designed to promote this trend."

The "Win a Dream Home" promotion runs from September 14 to October 26 and is open to all Visa credit and Visa Electron cardholders resident in the GCC or Lebanon with cards issued through participating banks. There is no minimum purchase value and entries will be accepted for all purchases made anywhere around the world - ATM withdrawals excluded.

Visa cardholders can also double their chances of winning by sending the six digit authorisation codes shown on their shopping receipts via SMS, or online by logging onto the www.visa-winadreamhome.com website. For every five receipt codes, cardholders will qualify for an additional entry into the "Dream Home" draw and a chance to win mobile phones in the weekly draws.

"Today, there are millions of shops, hotels, grocery stores and websites that accept Visa worldwide, of which nearly 85,000 merchants are in the Middle East. With such a large choice of locations, whether for daily shopping or overseas spending during holiday or business trips, Visa cardholders stand a chance to accumulate unlimited entries.

"As Visa becomes more and more an integral part of everyday life, we are sure that the Win a Dream Home promotion will provide cardholders a unique opportunity to further enjoy the benefits of Visa," said Scriven.