synthetic lives - the sequel
I have previously talked in detail about my splurges and struggle using the plastic cards. It was one of the dark moment of my working life. Thankfully, it belongs to the past now but nevertheless left some valuable lessons that let me see money in a different perspective.
Fast forward to the present. I was able to fix and rebuilt my credit history. Although I don't know my credit score (i.e there is no publicly available credit score system in the Philippines), I'm pretty confident I regained the trust of the major banks. I recently received a Mastercard from BDO bringing the total to 5. Three of which came from Citibank.
You'd probably wonder why so many. Nothing profound really. It started with a single Citibank Mercury card. It partly subsidized my gym membership and received discounts on my teeth cleaning and rebates on my Mercury purchases. Then BPI called informing me that I was pre-qualified for an Amore card. I used it to defer paying my postpaid phone and once got a free movie pass. Then I asked Citibank for a Premiermiles card thinking I could use it to fill my Mabuhay Miles card and someday use the points to fly the world. Citibank granted my request and threw in a Rewards card for the heck of it. Lastly I applied for a BDO card since I wanted a card billed in US dollars. Once in a while I shop online and I find the Visa and Mastercard foreign conversion rates pretty ridiculous. What? I'm cheap. Don't judge me. BDO has a dual currency feature (opt in) in its cards that perfectly fits my needs.
I applied for an HSBC card just a few months back. Surprisingly I was declined. It was really not a big deal since I just wanted to avail of a Balance Transfer promo a while back with 0% interest. Aside from that, I had no intention of using the card. HSBC probably saw through that.
I think I got all the cards I need. Now if all the annual fees are waived, my life would be a little more perfect.
Fast forward to the present. I was able to fix and rebuilt my credit history. Although I don't know my credit score (i.e there is no publicly available credit score system in the Philippines), I'm pretty confident I regained the trust of the major banks. I recently received a Mastercard from BDO bringing the total to 5. Three of which came from Citibank.
You'd probably wonder why so many. Nothing profound really. It started with a single Citibank Mercury card. It partly subsidized my gym membership and received discounts on my teeth cleaning and rebates on my Mercury purchases. Then BPI called informing me that I was pre-qualified for an Amore card. I used it to defer paying my postpaid phone and once got a free movie pass. Then I asked Citibank for a Premiermiles card thinking I could use it to fill my Mabuhay Miles card and someday use the points to fly the world. Citibank granted my request and threw in a Rewards card for the heck of it. Lastly I applied for a BDO card since I wanted a card billed in US dollars. Once in a while I shop online and I find the Visa and Mastercard foreign conversion rates pretty ridiculous. What? I'm cheap. Don't judge me. BDO has a dual currency feature (opt in) in its cards that perfectly fits my needs.
I applied for an HSBC card just a few months back. Surprisingly I was declined. It was really not a big deal since I just wanted to avail of a Balance Transfer promo a while back with 0% interest. Aside from that, I had no intention of using the card. HSBC probably saw through that.
I think I got all the cards I need. Now if all the annual fees are waived, my life would be a little more perfect.
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