General Info

[QUOTE=GoodEnough;1118164]HSBC charges a fee. I think it's P200. I'm fairly sure that Citi does as well, but it's been a while since I've used a Citi ATM, so I'm not sure.[/QUOTE]I often use a prepaid FX Card at HSBC ATMs and I can confirm that they do not charge a commission on their use. These FX cards are excellent also in that the rate you receive is very close to the days official exchange rate.

Mine comes in 3 flavors, euro, dollar and sterling, of which I have all 3, and are easily topped up online using a debit card.

CS could you perhaps explain to the unenlightened, such as myself, what an FX card is? It sounds like it may be something I would like to try.

Thanks,

GE

[QUOTE=GreenBud;1118112]I believe HSBC gives you 20, 000.[/QUOTE]Where are the HSBC atm machines in AC?

[QUOTE=Amjeck;1118370]Where are the HSBC atm machines in AC?[/QUOTE]According to HSBC hompage they have no atm in AC the closest is San Fernando

Here is a link of HSBC atm locator.

[url]http://www.apps.asiapacific.hsbc.com/1/2/mnl2/absl/absl-en?locale=en&country=PH&location=Manila[/url]

But there is a citibank atm Marlim Mansions, MacArthur Highway. You can withdraw 15. 000php and there is no extra fee (in 2010). Please post here if you use the atm to confirm if its without extra fee.

[QUOTE=Mc Don;1118196]I think I use the Bank of Philippine Islands or something like that and it charges me 150 peso. Max is 10K. Never came across anything that allows more then 10K in the last year or so but that may be because I use an EFTPOS card. I have had trouble withdrawing money from certain banks as their ATMs only except VISA / Mastercard. Is there any ATM near Burgos that will allow you to draw down more then 10K? Both the ATM in Makati Palace and the one near the McDonalds are 10K only.[/QUOTE]I'm failryl sure my BPI atm gets me 15K per withdrawal. I hardly ever pay attention as on the first withdrawal (in fort bonifacio) theres usually a hot chica awaiting. On the second withdrawal 48 hours later I'm usually kind of bleary in the am on my way to breakfast, havign just dropped some chica ff. LOL. But I think I get 15k

[QUOTE=GoodEnough;1118353]CS could you perhaps explain to the unenlightened, such as myself, what an FX card is? It sounds like it may be something I would like to try.[/QUOTE]Its a prepaid Master Card that can be topped up online using a registered debit card. The advantage is that there is no commission, no ATM charges and the conversion exchange rate is better than that you would get using a ordinary debit / credit card. You can also lock in your rate of your desired currency of dollars / sterling / euros in advance of travel, which I did to my advantage a few weeks back when the euro was weak.

They are becoming increasingly popular in UK. I don't know whether they exist in the States but I see no reason why not.

One of the more popular cards is Caxton FX. More details at [url]http://www.caxtonfxcard.com/.[/url]

[QUOTE=Amjeck;1118370]Where are the HSBC atm machines in AC?[/QUOTE]As the previous post stated, there are no HSBC ATMs in Angeles. Can't remember the withdrawal limit, but it definitely is over 10, 000 pesos.

There is a new PS Bank ATM next to Walk-About Hotel on Fields. There is a new PS Bank branch with ATMs under the new condo complex next to McDonalds on MacArthur Highway. There are ATMs on MacArthur across the casino. There are ATMs on SM mall.

Your ATM cards will work with most of them if your ATM bank system is Plus or Cirrus.

[QUOTE=Blade1;1118375]But there is a citibank atm Marlim Mansions, MacArthur Highway. You can withdraw 15. 000php and there is no extra fee (in 2010). Please post here if you use the atm to confirm if its without extra fee.[/QUOTE]I was in Cebu in November 2010. The Citibank ATM's allowed a withdrawal of P15 000 against P10 000 at all other bank ATM's. Citibank charged no fees whereas all other banks I tried charged P200 per withdrawal.

I have neer tried to use a foreign ATM card but with my local one, when a bank limits 10, 000 pesos, I just do another transaction or 2 and withdraw 10, 000 more. I don't think there is a tracking system like in the USA where you may be limited to $300 or $500 per day.

I don't know what the limit is but I think I have withdrawn 50, 000 at once-10, 000 five times with no problem.

[QUOTE=Sugoi; 1118509]I have neer tried to use a foreign ATM card but with my local one, when a bank limits 10, 000 pesos, I just do another transaction or 2 and withdraw 10, 000 more. I don't think there is a tracking system like in the USA where you may be limited to $300 or $500 per day.

I don't know what the limit is but I think I have withdrawn 50, 000 at once-10, 000 five times with no problem. [/QUOTE]You are correct but what I meant before was the max limit for each withdrawal. The issue we have is because we have international cards the banks charge us 200php fee for each withdrawal so I prefer to withdraw a larger ammount each time.

Thanks Iron duke for the update. If anyone else used HSBC or Citibank recentley feel free to post here if it was still without a fee or not.

[QUOTE=Cunning Stunt; 1118424]Its a prepaid Master Card that can be topped up online using a registered debit card. The advantage is that there is no commission, no ATM charges and the conversion exchange rate is better than that you would get using a ordinary debit / credit card. You can also lock in your rate of your desired currency of dollars / sterling / euros in advance of travel, which I did to my advantage a few weeks back when the euro was weak.

They are becoming increasingly popular in UK. I don't know whether they exist in the States but I see no reason why not.

One of the more popular cards is Caxton FX. More details at.

[url]http://www.caxtonfxcard.com/.[/url][/QUOTE]Thanks very much. Sound like something you probably have to purchase in Europe or maybe the states. I will try from here, and if I can't do it, I will wait till I'm back in the states in the spring.

GE

[QUOTE=GoodEnough;1118533]Thanks very much. Sound like something you probably have to purchase in Europe or maybe the states. I will try from here, and if I can't do it, I will wait till I'm back in the states in the spring.[/QUOTE]They are free, GE (sounds like the first line of a poem:)). Far as I recall, you have to make an initial deposit of 10 pounds sterling on each card, but this can then be used for purchases or ATM use.

Don't guess that you will be able to obtain from here. I think that they require an address in the country of issue.

Must admit that they are a godsend for people who travel a lot (like me) and are much more cost effective than credit/debit cards (which can work out quite expensive to use) or those hoary old standbys, travelers cheques (which are next to useless in The Philippines anyway). I've only had one problem with them and that was in Kenya where I couldn't find an ATM that accepted them.

[QUOTE=Cunning Stunt; 1118424]Its a prepaid Master Card that can be topped up online using a registered debit card. The advantage is that there is no commission, no ATM charges and the conversion exchange rate is better than that you would get using a ordinary debit / credit card. You can also lock in your rate of your desired currency of dollars / sterling / euros in advance of travel, which I did to my advantage a few weeks back when the euro was weak.

They are becoming increasingly popular in UK. I don't know whether they exist in the States but I see no reason why not.

One of the more popular cards is Caxton FX. More details at.

[url]http://www.caxtonfxcard.com/.[/url][/QUOTE]I just did a quick Google search for these cards. Every link that came up was from the UK. American banks wouldn't offer these unless there is some way they could earn a large profit from them. :mad:

[QUOTE=Blade1; 1118525]You are correct but what I meant before was the max limit for each withdrawal. The issue we have is because we have international cards the banks charge us 200php fee for each withdrawal so I prefer to withdraw a larger ammount each time.

Thanks Iron duke for the update. If anyone else used HSBC or Citibank recentley feel free to post here if it was still without a fee or not. [/QUOTE]I used the Citi bank ATM whenever possible in Davao. Max was 15k-20k peso with no charge last October. But my wellsfargo back charged $5 and a 1% currency fee.

[QUOTE=Hairy Wonder;1118582]I just did a quick Google search for these cards. Every link that came up was from the UK. American banks wouldn't offer these unless there is some way they could earn a large profit from them. :mad:[/QUOTE]Amazing, a financial concept that we didn't import from across the water! Must admit they must work on such very slender margins, that it is hard to see where their profit comes from? I guess volume and being a purely online business.