Search for Top Overseas Filipinos by BPI for its Fifth BPInoy Awards
Do you know of any Filipino living overseas, or an individual of Filipino heritage, who has contributed to the betterment of the Filipino community abroad, or who has elevated internationally the Filipino image?
Then you can nominate her or him for the fifth BPInoy Awards of the Bank of the Philippine Islands. Any individual or organization can nominate by writing a short article about the nominee, describing:
- how the nominee has contributed to the improvement of the Filipino community abroad
- why the nominee deserves recognition
- what is unique or exceptional about the nominee’s achievements
Nominations must be submitted to bpinoyawards@bpi.com.ph on or before September 15, 2010, addressed to Ms. Athena G. Balleza, Marketing Department, Overseas Customers Segment, Bank of the Philippine Islands.
Last year, the BPInoy awardees were:
- White House executive chef Ms. Cristeta Pasia-Comerford
- Dr. Eli Remalona, chief representative for the Asia and the Pacific of the Bank for International Settlements
- painter Mrs. Anita Magsaysay-Ho
For more info, visit www.bpiexpressonline.com.
Credit Card Fees — Credit Cards Philippines
If you have to get a credit card in the Philippines, and
- you cannot pay the total amount due each month
- you can only pay the minimum due
- and you may have to be late some of the time,
then do not get credit cards that have high late-penalty fees and that are strict on payment dates.
NOT RECOMMENDED:
HSBC — charges 600 pesos for every month that you are late even by just an hour or a day.
If you call them and explain your situation, your 600 may be reversed only once in every 6 months, and that depends on your reasoning and the mood of the bank representative at the time you are calling.
Next month, I’ll be receiving some money (Thank you, Lord!), and this HSBC card will be the first I will pay off fully and say goodbye to forever. Good riddance! Wow, how nice it would be to cut my HSBC card!
I was late in paying after the Ondoy floods, but the HSBC never heard my explanation. No soul! Only business for them.
STANDARD CHARTERED — also charges 600 pesos for every late payment… even by just an hour. Remember, the date changes at midnight? Or maybe the cutoff hour is every 6 am? So, after midnight or after 6 am, and your payment is not there, the 600 pesos is charged, presto!
How do I know? I have both of them.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Fortunately, there are credit cards in the Philippines that have retained some bits of kindness,
and I’m glad that the local banks (although they have foreign shareholders) are the leaders.
Aside from forgiving late payments, they also charge lower fees.
BPI EXPRESS CREDIT has been very kind to me in terms of late payments. As long as my payment-due doesn’t remain unpaid until the next statement date, I don’t get charge a late-penalty fee.
Kahit ma-late ako ng 5 days or 10 days! But, of course, I don’t abuse it. I oftentimes pay very early too. An I’ve been using this BPI credit card since March 2000.
And when a late-penalty is deserved — because the next statement date has passed and my due remained unpaid — eto yong times na may mga unexpected major expenses –
the penalty fee was only 6% of the total amount due.
One time I was late in paying 1,715.40 by 13 days (almost 2 weeks!).
And you know what? My late payment was only 102.93! Compare that to HSBC and Standard Chartered which charge cardholders 600 pesos for being late for only an hour or a day!
EASTWEST is also kind. It forgives a few days of delinquency. And the charge is only 200 pesos — when the next statement date has already passed.
BDO SHOP MORE charges 300 pesos or 5% of amount due, whichever is higher.
METROBANK charges 600 pesos or 7.5% of amount due, whichever is higher. This is one local bank that charges high, although this bank offers an annual-fee-free card and a low-interest Cash2Go loan.
Update as of March 2011: Metrobank M Free Mastercard now charges 700 pesos for late payments.
BPI EXPRESS CREDIT charges 6% of the amount due for the month — no fixed fee, no whichever.
This rule considers the poorer ones like me — 6 percent of 1,000 is only 60 pesos, but when a rich credit card holder is late, the 6-percent fee for 100,000 is 6,000 pesos. But, oh well, I’m not a gold cardholder; the late-penalty rules for gold credit cards could be different.
When charged a late penalty fee, call the bank. Give a valid reason. Oftentimes, they forgive, as long as you are not late often.
Related Articles:
Free from Credit Cards, At Last!
BPI, BDO, or Metrobank Fees — Why Keep Paying Them?
OFWs, Parents, Take Advantage of Free Internet Banking to Manage Your Children’s Weekly Allowance
Updated June 22, 2011
If you’re a parent whose high-school or college-age kid is living in a dorm or studying in another city or an OFW who likes to control your child’s weekly allowance, take advantage of free Internet banking services offered by local banks.
Most large banks now in the Philippines offer free Internet banking, and they offer lots of services that prompts you to say Wow.
However, in this article, I would describe only two, BPI Express Online and My BDO Internet Banking, because they’re the ones I use.
Credit Cards for OFWs
For OFWs looking for credit cards, I’ve found only two banks in the Philippines which are offering credit cards for OFWs — HSBC and BDO.
Based on our personal experience, BPI also offers credit cards to OFWs, but you wait for the bank to offer you one. BPI offers a credit card to an OFW who has maintained a BPI time deposit account for a couple of years. BPI also has investment accounts that offer a credit card account as incentive.
BDO
BDO issues secured credit cards for OFWs, meaning one must have a savings or checking account with BDO.
The required documents are:
- Valid IDs
- Employment contract or certificate of employment
-
Remittance receipts for the last 6 months or payslips for the last 3 months
The other requirements are:
- Minimum monthly income of 10,000 pesos
- At least 21 years old, not older than 65
- Must have a BDO checking or savings account or time deposit of at least 15,000 pesos or equivalent amount in dollars
- Must have 2 years continuous job contract
- Beneficiary or card administrator must be residing or working within 30 kms of a BDO branch
- Must have a home landline phone
You can call the following numbers for further inquiries:
Call 631-8000
(within Metro Manila)
1-800-10-6318000
(Libreng Tawag Outside Metro Manila)
(IAC)+800+6318000
(Libreng Tawag Outside of the Philippines)
Email: callcenter@bdo.com.ph
HSBC
For OFWs, the requirements are:
- Employment contract or certificate of employment
- Working visa or work permit or OFW card or certificate issued by POEA
- Proof of home address, such as the latest billing statement under the name of the applicant, with the address of the applicant.
- A valid ID, such as passport, driver’s license, PRC ID or SSS photocard
- TIN number
- SSS or GSIS number
- Proof of Income
- could be latest ITR or
- employer’s certificate of compensation or
- payslips for the last 3 months
The other requirements are:
- At least 21 years old, not older than 65
- Philippine resident
- Have a residential landline phone
- Must be living or working in Metro Manila, Bacolod, Baguio City, Batangas, Bulacan, Butuan, Cabanatuan City, Cagayan de Oro, Calasiao Pangasinan, Cavite, Cebu, Cotabato, Dagupan City, Davao City, Digos Davao del Sur, Dipolog, Dumaguete City, General Santos, Kalibo, Iloilo, Laguna, Laoag City, Legaspi, Lucena City, Naga, Olongapo City, Ormoc City, Pampanga, Panabo & Tagum Davao del Norte, Puerto Princesa, Subic, Rizal, Roxas, Tacloban, Tagbilaran City, Tarlac City, Tuguegarao, Urdaneta Pangasinan, Zamboanga City.
- Have at least a gross annual income of 150,000 pesos for the classic cards and at least 480,000 pesos for the gold cards
Related Articles, posted April 20, 2011:
Secured BPI Credit Cards for OFWs
BPI Credit Card Payment for College Tuition Fees
Xoom – Send Money to the Philippines
Here’s a list of Philippine banks and remittance services that processes Xoom remittances. You can send money online through Xoom using your credit card or your U.S. bank account.
Peso remittances may be picked up at:
- M. Lhuillier
- Banco de Oro
- BDO Financial (BDO On-site)
- SM Forex (Shoemart)
- Cebuana Lhuillier
- One Network Bank
- Globe GCASH REMIT
U.S. dollar remittances may be picked up at:
- M. Lhuillier
- Banco de Oro
- BDO Financial (BDO On-site)
- SM Forex (Shoemart)
You may deposit to your or your recipients’ savings accounts or checking accounts at these Philippine banks. It can be a Peso account or a U.S. dollar account.
ABN Amro Bank
Active Bank
Allied Bank
Asian Bank
AsiaTrust
Asia United Bank
Banco de Oro
Banco Filipino
Banco San Juan
Bank of Commerce
Bank of the Philippine Islands
BPI Family Savings Bank
Centennial Savings Bank
China Banking Corp
ChinaTrust
Citibank
Citibank Savings
CityState Bank
Citystate Savings Bank
Development Bank of the Philippines
East West Bank
Ecology Savings Bank
Equitable PCI Bank
Equitable Savings Bank
Export Industry Bank
First Allied Bank
First E-Bank
GSIS Family Thrifty Bank
HSBC
HSBC Savings Bank
Insular Bank
International Exchange Bank
Keppel Bank
Land Bank of the Philippines
LBC Bank
Luzon Development Bank
Malayan Bank
Manila Bank
Maybank
Merchants Bank
Metrobank
Opportunity Microfinance Bank
PBCom
Penbank
Philam Bank
Philippine Banking Corporation
Philippine National Bank
Philippine Savings Bank
Philippine Trust Company
Philippine Veterans Bank
PhilTrust Bank
Planters Bank
Postal Bank
Premiere Bank
Prudential Bank
RCBC
RCBC Savings Bank
Real Bank
Robinsons Bank
Sarangani Bank
Security Bank
Standard Chartered
Summit Bank
Traders Royal Bank
UCPB Savings
Union Bank
United Coconut Planters Bank
United Overseas Bank
Veterans Bank
Westmont Bank
World Partners Bank
Related articles:
BPI and BDO Internet Banking — Free and Quick Ways to Send Your Children’s Allowance
BDO Kabayan Savings, BDO Remit Cash Card for OFWs
List of BDO Remittance Partners in London, England, Other Cities
Savings Accounts in the Philippines with the Lowest Maintaining Balances
BPI Credit Card — Good Features of BPI Classic
Updated on June 23, 2011
WARNING for some credit card applicants: Apply for a credit card only if:
- you haven’t changed your old but functional Nokia phone
- you’ve only a few pairs of good shoes
- just enough good clothes
- and if your usual routine is home-to-work-then-back-to-home.
In short, you have complete control over your spending.
If you can afford to pay your balance in full every month promptly, whatever the amount, then a credit card for you will be a tool, and not a problem. And yes, you can buy all the phones, clothes and shoes you want.
A few years ago, I had 9 credit cards, and these cards almost killed me physically, mentally, and emotionally. I wrote about this in this post — Free from Credit Cards, At Last! — if you’re interested. I thank the Lord always I was able to get out of that deep, suffocating debt pit.
Now, I only maintain two credit cards: one is a local card with no annual fee, and the other is also a local card with low-interest-rate loan options.
——————————————————————————
What does BPI Classic Credit Card offer that most other cards do not?
1. BPI charges only 2.75 % a month on the balance while most other cards charge 3.5 %. Paying earlier than the due date has also an effect with BPI because it considers the Average Daily Balance when it computes your finance charge.
2. For emergencies, you don’t need to use the very expensive Cash Advance remedy, which charges you about P600 (for most cards) for using the ATM and which immediately activates the interest rate clock. BPI has Credit-To-Cash, Balance Transfer and Special Installment Plan ( SIP) in Schools. If you have a BPI or BPI Family account, you can get your cash the next day.
For Credit-To-Cash, you just present your card at a BPI Express Center.
For SIP in Schools, you present your child or kin’s school receipt or account statement.
For Balance Transfer, present your other card’s latest bill. With BPI, balance transfer proceeds are given directly to you and not paid to the other card’s bank. In effect, you can divert the money. But be careful with this. You can end up getting buried in more debts. But if you’re wise, this is a good feature because you can have your cash for only 0.70% monthly on the Special Installment Plan (SIP). (Update June 2011: from 1.00 to 1.25% depending on terms)
3. (Probably no longer offered; no longer on my statements) BPI offers every card holder a free Ayala Life Insurance coverage. The insurance amount is 12 times the average monthly purchases and SIP payments for the previous three months.
4. Annual fee is still P1,250. Most others charge 1,600 for the same card class.
5. BPI also has auto-deposit ATMs. You put your peso bills into the ATM any time any day (no more envelopes, no more writing) and then pay your BPI card bill through your BPI ATM Check-Free feature.
6. Your first supplementary card holder is not charged with an annual fee during the entire life of your card.
7. Then, of course, BPI offers what most other cards offer, such as:
– 0% appliance and other big-item installment purchases
- Internet and phone payments and checking of credit card accounts
- promos from time to time, such as restaurant freebies for referrals/purchases
- frequent-user rewards.
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