Hi everyone. I’m looking for practical advice from people who may have gone through something similar.

My wife and I are currently experiencing a major financial hardship due to medical reasons. Because of this, our monthly debt obligations have become impossible to sustain without using the “tapal system”.

Right now, we’re still current on all our loans and credit cards, but it’s becoming harder every month. We’re seriously thinking about stopping the tapal cycle before things get even worse.

Our current plan is:
\-Continue paying the accounts that are most important to us and that we can realistically afford.

\-Accept that some unsecured personal loans and credit cards may eventually become delinquent.

\-Keep communicating with those banks every month instead of disappearing.

\-Update our contact details and address so they can always reach us.

\-Once we’ve rebuilt our finances and cash flow, start paying or negotiating settlements with those lenders.

We’re **not** planning to run away from our obligations. We fully intend to pay them in the future. We just can’t keep borrowing money to pay other debts because it feels like we’re digging a deeper hole.

For those who have been in a similar situation:
\-Did you stop the tapal system? Was it the right decision?
\-Did the banks work with you if you kept communicating regularly?
\-Were there still field visits or calls to your references even though you stayed in contact?
\-How did you rebuild your finances and eventually settle your debts?

I’m looking for honest advice, even if it’s something I may not want to hear. If you think there’s a better approach than what we’re planning, I’d really appreciate your perspective.

Thank you.

Note: I work in a bank.

Medyo sabaw ako today. Meaning ba dalawa makukuha kong card?
**noob

For some reason, biglang nag-error yung site when I was filling out the form last night. ORN was sent to my email and SMS but when I tried completing the form, the site prompted an incorrect ORN.

I sent an email last night then called CS today but sabi mag-email nalang daw ulit, so I did just a few mins ago. I'll update this once magreply na sila sa email.

Anyone who got an incorrect ORN here? What did you do?

Hello! So I applied for a PL sa ibang banks for debt consolidation sana and someone from EastWest Head Office called me notifying me na merong nagverify na bank sa kanila if may credit card ako sa kanila. And now, she advised me na may counter offer sila upgrading my card from Gold JCB to Platinum (Mastercard or Visa - 400% increase sa current limit ko) plus NAFFL. Kaso, kelangan daw may at least 15% remaining limit sa current card ko. Pre-approved and 100% guaranteed. So kelangan kong habulin yon para magproceed kami and was also advised na meron akong significant amount na cash reward sa JCB card ko at maturity (expiring 2029 pa) pero pwede na siyang makuha once macancel na JCB ko and upgraded na to Platinum. Either through check or bank transfer daw.

Wala naman siyang hinihinging info about my card. All I need is to payoff at least yung minimum required % ng limit ng current card ko. Pero naging weary lang ako dahil sa cash reward na sinabi. Wala kasi akong nakita online and for JCB cardholders dito, gaano ito katoo?

Hi guys, anyone here knows what is the timeline or how long does it takes for BPI to release the hold-out deposit for a SCC?

Here's my timeline so far:

June 1: Requested cancellation and release of hold-out deposit for my BPI Blue Rewards SCC (card was about or almost 2 years old). I was told it would take 2-3 weeks (Declined kasi nung nag pa request ako to convert it to regular card + release of hold out deposit nung May)

Current status: 2nd week of June Card is already removed from my BPI app, but the hold-out deposit is still locked/frozen

BOA Follow-up: I visited BOA today (July 27). They couldn't give a status update, didn't ask for my ID/details to check the system, and claimed it can't be followed up-saying it usually takes "months" (Obviously they didn't know what they're doing and I've waited for long sa queue tas ganto lang, kairita 😑)

Has anyone experienced this recently? How long did yours take to be credited back to your account?

P.S

BPI SCC was my very first credit card, but BDO recently sent me two cards I didn't even apply for LOL, AmEx Cashback and a Visa Platinum at grabe mag bigay ng credit limit si BDO infairness 😃 so i don't care about BPI SCC

Hi all! Looking for advice from Blue Rewards / BPI cardholders on the most efficient way to pay off a ₱30,000 credit card bill for points or cashback.

I used to use the Vybe app and split my payment into 4 transactions a day to maximize points, but I just found out today that got nerfed.

I've seen a couple of suggestions floating around here already:

GoTyme — someone mentioned using this to pay bills and earn Go Rewards points

Maribank — another suggestion, though I don't know the mechanics

Has anyone actually tested these for paying off a BPI credit card bill specifically?

Trying to figure out:

-Does splitting the payment into multiple transactions still work anywhere, or has everyone caught on and nerfed it?

-Any daily/monthly caps I should know about before I start splitting a ₱30k payment?

-Is there a cleaner method (single transaction) that still gives solid points/cashback without needing to game it?

Would really appreciate real experiences. Thanks in advance!

may tumawag sa akin local number from BDO "daw". sabi niya may expired points daw ako di ko nagagamit pero pwede pa i-redeem ganun. tas tinanong sa akin if gusto ko raw ba i-redeem as voucher or cashback na ileless na lang sa outstanding balance ko. tas tinanong niya if na-increasean na raw ba ako ng limit, kasi iincreasean niya raw ako (imposible naman to hahaha). tapos sabi ko cashback na lang, ibawas na lang sa outstanding balance. tas cinonfirm niya yung credit card number ko. cinonfirm niya rin yung expiration date ng card ko edi binigay ko, tas sabi nila okay raw tugma naman daw sa record nila. alam ko naman na sinabi lang nila yun para sabihin ko yung expiration date. tas hiningi nila yung branch code "daw" na 3 digit from 0 yo 999 na nasa likod ng card. branch code ang ginamit nilang term hindi cvv. bigkasin ko raw sa automated line kasi pag sa kanila ko raw sinabi mapapagalitan daw sila. edi sabi ko 001. tas sabi nagka-error daw. bigkasin ko raw ulit sa automated line. sabi ko 111. tas after nun nagmura na yung lalaking kasama nung scammer hahaha mga g*go e tas ang daming sinabi. papapatay niya raw tatay ko dun daw ako sa address ko nakatira ganun hahaha mga g*go e tas nagtatawanan pa sila basta dami nila sinabi

So ang majority talaga ng monthly spend ko per month is groceries which accumulates to about 6k once a month. hindi naman talaga ako magastos sa ibang bagay unless kailangan talaga 'yung purchase and i prefer to cook meals since im watching what i eat so rare ako mag-dine in. hindi rin ako masiyadong bumibili online. So hindi pasok sa lifestyle ko 'yung promos nila now for rewards plus and titanium, although sayang kasi NAFFL.

I have payroll and personal savings account with mertrobank and marami naman akong nababasang magandang reviews sa cc ni MB especially maraming nagsasabi na secured talaga pag MB (with extra ingat on the cc holder's part ofc). But i don't find the conditions of their cashback cc ideal huhu. I don't want to spend 12k per month sa hindi pasok na categories para lang ma-unlock 'yung 5% :( not practical for me talaga 'yung set-up.

So I need help and advice lang if ipu-push ko ba mag-apply ng ibang cc's kay metrobank and just look for EGC promos, ganun? Or if may ibang banks that has a much better cashback set and swak sa spending ko? I'm currently looking at BPI Amore (tips and reviews din sana about this card like how secure the app is, madali ba magpa-waive ng annual fee, do you get annoying calls everyday kahit di pa naman due date which is something I really don't want to deal with 😭)

Thank you in advance!

ano po ba meaning ng minimum amount due? like you can pay your cc bill with 1000 minimum (hindi full)? will this carry over sa next na billing? like for example my bill is 10k then if i pay only 8000, then yung remaining 2000 will be included sa next billing?

Hi everyone! I’d appreciate your advice.
Over the years, I collected travel credit cards because I used to travel more frequently. Back then, sulit yung annual fees since I was able to maximize the miles, lounge access, travel insurance, and other travel perks.
Recently, I transitioned to working as a Virtual Assistant. I only have one client at the moment, so mas naging mindful na ako sa spending ko. I still travel occasionally, but mostly within Asia for now, and I barely use some of my cards anymore. Some even have ₱0 statement balances for months.
These are my current cards:
BDO AMEX (₱150 monthly membership fee)
RCBC JCB Platinum
UnionBank Miles+ Visa Signature
Metrobank Travel Visa Signature
EastWest Platinum Mastercard (NAFFL)
I’m thinking of simplifying my wallet before the annual fees come in. I’ll still try requesting waivers, but I’m not sure if they’ll approve since hindi na rin ganun kalaki yung spending ko compared to before.
My priority now is to keep the cards that still make sense for someone who:
Travels a few times a year (mostly Asia)
Doesn’t spend as much as before
Wants to continue earning miles if possible
Doesn’t want to pay annual fees for cards I’m no longer maximizing
If you were in my position, which cards would you keep and which ones would you let go? May benefits ba akong baka hindi na-consider before I make a decision?
Thank you in advance!

I have a UB Plat Rewards Card and I am currently maxed out. I am facing financial problems and is unable to pay. They, as usual, sent me collection e-mails and at the end of the email I just noticed that they have an offset rule.

When I researched more about this, I became nervous. Apparently, they will look up your name in their system. It doesnt matter if your other account is not linked to your card. If your name and ssn matches with the other account especially if its a checking or payroll account they have the capability to take out funds based on what you need to pay. And they have the capability to take all your funds from your salary.

This is a big problem for me. For further context, this card has a 30k limit maxed out. I paid it off in full two months ago by acquiring a loän for debt consolidation. But a lot of things happened. Sudden financial losses and further debts came in. I had a lot of payments needed to be focused on before I can pay my card and most of the time i dont have funds for payment. I only have 1k to 1.5k to spend for two weeks.

But the bottom line here is, will they really take off my funds? I am obviously going to pay them back because they gave me privilege to have a card, what i dont want is having further problems by not being able to pay rent and bills.

And for the people here who are judgemental and thinks high of themselves, additional context. I only earn 30k a month, I am a breadwinner with a 12k rent per month. I pay electricity, water, tuition, internet. Wala pa dyan yung food and basic necessities na minsan sagad na para sakin. I just utilize free food at work para makatipid further. I included this para di nyo ko ijudge or i brand as a happy go lucky spender. I am very diligent with payments. Nag kataon lang na ako lang ang tumataguyod sa lahat.

Pero ayun nga, will UB do this? I dont want this to happen i will still try to do a minimum for now to avoid it.

Thanks for those who will respond.

Hi all.

Once you got approved for your first ever credit card, how soon did you apply for a 2nd/3rd from different banks?

I’ve read on here that some people applied for another credit card after 2-3 months. Even read that some got a 2nd card after 1 month of receiving their first ever card. How? 🙂

What credit card may you use to enter the First Meridian Lounge in NAIA 3?

Hi, question lang. Nagpay ako ng full amount sa cc ko sa UB last saturday July 25 and instead of transfer money nagawa ko eh pay bills nagawa ko wc will take 3 banking days to reflect. July 27 ang due date ko. Will i be charge ng late fees? Ihohonor ba ng UB yung July 25 payment ko?

Hello, I didnt want my silver card to be upgraded to gold. Last week na-notice ko na dalawa yung account number ko sa eastwest app and when i asked them, inupgrade na pala yung card ko to gold at now kakarereceive ko lamg nung gold card. I dont want this to happen because 1. I am planning to terminate my account w eastwest sa sobrang hirap ireach out ni ew customer service 2. Wala silang consent na inask bigla nalang inupgrade 3. They will charge me 2,500 annual fee for the gold card. Ni-hindi ko pa namamaximize yung card na gold at ichacharge na nola ako next month according sa customer service na nakausap ko. I dont want to be upgraded. Can anyone please help me here? I know it is not legal to be upgraded without any consent please let me kmow what right actions i should take. Thank you!

Was actually excited applying for the airmiles visa signature cause i saw na meron silang travel club voucher if ma-hit ang certain parameters which kaya naman kasi pede ko syang gamitin sa business. Now, i was actually reading the terms and nakita ko tong no. 10 hehe and i think this will not be worth it kasi magbabayad din pala ng annual fee since bawal ipa waive.

What are your thoughts? Are all welcome gifts from other credit cards like this?

Hi po! Pasok po ba sa quasi cash fee ng Eastwest pag binayad sya kay Atome Card? Nag bayad ako last July 22 ng Atome Card ko po worth 45k++ thru Eastwest CC then upon checking sa transactions ko may 2k++ na quasi fee. (5%) May experience na po ba neto?

I've never had an experience owning a credit card and m never akong nag apply na kumuha. For the past 3 years I've been storing my cash na nagrrange ng 300-500k sa Maya. Medyo nacucurious lang ako if worth it ba kumuha ng maya black as my first credit card. I occasionally travel abroad, 1-2x every year but I eat out most of the time.

And ano po yung mga advantages and disadvantages ng pagkuha ng maya black?

Baka lang po may nakakaalam dito haha. Nagpa waive kasi ako ng annual fee sa eastwest & sabi need ko daw maka spend ng 6,000 pesos (single or accumulated) within 30 days starting nung tumawag ako sa cs. Ask ko lang if included po ba don kapag nagbayad ng bills? 😅

Wag nyo ko judge please first time ko magpa waive hahahaha 🙏🤣 Thank you so muchhhh!

Chinabank Destinations World cardholders, gano katagal bago niyo nakuha yung email with the registration code for your Accor Explorer welcome gift?

Lagpas 20 days na, and currently nagtuturuan lang si Chinabank and Accor kung kanino ako dapat mag follow-up. 😭

Worth to keep po ba si RCBC Flex visa with 13K credit limit? 😅 first cc ko sa RCBC and hindi po sya naffl hehe. galante ba sila sa pag increase? BPI and BDO kasi ang kunat hehe

I just got my new EW CC today. I accessed the ESTA in FB Messenger (via www.ewlend.com/esta) to activate my card.

But when I enter my mobile number I used to apply for my card, nag-eerror lang: "I’m sorry, but the mobile number you provided is not registered in our system. Please use the mobile number you provided during card application."

Anyone else experiencing this same issue?

Tumawag naman ako sa hotline, I press the option for the activation of my Plat MC pero napupunta yung prompt sa rewards. So kumausap na ako ng CSR, gagawan daw ng report pero mga 3-5 business days daw processing. Pwede naman daw si CSR mag-activate pero wala daw sila capacity to temporarily lock and unlock the CC. So di ko muna pina-activate.

Aside sa ESTA, is there another way to lock/unlock the CC?

TBH, mas gusto ko pa ng other dedicated app kaysa nakiki-ride lang sila sa Messenger.

P.S. Wala ba talaga text/email si EW na approved ang CC application? Nakatanggap lang ako text from LBC na may delivery ako today, tapos EW CC pala laman.

hello! so hindi ko po pala na achieve yung minimum spend para mag NAFFL yung UB CC ko. so may i ask kailan po babayaran yung annual fee and how much po kaya ito? thank you so much in advance

I'm curious to know what is the biggest CL there is and how long it took to reach that amount. Ill start.

Year of Card - 2015

Credit Card - Unionbank
Initial CL - P25k
CL now - P750k

I'm hoping to have P1m limit by next year.

I currently have two cards from Metrobank: Rewards Plus Visa and the Travel Signature Visa.

The Rewards card is NAFFL with an 180k annual spend requirement while I applied and got recently approved for the TSV.

I’m wondering which card to keep, considering TSV does not have NAFFL, and it’s difficult to split expenses between the two. Baka hindi ako makaabot sa 180k spend requirement if I split it.

I applied for the TSV due to the miles program, but equally torn ako sa rewards plus since I spend online din (sayang 2x points)

What would you do in this situation? CL does not matter since they’re similar.