I’m not a fan of credit cards. In my 35 years of existence on this planet, I only had one credit card in my possession. Never renewed it again. By the way Citibank, you still owe me a few pesos since I overpaid.
I first heard of BPI’s My e-Prepaid MasterCard on twitter. Last week, I received an email from BPI with a link to the card application page. Of course I had to check the card fees first. The Php500 processing fee is not that heavy-on-the-pocket since the card is valid for 2 years. Unionbank’s EON Visa Debit Card charges an annual fee of Php 350.
Unlike a credit card where you will be billed for your purchases after a certain period, you will need to load your My ePrepaid MasterCard with funds first before you can use it to pay for purchases. A debit card is linked to your savings account, every time you pay using your debit card, your savings account balance will automatically be deducted with the amount of your purchase. Since prepaid cards are not linked to your savings account, your purchases won’t affect your savings.
In case you’re wondering why I’m comparing it to Unionbank’s EON card, it’s because you can verify your Paypal account using a My ePrepaid card. Paypal questions, please read on below.
- Can I use My ePrepaid in PayPal? Yes. You can link your My ePrepaid Card to your PayPal.
- Can I withdraw my funds from PayPal transferring funds to my card? No. You can only use your My ePrepaid Card to fund your PayPal account for purchases, but not to withdraw PayPal funds.
- How do I link my card to my PayPal account? When linking your My ePrepaid MasterCard to PayPal, please make sure your card has at least Php 150 load. PayPal charges $1 to link your card to your PayPal account, and Php 100 when you confirm your card. After successfully confirming your card, PayPal will return the Php 100 to your PayPal account in the form of PayPal credits.
I applied for a card because it can be used to purchase airline tickets from PAL. Although the card has a maximum allowable amount of P10,000 load, it’s already good with 1 or 2 local airline ticket purchases.
Click on the link to find out how to get one for yourself: BPI Prepaid Cards Application Page
