BLOGGED PHILIPPINES

Citibank and Philippine Airlines (PAL) teamed up to give Citibank Philippines card holders a massive discount on their flight fares early next year. The discount is up to 40% of the round trip fare to some of PAL's international destinations including Japan, London, Los Angeles and New York. Philippine Airlines Airbus A330-300 plane.  Image by  Kentaro Iemoto  from Tokyo, Japan -  Philippines A330-300(RP-C3340) ,  CC BY-SA 2.0 ,  Link

I just booked a ticket to Davao for next year with this latest Cebu Pacific promo exclusive to Citibank Philippines credit card holders. The advertisement in my email says  Don't miss the chance to book low fares to local destinations from P599 and Hong Kong or Singapore from P1,599 with your Citi credit card. After receiving the email, I didn't waste time and booked a ticket for me as I have plans of going to Davao next year. And I have the round trip fare (without baggage) for less than 1000 pesos. Yes, you're right, less than a grand! Citibank credit card holders just need to go cebu pacific website , search for a flight, and then on the next webpage, enter the promo code CITISALE in the box at the right side. I tried to do the same with Cebu Pacific mobile app for iOS but I cannot find it. I'm not sure about the Android version but I guess it would be the same. So for those who wanted to avail of this promo, just use a web browser, be it on your phone, tabl...

The horror in my face is indescribable. My friend told me he can't find his wallet. Since our wallets are of the same looks, I jokingly told him that I may have unintentionally kept it in my bag. So I began looking at my bag. I didn't find his wallet...and mine. I searched the entire house and asked people I've been with but to no avail. I conceded...I lost my wallet. My friend found his wallet. My lost wallet. Update: Someone Returned My Wallet After 2 Days! What's in my wallet? Not much cash. I think I have around 700 Pesos cash. Then I have 2 active Credit Cards and 3 ATM/Debit Carts. I also have 2 Health Cards, and one government ID card. So what did I do upon realizing I lost it. 1. Blocked my credit cards. This is probably the first thing you should do once you are convinced that you really lost your wallet with credit cards inside. Credit cards can easily be swiped by anyone. While some merchants would ask for an ID or check the signature, m...

As a maintenance fee for your card, Credit Card companies will charge you an annual fee. Depending on the card that you have, it can range from few hundreds to a few thousands. But did you know that there are ways to have your credit card annual fees waived? Here are some situations in which you can legitimately request for it. Credit Card companies charge an annual fee for the upkeep of your account. You've spent a lot during the past year.  When you see your latest statement and you notice that you are charged with an annual fee, do not pay immediately. Call them and ask how to have it waived. This is especially acceptable if you've spent a lot in the past year. Depending on the amount and the credit card company, you can have 50% off your annual fee or have it totally waived if you met the spending requirement. The key here is, ask for it.

Do you want have a savings account but don't want a high maintaining balance? Typically, banks require at least ~3000 pesos average daily balance (ADB) on a savings account. If the ADB falls below that, a monthly penalty amounting to around 150 pesos will be deducted from your balance. If you continue failing to meet the ADB, the penalty will soon deplete your account and eventually, it will be closed. Well, here's a good news! Bank of the Philippine Islands' subsidiary BPI Direct is offering a savings account with a maintaining balance of as low as 0 pesos. Yes, you read it correctly.  The name of the account is BPinoy Savings. But here's a little condition. There must be at least one remittance transaction every three months. If you can't meet that small requirement, there's another type of savings account: BPI Direct Express Teller Savings Account. The maintaining balance is 500 Pesos. How to apply? What makes BPI Direct really nice is that ...

"We're writing to notify you that the password for your eBay account has been compromised. As a result, we have scrambled your password to prevent unauthorized activity." Shown above is the introduction of an email I received from Ebay Philippines (ebay.ph) the other day. And after a bit of research, I verified that this is a genuine email from Ebay. And not only that, it appears that I'm not the only one. Password Compromised? What it meant is that someone got to know my password. By having my username and password, the intruder can easily access my account and do such things as: - steal my personal information, including your address - steal my credit card or PayPal information - make transactions in my behalf (and from your money also) - compromise my other accounts if I use the same set of username and password How Much Damage? Ebay Philippines didn't elaborate what or how much information was stolen. They also didn't mentioned how...

Do you have a Citibank's Cebu Pacific credit card? Well, here's the procedure on how to convert your points to a free flight. Cebu Pacific Citibank Credit Card Redeem free flights with your Cebu Pacific Citibank Card in five simple steps. It’s so easy to convert your CEB points into Cebu Pacific E-Vouchers that you can use to pay for your ticket. 1.Call the 24-hour CitiPhone at (02) 995-9999 for Manila, (32) 234-9999 for Cebu or 1-800-10-995-9999 for other provinces. 2. Wait for the validation email with your E-Voucher password. Use this to authenticate the validation page and you will receive a confirmation email which also includes your E-Voucher number, its expiry date and the amount. 3. Now you are ready to book your free flight. Visit www.cebupacificair.com  and log on as a CEB Club Member. 4. After choosing your preferred flight, click the ‘E-Voucher’ tab on the Payment page and provide your E-Voucher number and its expiry date. Click the ‘Retrieve’ button...

7 Eleven sign in L.A. (Photo credit: Tommy Ironic ) Following the move of the low-cost airline Airphil Express , Philippine Airlines (PAL)  now allows customers to pay online bookings via Seven-Eleven stores . This would mean that you don't need to have a credit card to avail of their latest promos and deals. Furthermore, PAL will install ECPAY Payment Center facilities in all 766 7-11 retail stores nationwide to accommodate as many customers as possible. Procedure of Purchase The customer just need to go to PAL's website, input  the travel details including the destinations and the dates of flight. After clicking next , you will be taken to a page where you will be asked to choose whether to Proceed to Payment or Reserve and Hold. If you chose to reserve and hold your itinerary, then you have to log-in with your username and password. If you don't have an account, click on the " Create New Account"  link to register. Upon succ...

Yesterday, I tried to book a ticket on Philippine Airlines (PAL). I used my HSBC MasterCard as usual but an unexpected thing happened. I reached the payment part where I was redirected to HSBC SecurePay page. Then, I entered my personal information. When I pressed confirm, I received an error message saying that the transaction is denied because I failed to identify myself correctly. At first, I thought maybe, I committed an error like misspelling when I was filling the web form. So I did it again from the very start. And guess what? The transaction is denied again for the same reason. I tried once more but with no success. I started suspecting that there’s something wrong in the system. I already booked several tickets in the past but I have never encountered this error before. I reasoned that if it is a problem in my card, then I couldn’t have used it in the past.

Image via Wikipedia This afternoon I received a call from a woman who introduced herself as a representative of a local Philippine Bank. She first asked me if I already had a credit card and when I answered "yes", she immediately invited me to their current so-called promo: "they are offering a credit card without requirements ". I know she meant that no physical documents and papers are to be submitted. Also, she mentioned that they are the lowest interest-paying credit card bank in the Philippines . At first it sounded very interesting to me but my mind changed as soon as she asked me some information that, in my opinion, is VERY CONFIDENTIAL and divulging them to someone who just called you on the phone may pose some security threat. Here's what she asked me.

                                Image via Wikipedia Citibank Philippine s is giving away Nokia 1800 cellular phone handsets when you apply for a new credit card. Please take note that this promo is exclusively in the Philippines and the minimum gross annual earnings should be 200000 pesos to qualify for a Citibank credit card. For more information see the promo page of Citibank Philippines . Additional information regarding credit cards can be read here. Credit Card-Friend or Foe? See the Related Post section below for more related articles in the topic " credit cards "

                                  Image via Wikipedia I just read this news about a proposal from a lawmaker to trim down the traditional 3% monthly credit card interest down to 1% . He wanted the Philippines to have a firm law to tame credit card companies. The 3% interest, according to him, based on several existing laws is "excessive, iniquitous, unconscionable, and exorbitant". Now, if ever that proposal will indeed become a law and be properly and effectively implemented, then it will bring relief to those who has been a victim of themselves when it comes to credit card use. As I have already mentioned in this blog, credit card offers lots of advantages especially at the standpoint "convenience". But as useful as it was, it also has many dangers. Credit card has been a tool that is prone to abuse leading many in an unmanageable debt that continues to grow with a huge interest r...

This article is for those who are new to credit cards and for those who do not read the terms of service of their credit card providers. Joan and her friends Joan has been using her credit card for more than a year. She is prompt on paying her monthly bills because she was well aware of the high interest of credit cards. On one occasion, her friends requested her to buy them airline tickets with a promise that they will pay before the due date. She spends almost 15,000 pesos for the tickets. She warned her friends that if they don’t pay on time, she will impose to them the interest of the card.

PayPal is the world’s leading alternative for using credit and debit cards directly into internet transactions. It’s also relatively safe since you will not need to expose your credit card number and some important personal information. PayPal is also used for receiving payment online. I remember myself when I applied for an online job; I was required to have a PayPal account. The problem before is no bank here in the Philippines allows direct transfer of funds. Anyway, that was BEFORE! NOW you can easily add and withdraw funds to your PayPal account using a local (Philippines) bank account. As far as I know, only Unionbank offers direct fund transfer from your credit card or debit account to your PayPal account. It’s very easy, just set up an account with Unionbank. For debit cards, you can either have an e-wallet or an EON account . I recommend EON account since it requires zero maintaining balance and just 350 maintaining fee per year. How to connect to your Union (EON) Accoun...

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 nee...

Do you have a credit card? Well, if you do, your just one of the millions of people around the world who wants to avail the advantages of having one. A credit card is a piece of plastic card that can be used to purchase goods and services. It looks like an ATM, usually with your name and card number inscribed on it. The only difference between the two is that credit cards can be used for buying things based on the sole promise of the holder to pay his debts under an agreed terms and conditions. You can buy as much as you want until you reach your credit limit within a month. Credit limit is the maximum allowed debt in a given month. Credit limit varies depending on the type of credit card (Classic, Premiere, etc) and also varies depending on the paying capacity of the person applying for it. Credit Card Advantages Credit card makes money transactions a lot more convenient. You don’t have to bring a lot of cash. All you need is to present your credit card on merchants that accept...