Money - credit cards

I guess it depends where in the Philippines! In large cities….  Most places accept Visa or Mastercard.

20 years ago… most shops still had a cash and a card price with a 5 % to 10% cheaper gap in favor of cash…..

Some places never really change here with old 1970 malls look a like still playing 70s music……

well we are in Cauayan and no cards accepted. I had to pay P48,000+ for car tires....cash.

But i understand, just wish it wasn't that way, still.

well we are in Cauayan and no cards accepted. I had to pay P48,000+ for car tires....cash.
But i understand, just wish it wasn't that way, still.
-@stuleer

Usually for charges like that, for example, aircon or building materuals, I have found it possible to use a store that accepts credit cards. One time I saw an all electric range for 50K but the store would not accept a card. In that case I refused the purchase and looked elsewhere and still haven't found one. I am not going to walk around with $1000 cash to patronize some store that refuses the convenience to customers; if they think foreigners typically shop for large appliances with $1000 in their pocket they are crazy. I am sure that their cash only policy limits their business but they seem to know that and do not care. As for tires, we do have a Goodyear place here that accepts credit cards.

We found the same deals in Vigan, we got a 2% cash discount buying appliances. Most everything else is cash.  Ran into the same problem on Cyprus in 2015.  No place took any credit cards they wanted Euros for everything.  In Ilocos Sur we go to the bank every week and take out US dollars from my wife's account and go to the local Two Brothers department store and get better rates on the dollars for pesos.  I periodically make depositsinto the wife's account from my US account using a check.  It takes 30 days to clear and the service charge is $5 per depositno matter the amount. I    usually deposit $4000 every three months. Of course when we stay in Manila the credit cards are more useful.

@Tdionnet

Some places never really change here with old 1970 malls look a like still playing 70s music……

Burt Bacharach & Hal David songs - whatever did they see in them ....

Many stores here in the major cities accept credit cards in my experience. Like Dan Finn mentioned, the Goodyear dealer, and the better restaurants, even the Yamaha dealer took my CC for the Mio I bought my partner last year, but they did charge me 1000p separately for the privilege. It was still a good deal as the CC company gave me an excellent exchange rate and I wanted the points, haha.

I never had a problem using charge cards. Upon arriving in the Philippines many large appliances had to be purchased. . . refrigerator, tv, microwave, et cetra. Also I used a Citibank debit card to withdraw money at Citi ATM's.

Initially most of my purchases from S&R/Landers were on a charge card as they offer protection from fraud. After my acclamation of the do's and don'ts of the Philippines, I became more accustomed to using a debit card (BDO).

At the same time I discovered Wise and frequently move money to my BDO account. I don't store money at BDO, I leave it in the states. Now that Wise transfers the funds almost instantaneously with low fees and excellent exchange rates, I can transfer just in time.

Good point Bob, I forgot that I also purchased most of the appliances with a credit card.

I never had a problem using charge cards. Upon arriving in the Philippines many large appliances had to be purchased. . . refrigerator, tv, microwave, et cetra. Also I used a Citibank debit card to withdraw money at Citi ATM's.
Initially most of my purchases from S&R/Landers were on a charge card as they offer protection from fraud. After my acclamation of the do's and don'ts of the Philippines, I became more accustomed to using a debit card (BDO).

At the same time I discovered Wise and frequently move money to my BDO account. I don't store money at BDO, I leave it in the states. Now that Wise transfers the funds almost instantaneously with low fees and excellent exchange rates, I can transfer just in time.
-@Enzyte Bob

Wait, you used a Citibank debit card to withdraw money at a Citi ATM in the Philippines? I have a Citi account as one of the places to have money split up and the extra debit card. I believe Cebu City has 1-2 Citi ATM's as I recall looking online before. Maybe I can even open an account in that branch and make instant transfers? One could only hope.

When you use a USA based Credit Card, be sure to choose Pesos instead of US Dollars. In my case, I found that the Exchange rate was even better than a WISE Transfer (after deducting their fees), and they don't charge me a Foreign transaction fee. Many do, so beware. When I chose US Dollars for the Card, I was charged a fee through a BDO exchange App which was a surprise. If you carefully use the Card just after their Statement date, it gives you up to 30 days use of the money with no Interest - assuming you pay the full balance, which I do.

I never had a problem using charge cards. Upon arriving in the Philippines many large appliances had to be purchased. . . refrigerator, tv, microwave, et cetra. Also I used a Citibank debit card to withdraw money at Citi ATM's.
Initially most of my purchases from S&R/Landers were on a charge card as they offer protection from fraud. After my acclamation of the do's and don'ts of the Philippines, I became more accustomed to using a debit card (BDO).

At the same time I discovered Wise and frequently move money to my BDO account. I don't store money at BDO, I leave it in the states. Now that Wise transfers the funds almost instantaneously with low fees and excellent exchange rates, I can transfer just in time.
-@Enzyte Bob
Wait, you used a Citibank debit card to withdraw money at a Citi ATM in the Philippines? I have a Citi account as one of the places to have money split up and the extra debit card. I believe Cebu City has 1-2 Citi ATM's as I recall looking online before. Maybe I can even open an account in that branch and make instant transfers? One could only hope.
-@Larry Fisher

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Larry I had the same thought, I went to Citibank in the Philippines and was disappointed when they told me I could not link the accounts for transfers, so I never opened a Citi account in the Philippines.

Wells Fargo charges me a 3% currency conversion fee for credit card purchases. I stopped using the card after I found that out.

Wells Fargo charges me a 3% currency conversion fee for credit card purchases. I stopped using the card after I found that out.
-@Moon Dog

Ouch.

My Hawaiian Airlines mastercard (Barclaybank) has no foreign transaction fees, so that's the one I use if I make a large purchase here. Also my American Express has no foreign fees but also no points

Talamban is correct - always choose pesos for the transaction so the official exchange rate (or close to it) is used when the transaction posts through the international gateway, otherwise you will get robbed.

@Moon Dog

I have chase private client account and I and not charged ant atm fees or money Transfer fees or credit card purchases