Visa and Barclays Bank Egypt recently sent four lucky cardholders and their companions to the 'FIFA Confederations Cup South Africa 2009' which concluded on June 28 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Participants were automatically entered into a draw for FIFA package when they spent LE100 ($18) on their Barclays Premier League, Classic/Gold Visa Card, or LE300 ($54) on Visa Electron card during the promotion period from March 1 to May 31.

In addition, each new application for a Visa Classic Card or Visa Gold Card provided Barclay’s customers with one entry and three entries to the draw, respectively.

“As an official FIFA partner, Visa is excited to provide Barclays Visa and Visa Electron cardholders with the chance to witness the FIFA experience first-hand,” said Tarek Elhousseiny, Visa’s general manager for North and West Africa.

“Barclays Visa cardholders enjoy the many benefits of their Visa cards as a convenient and secure way to make purchases every day. Promotions with our valued partners is just one way in which Visa rewards cardholders and we’re looking forward to offering more FIFA promotions in the future”

The winners, whose purchases ranged from LE185 to LE24,885, were chosen at random during a draw held at the Barclays Bank Egypt head office in early June.

Waleed Aziz, a freelance interior designer based in Cairo, was chosen as one of the four winners. “I’m very excited to have the chance to travel to Johannesburg to attend the match. I use my Visa card regularly for purchases, but I was surprised when I found out I won,” said Aziz.

“For me, Visa is a magic solution. I use my card nearly every day to make large purchases for supplies. It is so much more convenient and safer than carrying around large amounts of cash. I also use my Visa card for smaller, random purchases and wherever Visa is accepted,” he quipped.

The Fifa Confederation Cup package offered the four winners and one companion each with roundtrip airfare to Johannesburg for 4 days and 3 nights from June 26 to 29 June at a four-star hotel.

They also got two Category 2 match tickets, pre-match hospitality, Visa FIFA-themed merchandise, a $150 Visa pre-paid card, among other benefits.

“At Barclays, we greatly value our customers and work closely with our partners to offer the most exclusive and unique promotions," said Bassel Kelada, consumer banking director at Barclays Bank Egypt.

“We are pleased to partner with Visa once again to provide our valued cardholders with the unique opportunity to participate in one of FIFA’s most prestigious events,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service