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[QUOTE=Goferring;3030243]BPO, BPI and DBP should be 20 k per withdrawal but this is often reduced at smaller offices. China bank and HSBC are the holy grail at 40-50 k per hit[/QUOTE]Thanks Westie and G for your replies. Since HSBC is only a block from my AirBNB I went there. Ready to hit Burgos now.
[QUOTE=Goferring;3030243]BPO, BPI and DBP should be 20 k per withdrawal but this is often reduced at smaller offices. China bank and HSBC are the holy grail at 40-50 k per hit.
Cash Out from a GCash or Maya account is 2% so 200 per 10 k but you can essentially take out as much as you want in one go. Some may have a limit but its in the many tens of thousands. In Butuan, I actually had to wait for the lady to go to the bank and withdraw more cash as I emptied them out. No one complained.
Cash is now the most expensive way to pay for things for a foreigner. I now use:
Agoda for hotels. Charged to my home CCard in my currency. Typically less than walk in rates.
Travel is the airlines website paid for by Wise. Cash is needed for buses. Grab for taxis with pesos charged direct to my Wise with no fees. The Grab markup more than covers what I would be paying for tips, not having the correct small change, ATM fees etc. Also a secure way of getting girls to my door.
Many meals are paid with Wise or Maya. Grab Meals home delivers like Uber Eats and charges my Wise in pesos. Wise is free. Maya is 15 peso.
Even girls paid direct to their G Cash don't bat an eyelid. Not a single girl even commented or raised a complaint. Person to person transfer is 15 peso.
Enjoy. G.
P.S. Sorry, I should have added that Burgos bars will accept CCard but I'd be reluctant to hand it over. There have been reports of scams and follow up charges. I've never tried but maybe you could pay by GCash. It's more secure than CCard as you do the transfer online without handing over your card / bank details. Like all my freelancers and part timers, I'd expect the girls to accept GCash for their tip.
Note that many bars have crap cell reception so have a back up plan. Don't rely 100% on data.
G.[/QUOTE]Good to know about HSBC and China Bank, when I run out of cash I send 100 k WU to myself, but sometimes I need it right away, and the 10 k limit is killing me.
[QUOTE=OldAndUgly;3030463]Good to know about HSBC and China Bank, when I run out of cash I send 100 k WU to myself, but sometimes I need it right away, and the 10 k limit is killing me.[/QUOTE]Isn't WU immediate?
GCash update. Below a list of stores that do GC cash out. For all GC cash out, there is a fee, usually 2% (a Cebuana employee told me that their store keeps half, 1%, and GC keeps the other 1%; effers are charging you to withdraw your own money).
Besides this list, many banks will cash out GC. Additionally, many individuals do it as a business (especially sari store owners), and it can be good biz. Smaller places and sari owners often charge more than 2% (they must pay 1% to GC), upwards of 10%.
Cebuana Lhuillier.
CVM Pawnshop.
DA5.
ECPay.
ExpressPay.
HanepBuhay.
Jaro Pawnshop.
Panalo Express.
PeraHUB.
Posible.
Puregold.
Robinsons.
SM Store.
Tambunting Pawnshop.
TrueMoney.
Villarica Pawnshop.
VIP Payments Center.
[QUOTE=WestCoast1;3030488]GCash update. Below a list of stores that do GC cash out. [/QUOTE]When I went to sign up on the G Cash app a couple of months ago, it said I needed a foreign resident ID. Is there any way around that?
[QUOTE=MrEnternational;3030555]When I went to sign up on the G Cash app a couple of months ago, it said I needed a foreign resident ID. Is there any way around that?[/QUOTE]Would your ACR card work? Assuming its current.
[QUOTE=WestCoast1;3030568]Would your ACR card work? Assuming its current.[/QUOTE]LOL. I have no idea what an ACR is, so I probably do not have one.
[QUOTE=MrEnternational;3030555]When I went to sign up on the G Cash app a couple of months ago, it said I needed a foreign resident ID. Is there any way around that?[/QUOTE]Yep, just find someone that does not have G Cash, barato that puppy and have him / her register for you. Thats what I do.
[QUOTE=WestCoast1;3030488]Isn't WU immediate?
...........[/QUOTE]It depends where the money is coming from, cash, and (I think) ATM cards are instant, but because I'm doing transfer from my bank account it always take 3-4 days minimum, and sometimes more than a week, I don't know why.
[QUOTE=MrEnternational;3030555]When I went to sign up on the G Cash app a couple of months ago, it said I needed a foreign resident ID. Is there any way around that?[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=WestCoast1;3030568]Would your ACR card work? Assuming its current.[/QUOTE]Yes an ACR is the minimum for a foreigner. That's why I couldn't register. Pay Maya doesn't need residency. That's why I signed up. It's nearly as good as GCash: accepted at most of the same establishments but Cash Out can be more difficult. It's very easy to use Maya to pay into a GCash account if that's all the girl / establishment has.
Note that while it works, using it in shops etc is nowhere near as easy as tap and go in the west. Expect to need to input codes, verify the payment and for the store to have to find the associated phone to ensure they actually received the money.
Enjoy. G.
Will be in Manila soon, my first time there, will be staying in Makati. If I decide to take a few day trips ie Tagaytay etc then a car and driver might make sense. It would either be just me or perhaps me plus one. Any recommendations for an individual or a company would be appreciated.
Thanks.
[QUOTE=Alexandra2525;3030762]Will be in Manila soon, my first time there, will be staying in Makati. If I decide to take a few day trips ie Tagaytay etc then a car and driver might make sense. It would either be just me or perhaps me plus one. Any recommendations for an individual or a company would be appreciated.
Thanks.[/QUOTE]Ask at the hotel front desk.
General question: I need to change my phone, and it needs to be an Iphone, so I can transfer all my eSims and other stuff. Mine is an older one 12 or 13 I think, but it's dying. If I'm getting another one I'm thinking to get an used 16 since 17 is out and always the previous models are cheaper, I' aiming for the 16 pro because of the cameras, and eventual service life. The US model will do me no good because it doesn't have a sim slot, and I need that too. And here is the question: in what country will that be cheaper to buy it, since I'm traveling around anyway, without any preferred destination?
[QUOTE=OldAndUgly;3030784]Ask at the hotel front desk.[/QUOTE]That would be a last resort mate. Assuming Phils is no different to the countless other countries I have visited the hotel's car service will cost multiples of what the usual going rate is. It's one of the nice hotels in Makati so everything is marked up significantly. I'm sure quite some months back one of the Phils seniors mentioned a company / individual they used for longer journeys.. But I can't find the post.
Thanks anyway.
[QUOTE=OldAndUgly;3030788]General question: I need to change my phone, and it needs to be an Iphone, so I can transfer all my eSims and other stuff. Mine is an older one 12 or 13 I think, but it's dying. If I'm getting another one I'm thinking to get an used 16 since 17 is out and always the previous models are cheaper, I' aiming for the 16 pro because of the cameras, and eventual service life. The US model will do me no good because it doesn't have a sim slot, and I need that too. And here is the question: in what country will that be cheaper to buy it, since I'm traveling around anyway, without any preferred destination?[/QUOTE]Looks like you bet on the wrong horse. Should have gone with Samsung. But you are kind of between a rock and a hard place since iPhone users can't be choosers. The cheapest places to get phones is the USA. If you buy phones in like Philippines and Thailand, they will cost more or maybe the same, but have less technology. They do not have 5 G networks, so 95% of phones are topped out at 4 G. That being said, my best recommendation is to buy the refurbished products on Amazon in the States.
I will advise to be aware of old (Apple) technology though. I have an iPad only for a program that I use to fly with. I bought it 2 years ago refurbished on Amazon. The battery has gone to shit. I went to the Apple store here in Colombia to ask about a battery. He told me they are from $77 to $99 and would take 3 to 5 days to replace. Then I showed him a picture of my tablet and he said, but not for that one. You would have to buy a new tablet. Bend Over, Here Apple Comes Again.
[QUOTE=Alexandra2525;3030762]Will be in Manila soon, my first time there, will be staying in Makati. If I decide to take a few day trips ie Tagaytay etc then a car and driver might make sense. It would either be just me or perhaps me plus one. Any recommendations for an individual or a company would be appreciated.Thanks.[/QUOTE]This has always been a dilemma. Do you need the driver for the whole day to make multiple stops or just get you from point A to point be. If you actually need a driver for the whole day or multiple days, then I usually search FB for a driver, but it has been a very long time since I really needed a driver for a whole day or more. 99% of the time I just use grab, it is unbelievable how easy it is to find a ride to almost anywhere from almost anyplace with grab.