Here are some things that you might want to know if you're having your first credit card. I am posting this here because of a message that I got asking me to teach/write an article on "credit cards" dedicated to first timers. Seryoso ka ba 'te? Sa'kin ka pa talaga nagtanong?? Haha. Lol. Nevertheless, I am glad that some readers find my articles easy to understand and/or to relate with. But you see, this isn't a finance blog and I'm far from being a finance expert but I'm learning. Since this is posted as per request, assume ko na lang na effective ako somehow. :))
1. Ano ba ang credit card? From the word credit itself, utang 'to. Kung meron kang Credit Card, para bang you can spend even if you don't have kahit hindi naman dapat ganun ang thinking. Tsk. Gamit kasi ang credit card, makakabili ka ng mga bagay on installment basis without interest pa nga paminsan, makikinabang ka sa float period o 'yung grace period mo bago mo kailanganin bayaran 'yung bagay na binili mo, makikinabang ka rin sa iba't iba pang perks ng pagkakaroon ng CC kagaya nga nitong I Shop. I Choose. I Redeem ng BDO at meron din 'tong points sa bawat paggamit na maaring gamitin pag redeem ng iba pang rewards. Sa Credit Card, "Buy Now, Pay Later."
2. Ano ang card na meron ako? BDO JCB Lucky Cat Credit Card. Hindi ako nag-apply so don't ask me how. Pero parang gusto ko pa ng isa, 'yung may Miles. Haha!
3. Pwede ba magpa-waive ng Annual Membership Fee? Oo.
4. Ano pa ang kailangan meron ako tuwing gagamit ako ng credit card ko? SELF-CONTROL. Kitams, kaya ayoko masyado nagsusulat ng ganito kasi practice what you preach eh... wiz. hahaha.
5. Ano ba ang float period? Sabihin nating ang due date ng card ko ay every 1st day of the month and then 'yung labas ng bill ko ay every 7th of the month.
What if bumili ako ng damit ng September 4, kailan ako magbabayad? Since nakuha siya sa cut off date na September 7. Masasama 'yung pagbayad ng damit sa bill for October 1st. So ang float period mo ay less than a month.
What if bumili ako ng damit ng September 8, kailan ako magbabayad? Since lagpas na ng cut off for the month, 'yung damit ay kasali sa bill ng October na babayaran sa November pa. So ang float period dito ay halos two months.
6. Kailangan ba laging bayaran 'yung bill ng full o pwede na mag minimum payment na lang ako buwan-buwan? Siguro dito nagkakatalo kung magiging blessing or curse 'yung pagkakaroon ng credit card. I remember one time when I almost forgot to pay my bill and my companion was like, "Bakit ka magbabayad? Na max-out mo card mo?" For almost two years now, I always try to pay my bill in full so I won't incur interests... na-max out man o hindi 'yung card ko. Walang interest gumamit ng credit card kung nababayaran mo ng buo ang bill mo pag due date na.
Isa pang halimbawa, meron akong bill na P 10,000 para sa buwan na 'to at nakasulat dun na P 400.00 pesos 'yung mimum. Pag 'yan, binayaran in full, walang interest pero pag 'yan e binayaran lang 'yung minimum...
P 10,000 nagbayad ng P 400.00 kaya ang utang sa susunod na buwan ay P 9,600 na lang e may 3.5% Finance Charge... P 9,600 x .035 = P 336.00. So ang bill for next month ay tumataginting na P 9,936 lang naman given na hindi mo ginamit ulit 'yung card mo kaya hindi nadagdagan 'yung bill. You paid but you're only paying for a month's interest 'cause andun pa rin 'yung utang mo at ang malala, nagco-compound interest siya buwan-buwan hangga't di mo nababayaran in full. If you really can't pay the bill in full, bayad na lang ng malaki (pinakamalaking halagang kayang ibayad) hanggang sa maliit na lang 'yung kulang at malalagyan ng interest.
7. Paano pag na-miss ko magbayad sa araw ng due date ko, pwede pa ba ko humabol? I am not sure if this works for other banks but it works for BDO. Diba, ang due date ko ay 1st of the month and ang cut-off every 7th kaya 'yung 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th or 'yung days sa pagitan ng due date at cut-off date mo, pwede siyang i-consider na grace period. Hinahabol ko lang paminsan kahit lagpas sa due date basto bago mag cut off date, wala naman interest na nilalagay sa bill ko for the next month.
Other things that you would like to know about or did you notice something wrong by the way I understood Credit Cards? Comment here or send me a message in the Contact Me page. Thankssss.
My hope is for a lifetime of paying all our bills on time. Kaya natin 'to. huhu. :)
Napansin ko na maraming tumitingin ng tungkol sa savings back na posts ko. Nilagay ko 'to dito almost ten years ago and thanks, everyone, for continuously accessing them but we now have better options if we're talking about the interest that our money will gain while deposited. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to keep the two banks accounts that I wrote about before and stuck with BDO because there's a branch a few blocks away from home making it the most convenient bank for me at the moment. And well, my credit card is still with BDO so yeah.
While the information in this post are still relevant since, I made the switch and here's my review of two Digital Banks here in the Philippines.
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