advice on phils

[Gavanddal]

some ATMS have a dislike of UK Mastercard or Maestro, this happened to me a few times, but my Visa card worked fine as a backup. I've never had any credit cards declined at shops or hotels, whether Visa or Mastercard.

I found Visa ATMs quite hard to find so I got a Mastercard as a back up. Most ATM only allow a maximum of P4000-P5000 (£40-£50 when the exchange rate is good). When I go to the provinces where there are no ATMs, I normally use the ATMs in Cebu multiple times to get out plenty of money just in case. Tacloban should be OK but I'd get P10000 from the bureau de change in England before arriving. The first time I went to Cebu I didn't have any Peso and I struggled to find anywhere to get some when I first arrived.

Enjoy your trip, I certainly enjoyed my first time there. It's a whole new experience.
BTW, it's unlikely that your lady will ever get a tourist visa to visit the UK. The British embassy are racist! They think all Filipinas will do bunk when they arrive. Tarring with the same brush eh?

[joebloggs]

BTW, it's unlikely that your lady will ever get a tourist visa to visit the UK. The British embassy are racist! They think all Filipinas will do bunk when they arrive. Tarring with the same brush eh?

the embassy is not racist, just too many people abuse the tourist visa by overstaying, sometimes for years, so the case worker has no option but only to issue a tourist visa when the applicant has shown they have good reason to go back and not overstay

[lizaphil]

thanks for advice everyone,yes WINNER my girl is meeting me @airport but only tacloban,not manila.im glad you said the food was good.my girl has been refused a visa twice now,did you have problems getting a visa for your girl,did she visit uk before you married?could i ask how much money people think i should take?my bank says i can use my debit card to withdraw cash there in local currency,visa debit card.WALESROB,do you just get your flight to tacloban on arrival @manila.many thanks tuft

hello tuft,my place is near at tacloban,just 30mins away,but now im here in england now, you get your flight in DOMISTIC AIRPORT,from international airport,you can get your ticket as a cheap
airlines,ON CEBU PACIFIC,good luck and you need to learn there waray languages

[baboyako]

If you dont prebook, get a taxi to the domestic airport (100pesos), the official ticket offices are outside. If they are fully booked, there will be touts outside who can fix you a ticket for a large fee.

[PeterB]

With regard to debit/credit cards - I use mine all the time. It shouldn't be a problem if you let your bank(s) know about your visit to Phils before you go. Bank ATMs which allow P10,000 per transaction include Metro and BPI - better tham being restricted to P4,000 per transaction at PNB. I regularly withdraw in excess of P20,000 from my UK debit cards in a day.

Another option is to obtain a Global Filipino Money Card from PNB in London. You can load this with cash from your UK debit card, and make instant withdrawals in Phils - you can even do the loading via the Internet.

PNB will allow you to withdraw up to P40,000 a day from your GFMC, P10,000 per transaction.

[tuft249]

hello everyone. i have booked my ticket from manila to tacloban on-line .seems like i should be ok taking my debit card from most replies.will take some peso also.has anyone stayed @manila airport hotel?just looked'there website looks a nice place.thanks very much to everyone for advice it certainly helps.tuft