No Annual Fee Credit Card in the Philippines — Metrobank M
This is the only credit card in the Philippines which has no annual fee for life.
Except of course those premium cards for the very wealthy, and those cards whose owners accumulate enough points to get annual-fee waivers.
I’ve related in my other posts that I finally became free from the bondage of credit cards last February 15. I had eight credit cards, and after paying off all the balances, I canceled all of them, except my local BPI Classic.
But because I need a credit card for my Internet payments, I had to choose one credit card good for international purchases. I like BDO Shop More, but if I have to cut costs, I should retain one with no maintenance fee.
So I finally chose the M Free Mastercard of Metrobank. After canceling my old Metrobank card, I requested for the no-annual-fee card, and it was given to me.
More than a year ago, I applied for this no-annual-fee Metrobank card, but I was told I need to first use an annual-fee Metrobank card for at least a year before I can qualify for the free annual-fee credit card.
If you need to maintain just one card, consider this no-annual fee credit card.
Pag-ibig Retirement in the Philippines — Process Your Claims Quicker
If you’re nearing retirement and you’ve had more than one employer, check as soon as you can if all the records of your contributions since your started contributing to Pag-ibig are already in one branch of Pag-ibig.
Pag-ibig does not consolidate the records of members whose employers are located in different Pag-ibig jurisdictions; it expects its members to consolidate their records.
It takes months to consolidate, so start now.
My husband, who had two employers and who also continued paying as a voluntary member while working abroad, had to track his contributions and consolidate them in one branch before he was allowed to submit his retirement claims.
The dollar-denominated Pag-ibig Overseas Program, however, is really separate. You make your claims separately at the Gil Puyat, Makati branch.
By the way, my husband has paid more than 240 monthly contributions, so he was to able to file a claim. But he’s still waiting because of the consolidation process.
Update as of March 2011:
My husband’s claim, which was processed over a span of several months in 2009, was rejected because Pag-ibig counted only 231 contributions. Pag-ibig advised my husband to pay nine monthly contributions, either monthly, quarterly, or at one time, but has to wait for 9 months before he can file his claim again. We didn’t yet refile because we decided the money can earn more with Pag-ibig than with a time deposit. We can use it for my daughter’s tuition fees in her higher years in college.
Related Articles:
PAG-IBIG Branches in Metro Manila, Cavite, Laguna, Bulacan
Pag-ibig Retirement Linked to Pag-ibig Housing Loan
Free from Credit Cards, At Last!
Last Monday, February 15, I became free from the bondage of credit cards. And I pray I’ll never become a slave again.
Amid the pain of selling something meaningful to us, my husband and I sold the lot we bought in the 1990s just so I can be free. Over the past few years I became a slave to lenders, as I accumulated more than 200,000 pesos in credit card debts.
Even with a higher-than-average salary, I couldn’t make a dent on the principal balances even if all my payroll money goes to paying the monthly card bills. I had to work overtime everyday, even on Sundays. I couldn’t even visit my aging parents in the province because there’s nothing to set aside for fares.
There’d been a lot of pain… and other awful things too embarrassing to describe here. It’s enough that now I’m free.
(by bluesemotion, photobucket)
And I thank God that amid my many grave financial mistakes, there’s one good investment that I did when I was younger — that is to buy a lot in a good location and pay the amortization faithfully through the years no matter how hard. And now, it was the one that saved me.
Credit cards are not evil per se. They can help. They have helped me when people I love had to be hospitalized and when tuition needed to be paid.
BUT credit cards are like knives — they can kill if not handled carefully.
There are many important things I have to tell my children. But there’s one thing they don’t have to hear about — the consequences of credit card use. They’ve seen how I suffered and almost got drowned in torment.
Credit cards in the Philippines
OFW or Filipino Abroad — Write Your Story and Earn 2,000 Plus
In 500 to 1,000 words, write a story or an essay about something interesting in your life or work abroad, and then email it to The Philippine Star.
Philstar chooses and publishes three essays every week, and if your essay is chosen, you’ll receive 2,000 pesos, and a chance to win the first, second or third prize of 15K, 10K and 5K, respectively, in December this year.
You should be:
- 18 years old and above
- an OFW or ex-OFW
- a Filipino living abroad or has lived abroad
- a foreigner living in the Philippines
- a Filipino with a friend or relative abroad
Your essay must:
- be in American English
- about a real Filipino experience
This runs from December 1, 2009 to December 31, 2010.
Read more details and chosen essays at The Philippine Star website.
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