I was in Phones 4 U today, looking for a new phone and was chatting with the sales guy asking what unlocked phone was best for use in UK as well as Phils.
He then proceeded to sell me their pre paid mastercard (quite surreal a phone shop selling credit cards but there you go).
Simply, its a pre paid mastercard, so theres no actual credit involved. The card costs 20gb but you receive a 10gb credit on the card, so in effect it costs only a tenner. After that, its free to use and is accepted everywhere Mastercard is accepted. It's also free to put money on at post offices, paypoint stations etc.
Here's the interesting part - for an extra fiver, you can get a second card. The second card can be used in any country as an ATM card. By using your online account, you can transfer any amount of money from your card to the second card completely free of charge. The holder of the second card, in my case wifey in Dipolog, can then withdraw cash from any ATM in Phils incurring a one off charge of 2 quid for withdrawals upto 200 gb.
If i was to send 200 quid by western union (as i do every few weeks) those nice chaps charge me 19.60 quid for the pleasure.
This in comparison seems a very cheap way of getting money overthere. The initial card (ie my card) is given immediately in the shop and the secondary card (wifey's ) arrives within 5 working days. Add on the usual 2 weeks postage, in @ 3 weeks i could be saving a fortune.
However , please be warned, when you explain this saving with great satisfaction to your nearest and dearest pinoy partner, expect the same response i got earlier today ........great, that means the money you save you can add to what you send me and i have more money.
Sigh.......i blame myself for marrying her
