Using a credit card in Philippines is quite easy in most cases but I just encountered a problem with my relatively new credit card: It was rejected.... I had applied for and received a credit card that had very good airline miles program, but I should have checked the other parts to the card like foreign transactions. I just paid the credit card bill online which was another thing I set up and there were $285 in transaction fees for a little over two months......WHAT???? Not a happy camper here!!! Not only that they had closed down this card, called them on Skype, they said there had been a recent hacking issue and they had sent new cards to my US address 3 weeks ago and the old card was shut off a week ago. LESSON LEARNED; Have two or even three credit cards in addition to ATM cards. New cards will have NO FOREIGN TRANSACTION FEE. Note to self: Drop the credit card you acquired about 4 months ago. 'LIFE IS TOUGH, AND IT IS REALLy TOUGH IF YOU ARE STUPID!!!" JOHN WAYNE
Running credit from bank credit/debit cards has proven difficult for me in poor countries. The Philippines is horrible with credit card fraud. 9 out of 10 transactions I received on my old site was fraudulent credit cards or stolen PayPal accounts. I can't blame the credit card companies for charging an arm and a leg (or simply locking cards) once they are used in the Philippines/poor countries. Honestly credit cards need to go away. It is time for credit card technology to catch up with the rest of the world. The military uses something called Eagle Cash. It is a card that has a microchip in it, you go to a kiosk to load funds from your bank account to the card. It is protected with a pin number. There are no transaction fees for the user. The stores have a reader you put the card in to then you put your pin number in and pay. I don't know how that idea could be transferred over to actual "credit" cards though. I choose not to live above my means so I have no use for credit cards. I see the use of credit cards the same as taking out a bank loan.......if I need a loan to buy a pack of smokes or a beer then it's time to stop smoking and drinking.
We pay off our credit cards every month and do not pay their exobitant interest rates. We use credit cards for our protection. If there is a fraudulent charge the credit card company will remove it. However if you are using your debit card from the bank there is a good chance it will not be removed and you will pay for it. to my knowledge Debit cards dont pay airline miles, credit cards do.
I am legally responsible for $50 in the case my debit card gets stolen but I had my number taken somehow (I still had my card) and used at a gas station to buy $2,000 USD worth of gas several years ago and they waived the $50 fee and paid back everything within 1 day.
My bank gives me 3% interest on the money in my checking account. (which is more than my other bank's savings account) I can use the interest from that to buy flight/seat upgrades. I doing really care about all that though, I just need to get from point A to point B as quickly as and cheaply as possible. If they would give me a blanket and throw me in with the luggage I wouldn't mind.
