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Buying Cebu Pacific tickets online

Discussion in '☋ Tourist Information ☋' started by firefly, Jun 27, 2009.

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  1. firefly

    firefly DI Senior Member

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    Hello,
    I'm new here and i have a problem.
    I cannot buy tickets from Cebu Pacific online while my creditcard is not accepted on the website of Cebu Pacific.
    Is it possible to buy tickets of Cebu Pacific from a distance? in my case while i'm in Belgium.
    As far as i know, banks in the Philippines don't issue creditcards to people who don't live permanently in the Philippines.
    Perhaps there is a possibility with a deposit as is possible for Noreco, or any card of a bank wich is not a creditcard but is accepted on the website of Cebu Pacific.
    Hope somebody has a solution, thanks in advance.
     
  2. garbonzo

    garbonzo DI Senior Member Veteran Marines

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    Yes their online ticketing is a joke....Have you tried a local travel agent there in Belgium? They should be able to ticket you on any airline. Might be a good idea to talk to the local Filipinos there and find out which agent(s) they use. Usually pretty good at sniffing out bargains. PAL online should work for you....haven't had a problem....they don't take AMEX yet though..
     
  3. Rhoody

    Rhoody DI Forum Luminary

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    Sorry to destroy your hope.... Cebu Pathetic is famous for that issue, you can find quite some "success"-stories on DI and several websites. http://www.dumagueteinfo.com/board/photo-board/pal-cp-4644.html

    It appears the only one hardcore-supporter of this weird Airline in the Philippines is DI member ans hiss C-Card work occasionally, maybe he knows a solution.
     
  4. davfitz

    davfitz DI Forum Adept

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    "It appears the only one hardcore-supporter of this weird Airline in the Philippines is DI member"

    I think that's my queue. You may have said the magic words yourself. CP accepts VISA and MASTERCARD only. If your credit card is NOT one of these, your are SOL. Sorry. Is that the problem?

    If you are using either one of these cards, at what point in the booking process did your credit card get rejected and what kind of a message did you receive?

    I guess that I am an apologist for this airline. It is its 4x weekly connection to Cebu that does it for me. Thence I have many flight possibilities. The frequent and deep discounts offered by CP during seat sales are also an attraction.

    You can book CP through any IATA travel agent. You'll likely NOT avail yourself of much discounting that way. Also, many non-Philippine agencies are unaware of some of the unique procedures and restrictions endemic to these parts. An example is baggage entitlements. If you are arriving from abroad with the usual international entitlement, it likely will not be accepted here without supplemental payment. Your externally issued ticket might not indicate this.
     
  5. Rhoody

    Rhoody DI Forum Luminary

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    of course it is... hehe.. :D

    but your statement is wrong for about 99.9% of the world population with a Visa or Master issued outside the PI, where American C-Cards have a slightly bigger change than European to be the winner in Cebu Pathetics "lucky draw"
     
  6. OP
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    firefly

    firefly DI Senior Member

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    Even i have a Visa creditcard it is rejected and i'm not the only one.
    As far as i know, Cebu Pacific is not an IATA-member.
    When i fly to the Philippines for 6 months, a ticket cost me around 900 Euro.
    For the same period to Hong Kong it cost me 450 Euro.
    A ticket roundtrip Hong Kong - Cebu (or Manila) - Hong Kong all inclusive cost around 135Euro with Cebu Pacific (online) and with Philippine airlines it cost around 400 Euro.
    Big difference.
    If you can find a travelagency in Belgium, selling a Cebu Pacific-ticket it cost around the same price as Philippine airlines - not worth it.
    European online travelagency's don't sell Cebu Pacific either.
    As of now i just stay one or 2 nights in Hong Kong and buy the CP tickets in their Hong Kong office without problem but you never know what the next trip will be - perhaps sold out for several days.
    It is frustrating.
     
  7. derivative_guru

    derivative_guru DI Senior Member

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    My US-based credits cards were previously accepted...but are not anymore. I must now always pay at a Cebu Pacific office...where, ironically, they WILL accept my US credit cards or cash. I asked why they will not take my cards over the internet, but will in-person and they said it was because of credit card fraud. It is quite annoying given that I have purchased dozens and dozens of tickets from them using the same credit card over the past few years. You'd think they would 'green-light' my card, but no such luck.

    My suggestion to you, Firefly, is to send some cash to a friend over here and have the pay for your tickets at a Cebu Pacific office.
     
  8. davfitz

    davfitz DI Forum Adept

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    Well, your credit card experience is different than mine. I do confess that not long ago it was a problem but not lately. I have Canadian credit cards so it's not an offshore issue.

    For the OP, "I am not the only one" does not cut it. What exactly was your experience? You do seem determined to use this carrier. Your solution would work but I would try a completely new itinerary. I assume that your start point is Brussels, non?

    I did a "what if" itinerary on Kayak and got Brussels (BRU) - Cebu (CEB) return fares from 872 Euros. Your 450 Euros to Hong Kong is attractive but it doesn't get you where you want to go, does it?

    Your problem is NOT Cebu Pacific, is it?

    Try Kayak:

    Cheap Flights, Airline Tickets, Cheap Airfare & Discount Travel Deals - Kayak.com

    or even better the gold standard, Amadeus for yourself:

    Flight Times, Flight Schedules, Best fares, Best rates, Hotel Rooms, Car Rental, Travel Guides, Trip Planning - Amadeus.net

    Be flexible!
     
  9. OP
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    firefly

    firefly DI Senior Member

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    Cebu Pacific has more "strange" behavior.
    In order to board an airplane to the Philippines you must have a return- or onwardticket.
    Cebu Pacific is very strict on that rule.
    So if you buy a ticket "out of the Philippines" let say Cebu - Hong Kong only Philippinos and foreigners living permanently in the Philippines have to pay traveltax (1,620 pesos)
    If you permanently live abroad you are exempted from this tax but the Cebu Pacific office in Dumaguete always add this 1,620 peso traveltax to a ticket to Hong Kong without exemption.
    Several times they did this, without telling you that this tax was included and if you don't want to pay this useless tax they refuse to sell you the ticket.
    Explaining that -if nececary- you can pay this tax in the airport as well that tickets bought on internet dont pay this tax either (but in the airport) does't help.
    The only way to buy such a ticket without traveltax is to buy it in Cebu-Robinson (Fuente) or Manila-Robinson (Malate) because the Cebu Pacific-office in SM Cebu is also
    adding this traveltax automaticly to your ticketprice.
    Th only way to know this is when they give you the receipt where you will find an extra of 1,620 pesos in the pricecalculation.
    I guess this is considered as tip as i hardly can believe that this money is going to the government.
    PS/ traveltax is not the airporttax of 550 or 750 pesos to be paid in the airport.
     
  10. OP
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    firefly

    firefly DI Senior Member

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    Davfitz,
    My origin is indeed Brussels.
    The fact that i write "i'm not the only one" is because i'm also active on another forum about the Philippines where this topic comes again and again.
    I can asure you that i have tried many times, the whole paperwork of selecting dates of departure / return - name -adress - visacardnumber - expirationdate and verificationnumber and send
    Just to receive a message that the transaction was not succesfull.
    My flight Brussels-Hong Kong -Brussels with British airways (via London) cost 442 Euro,(incl) and with the difference in price for a ticket to the Philippines i can take some extra vacation in Hong Kong indeed - but it is frustrating that i have to wait untill the last moment to buy my ticket to the Philippines while i bought my tickets to Hong Kong months ago.
    And because i come to the Philippines for 6 months, a few days "relaxing" in Hong Kong will not make the difference either
     
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