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[QUOTE=PuteNut;2678839]Exactly, so why not print your own ;)
I started to check around here in Pattaya if they can find a Thai policy that fits. If checks are sloppy in Phils, all I need is a policy that looks OK to BKK checkin staff, right? Is there anyone aboard who did the BKK-MNL route with experience of BKK airport scrutiny?[/QUOTE]The only real concern is if you get caught. Deported and black-listed.
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[QUOTE=WestCoast1;2678842]The only real concern is if you get caught. Deported and black-listed.[/QUOTE]Yah and it's not very desirable to be undesirable. There must be a smart solution to this idiotic requirement.
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[QUOTE=PuteNut;2678864]Yah and it's not very desirable to be undesirable. There must be a smart solution to this idiotic requirement.[/QUOTE]Not only getting caught at Immigration. Imagine in-country if you caught Covid, or had any other health problem that landed you in the hospital. "Sir, your traveler's medical insurance please?" You hand over your fake, they call your fake insurance company to confirm coverage, or such. Busted and on your way home permanently. Or Thailand.
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[QUOTE=WestCoast1;2678888] Busted and on your way home permanently. Or Thailand.[/QUOTE]Right, and it's not worth it to risk this over a few measly bluenotes. But why the lethargic response from Philippine insurance companies? Their Thai equivalents quickly launched streamlined products that you can purchase online with a few clicks. I got my 35-page Thai PDF policy within a few minutes.
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That elusive green card
[QUOTE=GoodEnough;2676953]Thanks DD for pointing out that "upscale Filipina career girls" are not synonymous with the P4 P variety most guys on this board appear to seek. Filipina doctors, lawyers, nurses and business executives really aren't looking for a few thousand pesos from random foreigners, many of whom would not be allowed into the family house. Really upscale Filipinas don't go on most dating apps, don't care about foreigners, take months to get to know, and would be offended at the notion that somehow they're available to the casual punter. It should come as no surprise that there's a class / education structure here and those from the upper middle and upper socio-economic realms are, in general, not easily accessible to the normal herds of horny foreigners trolling online and in bars. That's not to disparage guys who do; it's merely stating a fact of life.[/QUOTE]I think that a green card is pretty good bait for a foreigner to lure a Filipina. As much wherewithal as a middle class or upper class Filipina may have, she still has a Philippine passport which won't get her into many places. A Filipina MD would love the opportunity to practice in the USA. There's a Starbucks outside of the Angeles Foundation Medical School. That's a good place to meet your doctor wife.
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1 photos
[QUOTE=PuteNut;2678910]Right, and it's not worth it to risk this over a few measly bluenotes. But why the lethargic response from Philippine insurance companies? Their Thai equivalents quickly launched streamlined products that you can purchase online with a few clicks. I got my 35-page Thai PDF policy within a few minutes.[/QUOTE]Excellent question. In addition to the lack of Phils companies streamlined (medical-only) products, many outside companies don't offer such. And those that do charge exorbitant prices (see pic for a 30-day medical-only policy quote). It took hours of looking online (and emailing insurance companies back / forth to force them to admit that they offer a medical-only option). One would have expected any number of pinoy companies to have offered such a quick, easy, and profitable item. Below is an example of an experience that I had with one company (of several) , mostly thru email:
1) On their website, I asked for a quote for $50,000 medical-only insurance.
2) Their emailed response from 'Foreign Traveler expert' Jane: Items M (medical), O, P, Q, S, T, and V: 30 days, $2200.
3) My response: Sharpen your pencil please. I ordered on the website a quote for item M only.
4) Response from Jane: "OK, items M (medical), O, P, Q, and S: 30 days, $568".
5) My response: Sharpen your pencil please. I ordered on the website a quote for item M only.
6) Jane: "OK, items M (medical) and O (medical transportation): 30 days, $468".
7) My response: Nevermind. Too expensive, and I don't need the transportation item ($250,000 coverage). You are wasting my time.
8) Jane: "OK medical only: 30 days, $368".
9) My response: Too expensive. Other companies charge much less. Do you have a lower-priced option for 30 days, $50 k medical?
10) Jane: "No sir".
Bajesus! Like pulling teeth to get them down to that price, which is also too high (found it for about 1/3 of that price elsewhere).
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1 photos
Here is one with reasonable prices. Thanks to the guy who provided this.
[URL]https://www.squaremouth.com/[/URL]
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[QUOTE=WestCoast1;2679004]Here is one with reasonable prices. Thanks to the guy who provided this.
[URL]https://www.squaremouth.com/[/URL][/QUOTE]It is a minefield. Do not think just because you have the insurance they will be cover admission to hospitals, quarantine etc. First you pay, get the bill and then hope to get reimbursed by the insurance company.
This is a stupid rule. It was put in place by many countries before but now they have withdrawn that requirement for vaccinated persons.
I was talking to some people in Philippines and they all said nothing will change before the elections. I believe it is in end of May.
It is possible USA will withdraw testing requirements by the end of April. Cambodia is fully open without restrictions.
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[QUOTE=Sammon;2679023]It is a minefield. [/QUOTE]Concur! It has been a blizzard of misinformation.
[QUOTE=Sammon;2679023]Do not think just because you have the insurance they will be cover admission to hospitals, quarantine etc. First you pay, get the bill and then hope to get reimbursed by the insurance company.[/QUOTE]Do you mean [URL]squaremouth.com[/URL]? Or alternately do you mean all of said insurance policies? Board members here have already used it.*
[QUOTE=Sammon;2679023]This is a stupid rule.[/QUOTE]Could not agree more. Why will they make me purchase a policy separate from my own normal health insurance? My current policy re-imburses my medical expenses while overseas (it says so in the policy, my insurance refuses to deal with overseas medical providers). Why must I purchase a separate policy that will also only re-imburse me for expenses?
The premise for the insurance is that the Phils government does not want to be on the hook for tourists hospital bills, should he not be able to pay at the hospital (which I have seen happen in real time). Immigration has no idea if you can afford to pay for medical expenses when you enter the country, hence I understand the need to see a policy. But that does not hold up to scrutiny if your policy is a client-reimbursed-later policy, as the tourist might not be able to pay at the hospital / Q hotel in the first place. The premise only holds up to scrutiny if the policy pays direct to the hospital / provider.
Do any of the recent arrival gents know if their policy is 1) customer re-imburse, or 2) pays direct to provider?
* Just read the fine print in some of the policies. Reimbursement-only:
[I][B]Emergency Medical can reimburse the costs to treat a medical emergency during a trip.[/B]
What does Emergency Medical cover?
EMERGENCY ACCIDENT & SICKNESS MEDICAL EXPENSE BENEFIT
Benefits will be paid for Medical Expenses incurred by You, up to the Maximum Benefit Amount shown in the Schedule of Benefits, subject to the following:
a. Sickness must first commence or manifest itself and Injury must first occur while on Your Trip;
b. only Medical Expenses incurred by You during Your Trip will be reimbursed. Medical Expenses incurred after You return from Your Trip are not covered;
c. benefits payable as a result of incurred Medical Expenses will only be paid after benefits have been paid under any other valid and collectible insurance in effect for You or in accordance with a provision in jurisdictions where excess coverage provisions are not permitted.[/I]
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Vaccination cards
Most of the places and restaurants are requiring temperature checks and vaccination cards. Most vaccinated Filipinos have the cards with a QR code. QR code is download on their cellphones or in photos. Most places have a QR reader so no lines are backed up.
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[QUOTE=Dg8787;2679285]Most of the places and restaurants are requiring temperature checks and vaccination cards. Most vaccinated Filipinos have the cards with a QR code. QR code is download on their cellphones or in photos. Most places have a QR reader so no lines are backed up.[/QUOTE]I don't know your location in the country, but your generalization should not include Davao as I've never been asked for my vaccination cards, and most of the places I frequent no longer bother with temperature checks. There are no standardized vaccination cards in the country and each major locale seems to have developed its own version; some have QR codes and some do not. The QR readers that "most places" have, at least here in Davao, are for a specific app that is used for track and trace and contains no vaccine information. There is a VaxCertPH QR Code-based site that does have vaccination information, but I've never, not once, seen it required for entry into any establishment though I have it on my phone.
Please, when you make these sweeping generalizations, none of which apply to Davao, make sure you ground them in terms of location as obviously what you're saying isn't true everywhere in the country.
GE.
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[QUOTE=GoodEnough;2679362]I don't know your location in the country, but your generalization should not include Davao as I've never been asked for my vaccination cards, and most of the places I frequent no longer bother with temperature checks. There are no standardized vaccination cards in the country and each major locale seems to have developed its own version; some have QR codes and some do not. The QR readers that "most places" have, at least here in Davao, are for a specific app that is used for track and trace and contains no vaccine information. There is a VaxCertPH QR Code-based site that does have vaccination information, but I've never, not once, seen it required for entry into any establishment though I have it on my phone.
Please, when you make these sweeping generalizations, none of which apply to Davao, make sure you ground them in terms of location as obviously what you're saying isn't true everywhere in the country.
GE.[/QUOTE]In Philippines people and places make their own rules. If it is private business establishments I am sure they can. Problem is government does not specify clear guidelines like here in USA. Oh well, if one place does not want your money there will always be someone else.
Same with the girls.
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[QUOTE=Dg8787;2679285]Most of the places and restaurants are requiring temperature checks and vaccination cards. Most vaccinated Filipinos have the cards with a QR code. QR code is download on their cellphones or in photos. Most places have a QR reader so no lines are backed up.[/QUOTE]My experience is only limited to where I have visited so far and does not reflect elsewhere.
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Covid test
I'll be back in the phils at the end of April and pursuant to that, I thought I'd check the requirements for entry even though I just went through that rigmarole recently.
And, lo and behold, on the Philippine airline website, it now says that an Antigen (rapid) test taken within 24 hours of your departure is acceptable, OR you can present the RT PCR test which can be taken within 48 hours, which was the only option until recently. This, if true, is a major improvement because the RT tests are expensive.
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[QUOTE=Dg8787;2679660]My experience is only limited to where I have visited so far and does not reflect elsewhere.[/QUOTE]Some caveats. This info is only for the places that I visited in Manila, and during specific times (depending on ECQ or Alert Level strictness at the time). When the case / death rates went up, so does the Alert Level strictness. At certain times, all indoor restos (that were open, keep in mind many closed and have remained closed) would suddenly require the vax info. For myself and everyone in Manila, that has your name, Brgy, picture, vax dates (and brand), and your unique QR code. It was required to enter indoor restos (outdoor, or indoor / outdoor open-air places, seemed to be immune from that). Most places were fine just seeing it as you walked in the door, as long as the pic looked like the holder. Some places scanned the QR code, others didn't. Some places temp-checked, others didn't. Every indoor resto that was open during those times required at least viewing the vax info. The locals seemed to know when it was about to start, and stop, before I did. The guards at my building would often inform me that it was coming soon, and would inform me as a matter of courtesy.
You can easily screen capture your vax record, so you don't need to log in and pull it up each time. Or you can take a pic of your vax card if you have a paper copy. On only 1 occasion did I see anyone (a pinoy couple) have a paper vax card. I saw the lady's card as we were waiting in line to enter. It was like my electronic version, without her pic and QR code. The employee checking the vax info at the door made them produce separate ID (with pic) to prove that they were in fact the vaxxed individuals.
This would usually happen for a 2 (or 3) week period of higher ECQ or Alert Level, then drop back down a level and they would stop checking vax cards. Interestingly, you only had to show your vax record in Starbucks and Coffee Bean coffee shops at the counter when ordering food. Nobody was checking at the entrances. You could walk in, walk about the place, look at the foods in the counter, sit with a friend, do anything other than order. Nobody would check or ask about your vax status.