Cebu Pacific Promos: How to Get the News Fast?

Image via Wikipedia

I really love Cebu Pacific promos. It saves me a lot of money. For example, this December, I am travelling to Manila only for 200 pesos. Wow! Before, I used to spend more or less 2000 pesos (one-way) just for the airfare. This marketing strategy of Cebu Pacific caused them to win the competition regarding long distance transportation. It not only dethroned the former market leader Philippine Airlines (PAL), but it also stole the market of passenger shipping lines. And the best thing about these promotions is that the end consumers are the ones who benefit the most because it drives down the prices of travel via airplane.

Promos Are Lasting Earlier Than Before

To avail these promotions though, you have to book during the allowed booking period scheduled by them. So this requires you to know firsthand whether there’s a promo. Although the news about their promos is spreading crazily fast like viral infection, you can’t guarantee that the news will reach you in time. There are times, and I noticed it’s getting more frequent, that the extremely-low-airfare promos (e.g. piso and zero fare) last earlier than the prescribed last day of booking. I remembered one case this November, in their promo, Piso Fare. It was offering more than a hundred thousand of seats for one peso. It was supposed to start October 31 and last until November 2. What happened is that, it last super early! By the afternoon of October 31, the promo came to its halt—all the more than 100,000 seats have been sold out. Wow! And I’m very much thankful that I booked my tickets just before it.

The Reason Behind

Probably the reason behind this very fast run out is the increasing number of internet bookers. Also, Cebu Pacific had improved with regards to booking payment. Before, they only allowed credit cards but now even debit ATM cards of selected banks are allowed. You can also reserve a confirmation number and just pay it over-the-counter on the same day. Yes, the promos are now opened to more people than before, so the competition over the promo slots is getting tighter.


How to Get the Info Fast!

So how you can you get the fastest news about their promos? I listed down some tips arranged from the most effective (in my experience) to the least.

1. Visit their website daily.(Most effective!)
2. Request your friends to tell you immediately when there’s a promo.
3. Subscribe to their email notification/twitter. (Email is always late, dunno of twitter)

Based on my experience, visiting their website is the most effective way to get the information first hand. I put email notification as the least effective one. Their email notifications arrive too late. It was always delayed! So do not rely on this.

Before I end this article though, I would like to invite the readers on free subscription on this blog. I can’t guarantee to give you the fastest news about cheap airfare promos, but I may help by posting articles as soon as I can when I heard about these promos. You can have free subscription via:

1. Email
2. Twitter
3. RSS readers (Yahoo, Mozilla, Google, Bloglines)

Please take note that in order to receive the email notifications though, after you registered your email address, you have to verify it by following the link sent by Feedburner to your registered email address.

Internet Transactions: Dos and Don’ts

As I always mention in this blog, “everything is moving into the web”. And as I mentioned in my last article about PayPal, “the crooks are following the trend”. Yes, many evil-minded people are surfing the net looking for opportunity to do harm to others. So how can you avoid being a victim? Here are some simple tips on how you can surf and transact safely in the web.

Safety Tip Number 1
DO NOT transact on a website you do not trust.
There are many fraud online stores offering extremely attractive offers at a very low price. Some of this are true but beware of those “many” that are not. Transact only in a website that you trust.

Safety Tip Number 2
Look for Valid Web Certificates

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PHILIPPINE STOCK EXCHAGE: STOCK TRADING GAME

PSE in Makati. Image via Wikipedia

Are you interested in stock trading? Well, nowadays, more and more people are getting interested in the topic of personal finance. In the Philippines, though, many people are still uneducated in this very important topic. Probably, one of the “benefits” of the recent economic recession is the increase in awareness in how people should manage their finances. Yes, before, words such as “stocks”, “mutual funds”, and “bonds” are rare topics of discussion and are only mentioned by business savvy people. Now, even kids know about it and even talk about it.

Among the many ways you can invest is through stock trading. In simple terms it’s like a buy-and-sell business. You buy stocks when they are at low price then sold them when it already increased in value. The hard part is: stocks are fluctuating. It changes in value from time to time and many factors are affecting it. It’s of higher risk compared to mutual funds and bonds.

I will admit that I’m not really well-versed in this subject since I’m also new to financial education. So I cannot give a detailed advice when it comes to this subject. I know one good tip though, if you really want to learn more about this, do additional research and PRACTICE what you learned by participation in Philippine Stock Exchange’s (PSE) Stock Trading Game. In this game, you will be given an imaginary 1 Million peso initial capital which you can invest in different stocks offered by participating companies. The game is really based on the real scenarios like market values and penalties. The good thing about this is that you don’t need to gamble into the real stock exchange without enough weapons of knowledge and experience.

How to join?

The game is open to everyone. Just log on to PSE’s official website, www.pse.com.ph and then choose Stock Trading Game. You only need a valid email address to complete the registration. Also, you can join tournaments usually joined by students and professionals.

CREDIT CARDS: My Personal Learning

Image by liewcf via Flickr

It was almost a year now since I first used my credit card. Although I already received it months before, I only used it several months later. The main reason behind my reluctance is a mix of skepticism and fear that I may misuse the card and mismanage my debts.

Anyway, almost one year after my first use, I have learned many things from it. I have learned some of the GOOD and some of the BAD sides of it. I wrote this article especially for those who are not using credit cards, for those who are planning to use credit cards, and for those who have just started using credit cards.

Here are some of the things I have learned.

1. Credit Card is a great convenience!

Yeah, probably one of the greatest advantages of having a credit card is the convenience it may give you. You don't need to bring cash all the time when you do shopping, all you need is your card. Also, credit cards are good for emergency cases. There are situations when you badly needed to purchase something but you have no cash at hand. In these cases, credit cards can be a great help.

Also, as everything are going into the web--shopping, purchasing of tickets, etc--credit cards are getting more and more important since most online transactions requires it.

2. Discipline is BADLY needed!

In order to continue to enjoy your use of credit card, you must discipline yourself. It may take an additional effort to do the following.

First, make sure you regularly check you balance so you will know how much you've already spent. Don't rely on monthly statements. One month can be a long period of time and you may not realize that you already exceeded your credit limits or your "paying limitations". When this happens, you might be shocked when you bill arrives.

3. Use Credit Card ONLY for emergency

Some people may choose to use credit cards even though they have available cash on their wallets. There’s nothing wrong with this, but be careful with this habit. You may be deceived in thinking that you still have enough money although in reality, you don't, because you just used your card instead of cash. When you choose to pay by card instead of cash, make sure you separate the cash equivalent from your regular money and as soon as possible, pay the full amount before you forget. If you can't do this, better make it your resolve to use the card only for emergency situations.

4. Read the terms of conditions.

Probably 99% of all card holders do not even attempt to read the terms of condition issued by the bank. And I will admit that I am one.

It is highly recommended that you read all the terms and conditions so you will be properly informed of all the fees and penalties they might impose upon you.

5. Limit the number of your credit cards to at most TWO.

Many are enjoying having plenty of credit cards on their possession. Yeah, it may add a bit of confidence on your side but it also adds to the risk of mismanaging your debts and fall to the trap of being unable to pay your debts. Limit your number of cards to a manageable quantity. For me it’s two to there.

6. Always remember that you don't own the value of your credit card!

No matter how high is your credit limit, it cannot erase the fundamental truth that you don't own it. All the things you purchased through it are LOANS. And always remember that credit cards are the highest interest-paying form of LOAN. Imagine your 3% monthly interest? It might seem small but for the whole year, your 3% is just as bad as 36%.

7. Don't be deceived by the MINIMUM payment!

It is the providers' strategy to make your required minimum monthly payment small. The reason behind this is that you may feel that it's easy to pay it. But the truth is, on the next billing, they will put an interest on your average daily balance which may even be higher than your minimum payment. This is the most frequent the reason why many fell into the trap of mismanaged debts.

As a conclusion, credit card is like fire. It can be a source of comfort and energy. But when left uncontrolled, it can also burn you by putting you on the quicksand of unending debts. If you have been in this situation what can you do? How can you escape the trap? Please see the next article on the tips on how you can recover from mismanaged debts.

BPI Direct Account: As low as P500 maintaining balance!

Do you want have a savings account but don't want a high maintaining balance? Usually, most banks require 2000 to 3000 pesos average daily balance (ADB) on their savings account offerings. If you fall below this limit, a penalty amounting to around 150 pesos will be deducted from your existing balance. For many 2000 to 3000 pesos are just small amounts, but for those who are working away and just using the ATM card for giving money to their families, 2000 to 3000 can be a big amount.

Well, here's the good news! Bank of the Philippine Islands' subsidiary BPI Direct is offering a savings account with a maintaining balance of as low as 500 pesos, a very small amount compared to ordinary savings accounts.

How to apply?

What makes BPI Direct really nice is that you can apply for it through the internet! Also, you don't have to be in the Philippines to apply. BPI Direct accounts are specially made for workers that are far away from their families like OFWs. To apply, just log on to www.bpidirect.com or www.bpiexpressonline.com and choose BPI Direct.

Claiming the ATM Card
You can claim the card personally or through a representative.

Interest Rate
If you intend just to save and not primarily to send money, well BPI Direct is a very good choice. The interest rates for their savings account is currently 1.375% per year! Well, you can say that 1.375% is small but compared to other banks, it's about twice as much. Most savings accounts' interest rate varies from 0.5 to 0.75%

For more details just log on to BPI's official website www.bpiexpressonline.com or www.bpidirect.com.

PayPal-Fast and Secure Way of Paying Online

Internet has changed the way we do business today! Everything is going into the web. Now you can purchase virtually everything you need in just a click of the mouse. Online stores enable us to shop without actually stepping into the store! We can now send and receive money by electronic fund transfer which most banks today can already provide. We can pay our utility bills like telephone, water and electricity through online payments. Even our monthly credit statements may now come in digital format thus saving paper for our environment. Business and personal transactions has never been this easy, convenient and efficient as ever before.

Image via Wikipedia

Although the danger of physical robbery has been minimized by online methods of transaction, the need to be vigilant is also a must when it comes to web based transactions. Along with the development of ecommerce technology, the crooks are also developing their “web-based” theft. Viruses and other malicious programs designed to steal your personal information are already widespread in the World Wide Web. Phishing and other scam propaganda pose great danger to everyone. To protect you against these methods of theft, extra precautions should be taken.

Protect Yourself

Protect yourselves by doing these simple tips:
1. Use strong passwords (passwords minimum of 6 characters that contains numbers, letters and if possible special characters)
2 Keep an updated Antivirus Software (if you can afford, use licensed instead of the FREE versions)
3. Transact only on your trusted websites. (Look for SSL certifications)
4. Beware of "unexpected" emails that gives a link to a website whether known or unknown.
5. Use the convenience and security of PayPal

What is PayPal?

PayPal is the leading provider of secure and convenient way of payments and money transfer through the internet.

How does it work?

The typical way of paying in ecommerce websites requires you to enter your credit/debit card number, your PIN, or even your password. Imagine the inconvenience and risk when you have to do this many times. You have to re-enter your 16 digit card number and PIN. The more exposure of this information, the riskier it is. PayPal saves you from these risk and burden. When you enroll your debit and credit card on PayPal, all you need to do is to enter your PayPal enabled email address and your PayPal password.

Enroll now at PayPal

For business owners, it's time to upgrade to an ecommerce website and enjoy the full benefits of selling online. It's time to be a PayPal accepting ecommerce website!