Thanks BeerBikes AndBeaches @BeerBikes Have you heard this one ... frugal tips are like potato chips - you can never have just one! 😜🙊 Amping Greg and Lindie
You are welcome AzD3 Boom @azd3boom144 I hope you have a great time again and you will get it right for sure. Hopefully you can open a bank account once you get your ACR-i card after 60 days. Good to have one account at least then you don't have to worry about carrying much cash around - can also use the ATMs and can use the Debit card to make instore purchases. Now the bank to bank online transfers are so easy on your app or desktop. I moved money today and the online flat fee is only CD$1.99 or US$1.47 - to get the same amount of money here it would have taken many expensive ATM transactions. The last time I sent the bank-to-bank transfer was mid-afternoon on Sunday and it was in my account here Tuesday early morning. Amping Greg
Glad we both figured it out Travel n' solo vlogs @travelnsolovlogs I am sure they make lots of money on fees of people doing it all over th world. Amping take care, Greg
Glad it was helpful Stanley @ksta7090ks. I mentioned to another comment I used the bank-to-bank online transfer last Monday and the money arrived in my account here on Tuesday for a fee of $1.99 Canadian (US$1.47 or 82PHP). Amping Greg
Growing up in the USA, I’ve been using ATMs in the USA since 1984, and not once did I experience any anomalies. When I went to the Philippines there were a lot of ATMs down (?). I was dumbfounded, what the heck are they talking about??? Since then, I never trusted any digital transactions in the Philippines. I only do bank transactions in person-to-person.
Hi Suzuki Rider @Ntplano Yes I lived in the USA, Canada and France - it is definitely a unique situation here - I assume it has something to do with the problems with the communications system. Also it annoys me my PNB bank here has 3 ATMS - they will take all 3 out for service at the same time - I said to the guard it is impossible for them to service all 3 at one time - they should do one at a time and put it back in service and go to the next one - he just smiles at me - so now I just get back in my car or on the scooter and go to the next bank - sometimes all are down at all 3 branches in Downtown Dumaguete (2 right down and one near Robinson Mall). What type of Suzuki do you ride? I had a black M109-R when I lived in Vancouver - was a monster - I took all the decals off and was often asked at red lights what kind of bike it was - it had the massive 235 back tire. Lindie bought a Suzuki smash 125 CC here in 2018 - not quite the same as the 1,800 CC of the M109-R!! Amping Greg
Thank you for the info Gregg, i prefer BPI bank. If your from the U.S. and canada. They prefered BPI bank. But mostly europeans, they prefer Metro bank. I don't know why? 🤔
Interesting @handsomevexcoolsman3437 I never even considered MetroBank - not sure why. I have accounts at 3 other banks. I first got BPI in 2018 when i lived in Metro Manila Ayala Alabang. When I lived in Metro Manila BGC in 2020 I went to a BPI branch one-block from my condo - to try to update my address on my account. They said they couldn't do it and I couldn't do it online but I had to go back to my main branch - where I opened my account in Ayala Alabang. I said that can't be true - you want me to drive an hour and make the change and drive back another hour YES, and then I asked what if I moved to another island - SAME. I was annoyed and went around the corner and opened an account with BDO - they were very professional and opened my account while I was there. They let me open a Savings account but they wouldn't let me open a checking account. I learned they had a rule about needing to have an account for a length of time before opening the checking account - I don't recall that at BPI. I was going to open one later but because of that issue I never got around to it and becaue BDO did this I never closed my BPI accounts as I had savings and checking accounts there. Now I rarely use my BDO - I should really close it. When I decided to move to Negros Oriental and visited there a number of times I found there were many more PNBs around than the other banks and I had a PNB branch right next door to my condo so I opened a PNB account and now 4 years later probably 98% of my business is through PNB. The only negative there are no PNB machines in Sibulan so I have to pay 16P Service Fee if I don't feel like going to the PNB ATMs in Dumaguete. Amping Greg
Salmat @PhilippinesMyParadise I am glad you liked it. Someone commmented just before you but I didn't post it - their post was filled with errors a cut and paste from Google about how amazing HSBC is and they are the only bank in the Philippines with no ATM fees. They claimed my post was wrong because HSBC doesn't charge ATM fees - but they are mistaken PNB also doesn't charge ATM fees, BDO doesn't charge ATM Fees, BPI doesn't charge ATM fees, same as HSBC but that is ONLY FOR CUSTOMERS of each of those banks. When I use my BPI ATM card at BPI I get no fees. HSBC and the other banks are not charities, all the banks are the same - they are a business so they offer free ATM fees for their own customers, but charge Fees for non-customes, whether a Philippine bank card or Foreign bank card, as I noted most charge 16p for debit cards from other Philippine banks and 250P for foreign debit cards. But he misunderstood the point of my video - it wasn't about getting FREE ATM fees, if it was I would have used my BPI Card - rather this video was to show Expats they can use their foreign ATM (Debit) card at a Philippines ATM and how to do it the cheapest way possible. Obviously a foreign Debit card is NOT a client of a Philippine bank so they cant avail of the free ATM fees for their transactions. Maybe he was trying to get advertisement for HSBC - good for customers of their bank but it only has 6 branches in the Philippines, 4 in Metro Manila, 1 in Cebu and 1 in Davao - so good luck to the HSBC holders finding their branches in the Philippines. You will spend more money on travel time/costs to get your free ATM fees - better to just use your closest ATM and pay the service fee. But hopefully it was clear ATM fees were not the main point of my video, in fact at one point when the ATM Fee warning came up on the ATM Screen - I put the phrase - NO choice choose YES if you want your cash, the main point was avoiding the big cost in the Currency Exchange difference and the video shows how to avoid getting hit with an unfavorable exchange rate at the ATM (or any store) and how to pick the correct button to get the lowest exchange rate - saving money on the better exchange rate (not the fixed ATM fee). Salamat sir, amping Greg
250 pesos is $6 CDN a pop and if you can only take 10-20000 each time you're going to be hitting it a lot. Do you know if Google wallet works in the Philippines?
Hi GoHabsGo8693 @GoHabsGo-db7cb Have you visited before? If you are here longer than 59-days you must get an ACR Card and with that you can open a bank account and that will let you have the cheapest way to get money here through a bank-to-bank transfer., easy and fast to do from any country. If you are just holidaying how much cash to you need? You can come with PHP or even CDN$ or US$ and convert here. You can also use credit cards in many places. I visited 4X before moving here and only remote islands are all cash - so it depends where you plan on visiting for how much cash you will need. FYI - 20,000 PHP cash goes a long way here so I am not sure how many ATM transactions you will be doing - depends on your planned budget and how long you will be staying. As far as Google Wallet it is not available in the Philippines. Just Google "where can you use google wallet" and click on "Use Google Wallet for payments" and you will see a list of countries you can use it. The main form of e-payment in Asia is GCash, you can use for any trasit/food-delivery apps like Grab, or online purchases like Shopee. Hope that helps a bit. Amping take care, Greg
@@CanadianInPhilipipnes Thanks for the reply my friend... After looking at the currency converter I realize that I would likely probably not need to do anymore than about 5 transactions. Is it easy to do a transfer between a Canadian bank account and a Philippines account? This will be my first time visiting the Philippines however I do plan to stay long term. Thanks again.
Hi gregg.. just wanna ask if the chequing in visa debit card is as the same at the atm checking acct..or shoul i choose also current account for withdrawal..thank you and God Bless
Hi GABRIEL BAGSIT @GABRIELBAGSIT-ch7ey When you use a Debit Card you will get two options, Visa DEBIT or PLUS. Visa DEBIT works for Foreign Debit Cards - your bank will know what account to take it out of (checking or current). The important thing to do is to make sure NOT to pick CONTINUE WITH CONVERSION and make sure you click on CONTINUE WITHOUT CONVERSION and you will save money. When I first came I tried the PLUS and it didn't work - BIP offers a Saver PLUS account - not sure why that would pop up with a foreign debit card - but just ignore it. Good luck. If you have any difficulty and are at a bank branch just ask the guard if you can do it with a person and they will find someone to either assist you at their desk or at the ATM. If you run into a place that is not so friendly it's ok - just try the next bank - most are friendly. Amping - take care, Greg
Yes that's right Greg BDO also is the same only 10k allowed to withdraw 😂 oh I saw your pincode Greg 😜 just joking happy Valentine's day to both of you there God bless ❤
Happy Valentines day to you also @lovablegurl8383. No problem you can take some money from my account😜 I am good at hiding my code - it was just a bit harder holding the camera in one hand. Have a great night. Amping. Greg
@@CanadianInPhilipipnes 😂😂 I'm just joking e even a tail of the numbers I can't see when you press it😁 soon I'm monitize Greg and I don't know what do I'm 3,250.1 watch hour so it's almost 4000 maybe 1,800 subscriber I'm monitize needs more tumbling jumping rolling to get 1.8k😁
@lovablegurl8383 - so happy for you. Just keep doing some long videos and your watch hours will climb - maybe cooking and eating your favorite Filipino dish!!! We were monetized Dec 14 but then you have to go through some more steps. The last step is that Google (owns CZcams) sends a letter through regular mail service to your house for verification - in the letter is a code you are supposed to enter in a month. Our letter was mailed from California on December 29, 2023 - we are way passed 30 days and I have been to the Post Office 3X - Google doesn't seem to understand that the Mail system does not work here like other countries. I have never received a letter by PhilPost since I moved here in 2018 - the only way I have received something is by Courier. When I went to the post office they had many undelivered envelopes from Google - so all those content creators are stil waiting for their confirmation letters. OMG it is never a simple process. HOPING our letter arrives soon so we can enter the code as required. I will let you know how long it takes so you will know for your process. I am done editing for the day time for sleep. Amping Greg
I couldn’t get any machine to give over 10k. I find the best way is to send yourself money through Western Union. 10 dollars and the exchange rate is better then the atm. I send 50k at a time. The best way is to get a Philippines account and so wire transfers.
Hi @timmytravels23 As I mentioned in the video it is only BPI Bank of Philippines Islands that lets non-BPI cards AND that includes all foreign cards do 20k per withdrawal for a 250P fee, effecitvely cutting the ATM fee by 50%, viz., instead of doing 2 X 10k at 250P each. As I noted in the long video - cards from other Phiippines banks (not BPI) will pay a 16P fee. If you had a BPI bank account you can take out up to your daily limit for free. The same is true of all Philippins banks, PNB cards at PNB machines, BDO cards at BDO machines, etc. Glad Western Union is an option you like but it is definetely not the best way to go for anyone who has been here for over 59 days and is required to get an ACR-I card. Once they have their card, they should just open a bank account, its straight forwad, then do the Bank-To-Bank transfer to get the lowest fees and best exchange rate in their home bank. Once these funds are in their Philippines bank, this takes 1 to 4 days, the funds can be removed for free at any of their bank's ATMs or by going inside a branch. If they use another bank's ATM the fee is 16P. You mention sending 50k by Western Union - I can take out 50,000 at my PNB (I set the daily limit) with zero fees but as I mentinoed the maximum bills in one transaction is 30 (I wish I had thought of doing this when I saw the BPI machine was only giving 500s, so I could have shown more than 10k at a time - but believe me I have been doing this since my first visits here in 2017 and nothing has changed - I just don't know why other banks don't do this - except then they would lose ATM fee reveue from foreigners), so when the machine has 1,000 notes I can take out 30,000 and 20,000, back-to-back at zero cost - I can also send my wife 50,000 and she can do the same so we can take out 100k if needed for a big purchase - but that woud be rare. Amping Greg
you should do a vlog about the cost of using your Canadian phone number , most carriers charge you $15 a day just to use it overseas, when you get home look forward to a huge phone bill,
Hi phil mcleod @philmcleod111 Phone carriers sure know how to make a vacation memorable - with a hefty bill! Thanks for the suggestion on the video idea. I will try to do it after I finish the one I am working on - I have been out of commission for 3 days with a bad flu. Hopefully back to normal soon today (Tuesday) is the first time I have sat at the computer since Saturday - and only to reply to a few comments. My last trips I used an e-sim from Airalo app. I have used it in Thailand, Hong Kong, USA and Canada very cheap data - so you can use your phone with no big surprise bills as long as you turn off your regular SIM. For a Canadian phone # I use OpenPhone app it is US$10 per month and you can pick a local number from wherever you want - I picked my dad's town in Alberta so he can call me from his landline and it will ring wherever I am in the world as long as I have an internet connection. That $15 per day fee you mention is huge in comparison to the monthly cellphone cost in the Philippines - I have an expensive PostPaid plan here (P999 CD$23.60 US$17.04) which gives me 20GB data per month and unlimited calling and texting. Amping Greg
PLEASE Subscribe czcams.com/users/CanadianInPhilippines Sharing Philippines retired life. Thank you for your support. Salamat Greg & Lindie
Awesome! Keep them frugal tips coming!
Thanks BeerBikes AndBeaches @BeerBikes
Have you heard this one ... frugal tips are like potato chips - you can never have just one! 😜🙊
Amping Greg and Lindie
Awesome explanation. This was the exact video I was looking for when I take my vacation to the Philippines. Thank you so much.
Hi Jazzy G@jazzyg863
I'm glad you found the video helpful for your trip to the Philippines! Have an amazing vacation!
Amping take care, Greg
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS SAVINGS INFORMATION GOD BLESS YOU
Hi Russell Calamia @user-ye5fz4kb2b
Thank you for your view and kind words. Amping Take Care, Greg
Thanks. I kept screwing this up last year and it cost me about $60, headed back for 6 months… 😊
You are welcome AzD3 Boom @azd3boom144
I hope you have a great time again and you will get it right for sure. Hopefully you can open a bank account once you get your ACR-i card after 60 days. Good to have one account at least then you don't have to worry about carrying much cash around - can also use the ATMs and can use the Debit card to make instore purchases.
Now the bank to bank online transfers are so easy on your app or desktop. I moved money today and the online flat fee is only CD$1.99 or US$1.47 - to get the same amount of money here it would have taken many expensive ATM transactions. The last time I sent the bank-to-bank transfer was mid-afternoon on Sunday and it was in my account here Tuesday early morning.
Amping Greg
Thanks I made that same mistake! All good now though! Thanks for the video
Glad we both figured it out Travel n' solo vlogs @travelnsolovlogs I am sure they make lots of money on fees of people doing it all over th world. Amping take care, Greg
@@CanadianInPhilipipnes thanks Greg, I’m just happy I’m able to use my debit card all the way here it’s a blessing! Amping!
Wow, this great info, i was doing it the wrong way for last 6 weeks since i arrived
Glad it was helpful Stanley @ksta7090ks. I mentioned to another comment I used the bank-to-bank online transfer last Monday and the money arrived in my account here on Tuesday for a fee of $1.99 Canadian (US$1.47 or 82PHP). Amping Greg
Growing up in the USA, I’ve been using ATMs in the USA since 1984, and not once did I experience any anomalies. When I went to the Philippines there were a lot of ATMs down (?). I was dumbfounded, what the heck are they talking about???
Since then, I never trusted any digital transactions in the Philippines. I only do bank transactions in person-to-person.
Hi Suzuki Rider @Ntplano
Yes I lived in the USA, Canada and France - it is definitely a unique situation here - I assume it has something to do with the problems with the communications system. Also it annoys me my PNB bank here has 3 ATMS - they will take all 3 out for service at the same time - I said to the guard it is impossible for them to service all 3 at one time - they should do one at a time and put it back in service and go to the next one - he just smiles at me - so now I just get back in my car or on the scooter and go to the next bank - sometimes all are down at all 3 branches in Downtown Dumaguete (2 right down and one near Robinson Mall).
What type of Suzuki do you ride? I had a black M109-R when I lived in Vancouver - was a monster - I took all the decals off and was often asked at red lights what kind of bike it was - it had the massive 235 back tire. Lindie bought a Suzuki smash 125 CC here in 2018 - not quite the same as the 1,800 CC of the M109-R!!
Amping Greg
Thank you for the info Gregg, i prefer BPI bank. If your from the U.S. and canada. They prefered BPI bank. But mostly europeans, they prefer Metro bank. I don't know why? 🤔
Interesting @handsomevexcoolsman3437
I never even considered MetroBank - not sure why. I have accounts at 3 other banks.
I first got BPI in 2018 when i lived in Metro Manila Ayala Alabang.
When I lived in Metro Manila BGC in 2020 I went to a BPI branch one-block from my condo - to try to update my address on my account. They said they couldn't do it and I couldn't do it online but I had to go back to my main branch - where I opened my account in Ayala Alabang.
I said that can't be true - you want me to drive an hour and make the change and drive back another hour YES, and then I asked what if I moved to another island - SAME.
I was annoyed and went around the corner and opened an account with BDO - they were very professional and opened my account while I was there. They let me open a Savings account but they wouldn't let me open a checking account. I learned they had a rule about needing to have an account for a length of time before opening the checking account - I don't recall that at BPI. I was going to open one later but because of that issue I never got around to it and becaue BDO did this I never closed my BPI accounts as I had savings and checking accounts there. Now I rarely use my BDO - I should really close it.
When I decided to move to Negros Oriental and visited there a number of times I found there were many more PNBs around than the other banks and I had a PNB branch right next door to my condo so I opened a PNB account and now 4 years later probably 98% of my business is through PNB. The only negative there are no PNB machines in Sibulan so I have to pay 16P Service Fee if I don't feel like going to the PNB ATMs in Dumaguete.
Amping Greg
👍👏👍
Salmat @PhilippinesMyParadise I am glad you liked it.
Someone commmented just before you but I didn't post it - their post was filled with errors a cut and paste from Google about how amazing HSBC is and they are the only bank in the Philippines with no ATM fees.
They claimed my post was wrong because HSBC doesn't charge ATM fees - but they are mistaken PNB also doesn't charge ATM fees, BDO doesn't charge ATM Fees, BPI doesn't charge ATM fees, same as HSBC but that is ONLY FOR CUSTOMERS of each of those banks. When I use my BPI ATM card at BPI I get no fees.
HSBC and the other banks are not charities, all the banks are the same - they are a business so they offer free ATM fees for their own customers, but charge Fees for non-customes, whether a Philippine bank card or Foreign bank card, as I noted most charge 16p for debit cards from other Philippine banks and 250P for foreign debit cards.
But he misunderstood the point of my video - it wasn't about getting FREE ATM fees, if it was I would have used my BPI Card - rather this video was to show Expats they can use their foreign ATM (Debit) card at a Philippines ATM and how to do it the cheapest way possible. Obviously a foreign Debit card is NOT a client of a Philippine bank so they cant avail of the free ATM fees for their transactions.
Maybe he was trying to get advertisement for HSBC - good for customers of their bank but it only has 6 branches in the Philippines, 4 in Metro Manila, 1 in Cebu and 1 in Davao - so good luck to the HSBC holders finding their branches in the Philippines. You will spend more money on travel time/costs to get your free ATM fees - better to just use your closest ATM and pay the service fee.
But hopefully it was clear ATM fees were not the main point of my video, in fact at one point when the ATM Fee warning came up on the ATM Screen - I put the phrase - NO choice choose YES if you want your cash, the main point was avoiding the big cost in the Currency Exchange difference and the video shows how to avoid getting hit with an unfavorable exchange rate at the ATM (or any store) and how to pick the correct button to get the lowest exchange rate - saving money on the better exchange rate (not the fixed ATM fee).
Salamat sir, amping Greg
250 pesos is $6 CDN a pop and if you can only take 10-20000 each time you're going to be hitting it a lot. Do you know if Google wallet works in the Philippines?
Hi GoHabsGo8693 @GoHabsGo-db7cb
Have you visited before? If you are here longer than 59-days you must get an ACR Card and with that you can open a bank account and that will let you have the cheapest way to get money here through a bank-to-bank transfer., easy and fast to do from any country.
If you are just holidaying how much cash to you need? You can come with PHP or even CDN$ or US$ and convert here. You can also use credit cards in many places. I visited 4X before moving here and only remote islands are all cash - so it depends where you plan on visiting for how much cash you will need.
FYI - 20,000 PHP cash goes a long way here so I am not sure how many ATM transactions you will be doing - depends on your planned budget and how long you will be staying.
As far as Google Wallet it is not available in the Philippines. Just Google "where can you use google wallet" and click on "Use Google Wallet for payments" and you will see a list of countries you can use it.
The main form of e-payment in Asia is GCash, you can use for any trasit/food-delivery apps like Grab, or online purchases like Shopee.
Hope that helps a bit.
Amping take care, Greg
@@CanadianInPhilipipnes Thanks for the reply my friend... After looking at the currency converter I realize that I would likely probably not need to do anymore than about 5 transactions. Is it easy to do a transfer between a Canadian bank account and a Philippines account? This will be my first time visiting the Philippines however I do plan to stay long term. Thanks again.
Hi gregg.. just wanna ask if the chequing in visa debit card is as the same at the atm checking acct..or shoul i choose also current account for withdrawal..thank you and God Bless
Hi GABRIEL BAGSIT @GABRIELBAGSIT-ch7ey
When you use a Debit Card you will get two options, Visa DEBIT or PLUS. Visa DEBIT works for Foreign Debit Cards - your bank will know what account to take it out of (checking or current). The important thing to do is to make sure NOT to pick CONTINUE WITH CONVERSION and make sure you click on CONTINUE WITHOUT CONVERSION and you will save money.
When I first came I tried the PLUS and it didn't work - BIP offers a Saver PLUS account - not sure why that would pop up with a foreign debit card - but just ignore it.
Good luck. If you have any difficulty and are at a bank branch just ask the guard if you can do it with a person and they will find someone to either assist you at their desk or at the ATM. If you run into a place that is not so friendly it's ok - just try the next bank - most are friendly. Amping - take care, Greg
@@CanadianInPhilipipnes thanks a lot bro ❤️❤️❤️
Walay sapayan no problem GABRIEL BAGSIT @GABRIELBAGSIT-ch7ey good luck and safe travels. Amping Greg
Yes that's right Greg BDO also is the same only 10k allowed to withdraw 😂 oh I saw your pincode Greg 😜 just joking happy Valentine's day to both of you there God bless ❤
Happy Valentines day to you also @lovablegurl8383. No problem you can take some money from my account😜
I am good at hiding my code - it was just a bit harder holding the camera in one hand. Have a great night. Amping. Greg
@@CanadianInPhilipipnes 😂😂 I'm just joking e even a tail of the numbers I can't see when you press it😁 soon I'm monitize Greg and I don't know what do I'm 3,250.1 watch hour so it's almost 4000 maybe 1,800 subscriber I'm monitize needs more tumbling jumping rolling to get 1.8k😁
@lovablegurl8383 - so happy for you.
Just keep doing some long videos and your watch hours will climb - maybe cooking and eating your favorite Filipino dish!!!
We were monetized Dec 14 but then you have to go through some more steps. The last step is that Google (owns CZcams) sends a letter through regular mail service to your house for verification - in the letter is a code you are supposed to enter in a month. Our letter was mailed from California on December 29, 2023 - we are way passed 30 days and I have been to the Post Office 3X - Google doesn't seem to understand that the Mail system does not work here like other countries. I have never received a letter by PhilPost since I moved here in 2018 - the only way I have received something is by Courier. When I went to the post office they had many undelivered envelopes from Google - so all those content creators are stil waiting for their confirmation letters. OMG it is never a simple process. HOPING our letter arrives soon so we can enter the code as required. I will let you know how long it takes so you will know for your process. I am done editing for the day time for sleep. Amping Greg
I couldn’t get any machine to give over 10k. I find the best way is to send yourself money through Western Union. 10 dollars and the exchange rate is better then the atm. I send 50k at a time. The best way is to get a Philippines account and so wire transfers.
Hi @timmytravels23
As I mentioned in the video it is only BPI Bank of Philippines Islands that lets non-BPI cards AND that includes all foreign cards do 20k per withdrawal for a 250P fee, effecitvely cutting the ATM fee by 50%, viz., instead of doing 2 X 10k at 250P each. As I noted in the long video - cards from other Phiippines banks (not BPI) will pay a 16P fee.
If you had a BPI bank account you can take out up to your daily limit for free. The same is true of all Philippins banks, PNB cards at PNB machines, BDO cards at BDO machines, etc.
Glad Western Union is an option you like but it is definetely not the best way to go for anyone who has been here for over 59 days and is required to get an ACR-I card. Once they have their card, they should just open a bank account, its straight forwad, then do the Bank-To-Bank transfer to get the lowest fees and best exchange rate in their home bank. Once these funds are in their Philippines bank, this takes 1 to 4 days, the funds can be removed for free at any of their bank's ATMs or by going inside a branch. If they use another bank's ATM the fee is 16P.
You mention sending 50k by Western Union - I can take out 50,000 at my PNB (I set the daily limit) with zero fees but as I mentinoed the maximum bills in one transaction is 30 (I wish I had thought of doing this when I saw the BPI machine was only giving 500s, so I could have shown more than 10k at a time - but believe me I have been doing this since my first visits here in 2017 and nothing has changed - I just don't know why other banks don't do this - except then they would lose ATM fee reveue from foreigners), so when the machine has 1,000 notes I can take out 30,000 and 20,000, back-to-back at zero cost - I can also send my wife 50,000 and she can do the same so we can take out 100k if needed for a big purchase - but that woud be rare. Amping Greg
you should do a vlog about the cost of using your Canadian phone number , most carriers charge you $15 a day just to use it overseas, when you get home look forward to a huge phone bill,
Hi phil mcleod @philmcleod111
Phone carriers sure know how to make a vacation memorable - with a hefty bill!
Thanks for the suggestion on the video idea. I will try to do it after I finish the one I am working on - I have been out of commission for 3 days with a bad flu. Hopefully back to normal soon today (Tuesday) is the first time I have sat at the computer since Saturday - and only to reply to a few comments.
My last trips I used an e-sim from Airalo app. I have used it in Thailand, Hong Kong, USA and Canada very cheap data - so you can use your phone with no big surprise bills as long as you turn off your regular SIM.
For a Canadian phone # I use OpenPhone app it is US$10 per month and you can pick a local number from wherever you want - I picked my dad's town in Alberta so he can call me from his landline and it will ring wherever I am in the world as long as I have an internet connection.
That $15 per day fee you mention is huge in comparison to the monthly cellphone cost in the Philippines - I have an expensive PostPaid plan here (P999 CD$23.60 US$17.04) which gives me 20GB data per month and unlimited calling and texting.
Amping Greg