Kuala Lumpur, March 16 – About 100 cars took to the city streets today as 200 Smiles cardmembers competed in the qualifying round of the 'Discover Smiles Treasure Hunt' sponsored by Esso and Mobil. Esso and Mobil are brands of ExxonMobil in Malaysia.

From the 100 teams, the eight most outstanding teams will be selected to compete in the finale which is a five-day hunt from Kuala Lumpur to Penang. 

Many want to discover Smiles
The treasure hunt received tremendous response from Smiles cardmembers who were vying for the Grand Prize of a Naza Bestari worth RM75,000, holiday packages for four and RM1,000 cash as well as bonus prizes in the form of Smiles Points and travel vouchers.

Esso Malaysia Berhad Retail Business Director Puan Faridah Ali flagged off the participants from Menara ExxonMobil at Kuala Lumpur City Centre at 8.00 am. Participants were required to visit several Esso and Mobil service stations and complete a list of challenging tasks before finishing up at the National Science Centre in Bukit Kiara.

The finale hunt to be held on March 22 to 26 from Kuala Lumpur to Penang will be aired on TV3's 'Discover Smiles Treasure' programme every Friday at 7.00 pm between April to June. The event will be a test of wits, strategy and physical fitness as finalists are required to complete a number of challenging and adrenaline-pumping tasks at various locations and at designated Esso and Mobil stations during the journey.

Smiles is one of the hidden gems
The Smiles Driver Rewards programme, launched in July 2005 is a loyalty membership programme that offers convenience and great value. Smiles Points accumulated from Esso and Mobil stations can be used to redeem exclusive rewards from the Smiles Catalogue. Smiles cardmembers can also make redemption of fuels and mart items (except tobacco & epay) on the spot from participating Esso and Mobil service stations without the need for forms or vouchers. Every 100 Smiles Points is equivalent to RM1 worth of mart purchases.

Smiles Points do not have an expiry date. Customers can continue accumulating Smiles Points as long as they make at least one qualifying purchase within a year from the last purchase. This way, customers will be able to enjoy complete freedom and flexibility to accumulate Smiles Points and redeem exciting rewards of their choice.

How to sign-up for Smiles
Since its launch, the Smiles programme has received overwhelming response from customers nationwide. As a reward for loyal customers, Esso and Mobil are offering 50% bonus points to all Smiles members when they purchase fuels using their Smiles card until end of this month.

If you are not a Smiles member yet, just drive into any of the participating Esso or Mobil service stations and pick up an application form. Smiles membership is FREE, and the Smiles Card can be used immediately to earn points.  Completed forms can be submitted to the stations, mailed or faxed to our Smiles Customer Service Centre at 03-7728 6225.  For more information on Smiles Driver Rewards, call 1-300-880-323 during business hours or visit www.exxonmobil.com/smilesmy.

About ExxonMobil
The ExxonMobil Subsidiaries in Malaysia are a group of companies, which have business activities ranging from upstream exploration and production of oil and gas to the refining and marketing of petroleum products. In the upstream, ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Malaysia Inc. is one of the major crude oil producers and suppliers of natural gas to Malaysia.  Daily crude oil production is about 150,000 barrels of oil a day while daily gas production is 1.2 billion cubic feet a day.  In the downstream, three ExxonMobil subsidiaries, Esso Malaysia Berhad, ExxonMobil Malaysia Sdn Bhd and ExxonMobil Borneo Sdn Bhd operate a network of service stations throughout Malaysia.  Esso Malaysia Berhad also operates an 88,000 barrel a day refinery in Port Dickson.