• by Aaron Baar , December 11, 2008

MasterCard has had a longstanding relationship with Major League Baseball, advertising that many of the baseball experiences are "priceless." Now, the company is hooking up with the National Basketball Association in hopes of creating a priceless experience for basketball fans.

The credit card company has developed a promotion in which customers of Southwest Airlines and Starwood Hotels & Resorts can win trips to the 2009 NBA All-Star game and other NBA-themed prizes, provided they use their MasterCards.

"Part of our strategy as we continue to promote MasterCard as the best way to pay, is to offer cardholders rewards and prizes that encourage them to do business with key merchants," Rob Sheets, vice president of U.S. merchant relations for MasterCard, tells Marketing Daily of the strategy of working with the two travel companies.

MasterCard will be featuring the promotion on its priceless.com Web site. But the heavy lifting in marketing the promotion will be handled by Southwest and Starwood, according to Sheets.

On a Southwest Airlines microsite, Darryl Dawkins invites fans for a "high-flying, thrill-supplying, ultimate-fan, wham-bam, three-day jam" at the All-Star game. The company will award 30 prizes for a fan and a friend to fly to Phoenix--site of the 2009 All-Star Game--hotel accommodations, tickets to the weekend's events and a $200 prepaid gift card. "It's going to be a hard-pounding blast, so get in the game," Dawkins says on the Web site. Similarly, one Starwood customer will win a trip for four to the game, complete with tickets and the chance to meet an undisclosed NBA Player or legend, according to a release.