Which Credit Cards are In My Wallet? – 2020

Credit cards are especially useful for emergencies and for making transactions at the comfort and safety of your own home.

2020. Whew, where do I even begin? The end of 2019 and the start of 2020 has the world fighting against the coronavirus. This led to drastic measures such as lockdowns and travel bans and has caused numerous deaths worldwide. Things will never be the same since, and after the pandemic but here’s to hoping everything gets better!

Now, with most of the people confined to their homes, having debit/credit cards and access to online/mobile/internet banking has never been more important. Nevertheless, this brings a number of challenges especially in the case of financial inclusion. Thankfully, some establishments related to our daily lives remain open albeit with a skeletal workforce. So to all these frontliners, your work is truly appreciated! 

From making donations and paying bills to purchasing necessities, the advances in e-commerce and online transactions has been most beneficial. One key component to this are credit cards.     

Following a previous post on my credit cards, here’s an update to which ones I have right now.

Originally Owned

1. Citibank’s PremierMiles Visa

Spend-to-Miles Ratio: PHP 30.00 per mile for all transactions

Annual Fee: PHP 5,000.00

Lounge Access: DragonPass lounges (free 2 per membership year)

Airlines Partners: Around 14 airlines partners

Status: Active

Comments: Citibank’s PremierMiles remains as a good, general-use credit card. Moreover, with Citi PayAll, racking up airline miles has never been faster.

Note: Apply for your Citi credit card here!

2. Metrobank’s Travel Platinum Visa

Spend-to-Miles Ratio: PHP 17.00 per mile for overseas, airlines and hotels transactions; PHP 20.00 per reward point for all other transactions

Annual Fee: PHP 5,000.00

Lounge Access: Priority Pass Lounges (access must be paid for)

Airlines Partners: Asia Miles, Mabuhay Miles, Kris Flyer

Status: Cancelled

Comments: While Metrobank Travel Platinum is a good card, it just doesn’t work for me since I’m not a frequent traveller. Outside of the travel benefits, there doesn’t seem to be much going on for the card itself.

3. BDO’s Diners Club Premiere

Spend-to-Miles Ratio: PHP 30.00 per mile for all transactions, PHP 15.00 per mile for dining transactions

Annual Fee: PHP 4,500.00

Lounge Access: Diners Club Lounges (free 2 per membership year)

Airlines Partners: Asia Miles, Mabuhay Miles

Status: Active

Comments: BDO’s Diners Club Premiere continues to be my favorite card because of the built-in multiplier for dining transactions. Couple that with BDO’s promos and you’ve got another miles powerhouse. 

4. BDO’s American Express Platinum

Spend-to-Miles Ratio: PHP 45.00 per mile for all transactions

Annual Fee: PHP 5,000.00

Lounge Access: Club Manila at NAIA Terminal 1, Skyview Lounge at NAIA Terminal 3, Miascor Lounge at Clark International Airport

Airlines Partners: Asia Miles, Kris Flyer, Royal Orchid Plus, Enrich, Delta Sky Miles, Mabuhay Miles

Status: Active

Comments: Similar to BDO’s Diners Club Premiere, their American Express Platinum continues to have tons of multiplier promos that you can take advantage of. 

Newly Applied

5. Citibank’s Prestige Visa

Spend-to-Miles Ratio: PHP 17.00 – 18.00 per mile for bonus category transactions (shopping and dining)

Annual Fee: PHP 18,000.00

Lounge Access: Priority Pass (unlimited for card holder, free 5 guests per membership year)

Airlines Partners: Over 14 airlines partners

Status: Active

Comments: Citibank’s Prestige Visa is a good replacement for BDO’s Diners Club Premiere and AmEx Platinum. The acceptance is much higher so this card is definitely easier to use. It also has built-in multipliers for shopping and dining so you don’t have to rely on promos. As a high-end card, there are also a number of other benefits such as airport lounge access, meet and greet, complementary golf. Unfortunately, the hefty annual fee is going to be a turn-off for most clients.

Note: The increase of annual fee from PHP 12,000.00 to PHP 18,000.00 was temporarily suspended until further notice. Moreover, new issuance of the card will be as a World Elite Mastercard and no longer as Visa Infinite.

6. EastWest Bank’s KrisFlyer World Mastercard

Spend-to-Miles Ratio: PHP 11.00 – 36.00 per mile, depending on transaction type

Annual Fee: PHP 5,000.00

Lounge Access: Mastercard Airport Experiences provided by LoungeKey (4 per calendar year)

Airlines Partner: KrisFlyer and their partner airlines

Status: Active

Comments: EastWest bank’s KrisFlyer World Mastercard (and even the Platinum variant) is a good choice specially for making online transactions. It’s also a viable alternative to Citibank’s PremierMiles Visa credit card since there’s only a PHP 3.00 difference between their earning rates. The only downside is that your miles are directly linked to KrisFlyer miles. 

And that’s it for my credit cards! The cards that I own right now each have their own specific use so I don’t see cancelling any of them anytime soon. Some other cards that are good for travel, but are way beyond a normal citizen, are the Citi Prestige (I got this with a promo so the annual fee for around 3-4 years is pretty much accounted for), BDO World Elite Mastercard, and American Express Centurion. Maybe I’ll try to get those cards as future life goals!

How about you? How are you using your credit cards? Do you prefer cashback, rewards, or miles? Let’s discuss these at the comments below!