First the good news: if you have CIRRUS on your ATM card, there are plenty of ATMs that will give you cash on Diamond Street (this is the major street that Fields dead ends into.) You don't have to take a jeepney to the Super Mall to get cash. It is well within walking distance from Fields Street. Take a jeepney to the end of Fields Street for 7.50 pesos, get off, and walk towards your right and look towards your left. There are plenty of banks on this side. You'll see numerous ATMs that will accept your ATM card as long as it is linked to CIRRUS. I was able to withdraw $15,000 pesos (close to my $300 daily limit) without any problems. I bank with Wells Fargo in California.

Now the bad news: if your bank uses the STAR PLUS system, you will have to take a ride to the Clark Airforce base and use the ATM there. My friend banks with Bank of America in California and he came up dry at all the ATMs. This bank doesn't use CIRRUS and relies on STAR PLUS. He was getting very frustrated and will probably open an account with a bank that uses CIRRUS. He had absolutely no problem using his ATM card in Thailand, but he was screwed in the Phillipines. To make matters worse, the jeepney drivers were trying to scam him with the usual taxi cab driver tricks.

The ATM machine at Kokomos is also offline and hasn't been active since I've been here. As long as you have CIRRUS you won't have a problem. The ATMs are close by.

My advice is that you avoid a headache an open a separate bank account with a bank that uses the CIRRUS system. It works in Thailand and it works in the Phillipines. It's the best way to go!

Actually, the street that crosses Fields is called McCarthur. For Cirrus card holders, BPI allows 20,000 daily maximums so you can make less trips. BPI bank is also down McCarthuer towards Robinsons Mall but on the left hand side about 250 yards before the mall.

Blazers, thanks for the correction on the street name. BPI Bank is where I pulled my 15,000 pesos. Most of the other ATM's had 4,000 limit (which you may withdraw several times until you hit your maximum withdrawal limit) or a 10,000 limit. BPI Bank with CIRRUS is the way to go here.

The Kokomoz ATM was online on Wednesday, but offline on Thursday. The Equittable PCI ATM on MacArthur was also offline yesterday. I went into the bank and the manager said something about upgrading the network and it would be down all day.

So I just got a cash advance off the card instead. Had to fill out forms like crazy, they wanted passport, driver's license, and the card and they wanted photo copies as well. But it worked out well. The only problem was the entire process took about a half hour. Not as easy as an ATM, but I did get my money. Ended up taking out 25,000 pisos. The larger amount also assures less trips to the ATM.

Most checking cards and credit cards won't limit you to daily allowances if you go into the bank. You can generally withdraw up to your cash limit on credit cards or your available balance in your checking account if you go into the bank...

Quick update - the ATM that used to be in Kokomos is now gone - as in no longer there at all.

Tried BPI Bank near Savers Mall - no joy with Bank of America - says you're not on their network.

Some of the other banks' ATM's did work with my Bank of America card, but they had 4000 peso withdrawal limits. Add to that a $5 fee and another $0.76 fee on each withdrawal, and you're looking at almost 7.5% in fees added to each 4000 peso withdrawal. Got to be a better way to get money in AC...

PG:

Since you are in Arizona you should really consider a Compass Bank account. I have both BofA and Compass and only use Compass when traveling. They have free checking and free ATM's worldwide. I shitcan BofA and their ass rape international ATM fees long ago. Even with their premier Advantage checking account with 10K on deposit they only allowed two free international ATM withdrawals. Fuck that.

http://www.compassweb.com/index.html

Short of that, I would recommend heading to Equitable PCI bank on McArthur like I talked about above and get a cash advance on one of your cards. You should be able to do it on a Visa check card and should not get hit with cash advance fees. (I actually did use a credit card for the scenario above) Just get a shitload of cash and then no more worries. You will spend some time there though. The line WON'T move quickly, but you'll save in future hassles with finding ATM's and ridiculous fees.

I should add that the BofA fee is doubly insulting because it seems that, in general, I never get hit by the OTHER banks to use their ATM's when traveling abroad. Yet MY BANK charges me FUCKING $5.00 to withdraw MY MONEY from an international ATM. Just insane.

With Compass I don't even have to worry about the rebates and sending them receipts when I withdraw internationally. There is no separate ATM fee that ever appears on the statement. No charge from them and no charge from the other bank. Oh yeah. And as part of Compass’ free checking and free ATM’s, they also give you free checks.

The Equitable PCI on Macarthur near Fields cannot give cash advances on a MasterCard, they were banned for some reason I didn't understand for two years (I think). Visa could work, I didn't try--instead I went to the Equitable on Clark Base. After several phone calls to Citibank security, and help from the branch manager (the clerks were rude), we determined that the Philippine credit card clearing organization, not Citibank, was blocking approval for a cash advance.

So I was not able to get a cash advance on MC. Instead, I went to the BPI down Macarthur a ways, and can confirm Blazer's experience of 20,000 peso withdrawals. However, I had to go an average of two times for each successful withdrawal, since it was out of money or out of order frequently.

TIP: Do not attempt to get money on a Monday before 2 PM (or, presumably, late on Sunday), the weekend withdrawals have not been replenished.

TIP: The Equitable ATM usually had such a long like as I passed it, that walking down to the BPI ATM (7 minutes) and back took less time than waiting in that line. And if you take a trike....

One of my friends there told me of someone who cashed checks for 3%, I'll have to e-mail him to find out details. That would obviously be the easy way (assuming you have money in the account).

Xenono, I did get a CompassBank account. The card doesn't work at BPI - not on Cirrus (but then neither is Bank of America). I had to poke about to find a bank on the Plus system. Then the ATM only allows withdrawals up to 4000PHP - and dispenses it all in 100's. 40 bills are a bit bulky in the wallet . But at least the bar staff are happy to exchange big bills for smaller ones, and I'm not getting raped on transaction fees.

Quick note - there are two banks on the Plus system just across the street from the Casino.

Used BPI on MacCarthur and was able to take out 20,000 per transaction. I like to split up my money with cash and ATM as the international ATM fees can kill ya and I like to keep my current account with WAMU as they have excellent service and have my business and trust accounts. Doesnt make sense for me to open up a US account just for mongering because the fees are lower.

Also remember to take out extra cash before the weekend starts as the ATM's in AC are usually empty on the weekends.

Also remember to take out extra cash before the weekend starts as the ATM's in AC are usually empty on the weekends.

Exchange rates in AC tend to dip for the weekend too... Granted it's only a few tenths of a point, but something to keep in mind.

That Bank of the Philippine Islands on MacArthur is great. I think I had used it once or twice before on a previous trip when I was taking cash advances on my GM Card towards the end of a trip. I usually only do this as a last resort if I am running low on money late on a trip because I get TOTALLY raped on cash advance fees and interest rates.

Trouble is, that Bank of the Philippine Islands, is only on the Cirrus Network which means ATM or Credit Card withdrawals have to have the Cirrus, Maestro or Mastercard logo. I noticed they also took AMEX so perhaps you could get an advance on your AMEX CC if you wanted. However, the security guard there was quite helpful.

He told me, “Visa? You go MetroBank or Equitable PCI.” Seems like both take Visa/Star Systems/Plus. The MetroBank on MacArthur allows P 10,000 per withdrawal. It is on the same side of the street as BPI and Equitable PCI and is actually located between the two. I think I recall the Equitable PCI bank only allowing P 4,000 or P 5,000 withdrawals though. There was one other bank he mentioned allowing Star/Plus/Visa withdrawals, but I don't remember now.

Hopefully this will all be a moot point soon. There is a Banco Del Oro or something like that inside SM Clark, but it is also only Cirrus, Maestro or Mastercard. Don’t know how much they allow per withdrawal.

However, there is an "ATM Center" outside SM Clark that hopefully will be populated with both Cirrus and Plus/Star network ATM's that allow P 10,000 per withdrawal or more. One can only hope!

I opened another free checking account today.

I did a Google search for free ATM's and saw an advertisement for Washington Mutual free checking.

What made the account intriguing to me were three things.

1. Free checking, no direct deposit requirement along with free checks for life.
2. No foreign atm fees charged by WAMU. (Not exactly free ATM's worldwide like Compass that will reimburse other fees, but still better than being dinged $5 per by BofA. WAMU won’t ding you as well. I've never seen a separate foreign atm charge in the Philippines or Thailand, but Visa and MC ding you 1% now. But almost all the charges I have ever seen are from my own bank...)
3. Gold MasterCard check card. (This last one was important given the whole "it is a visa atm or a MasterCard atm." It seems like MC atms are a lot easier to find abroad. Not just in Philippines, but I remember having the same problem in Rio and Sampa as well.) If my card arrives before my next trip, I think I will take both the Compass Card Visa Card and the Washington Mutual MasterCard. And now I can use BPI and get 20K P per withdrawal.

I opened up online and didn’t visit a branch at all. They don’t even have a branch in my city.

PhoenixGuy, here is the link for Arizona if you are interested:

http://www.wamu.com/personal/accountchoices/checking/wamufreechecking/default_AZ.htm

Hey Xen - looks like WaMu is on the Cirrus network? That would be THE main selling point for me, as I'm visiting AC more these days. Have you gotten your WaMu ATM card yet? Can you confirm if it's on the Cirrus network?

PG:

I have not received the card yet. I may not before this trip. They just got through verifying my funding sources, etc.

I am pretty sure Cirrus is to MasterCard what Plus is to Visa.

So if it is a MasterCard check card, it is automatically a cirrus card. Not 100% sure, but check this out:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cirrus_%28interbank_network%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PLUS

>The MetroBank on MacArthur allows P 10,000 per withdrawal.

I had the same experience this trip. I swear that sucker only allowed 4000 PHP withrawals a few months ago.

So - if you're on Plus - go to the MetroBank ATM right across the street from the entrance to Casino Filipino for 10,000 PHP withdrawals.

Better yet - get a bank card that's on the Cirrus network. There are TONS of Banco De Oro ATM's all over the new SM Mall - and they're all Cirrus. (Bank of America ATM cards are not accepted by those machines.)

Bank of America ATM cards now accepted at SM Mall.

Try the BPI Express ATM outside the Mall, looks as though it pretty much excepts anything.

Also Bank of Philippines across from Savers Mall has a BPI Express ATM, which excepts BofA.

There's a Citibank now in AC. Close to Savers Mall, ATM doesn't work yet, but was told should be working sometime in Sept. or Oct.

If u want to find Bank of America ATM look for - banc net - in red letters on the machine. Or a banner in red with the name banc net.

There's also one in Manila around the corner from LA Cafe. Walk out LA Cafe and go down the side street to the next street going away from Roxas BLV. Turn left and look for City State Bank next to City State Towers Hotel.

The BPI machine outside of SM mall accepts PLUS cards and spits out p20,000 per transaction. It is a no-fucking-brainer to use that ATM there for your cash needs.

Of course, my last 2 weeks in AC it wasn't working properly 3/4 times I tried to use it... It is STILL the Philippines! The China Bank ATM's at the mall have ALWAYS worked for me, though, and spit out 10K per transaction. Not as good as 20K, but far, FAR better than the days where a trip on a jeepney to Nepo mall to use the ATM was in order as to maximize the number of available ATM's when the inevitable "offline" message came. And if it DID work, you were usually limited to 4-5K pesos per transaction.

Besides the ATM at the mall being very convenient and safe, the Western food at the mall is a LOT cheaper than the restaurants on Fields. If you're buying for two (or more), saving 50% over Fields area restaurant prices is just another reason to take a walk over there.

Porker
Does the BPI ATM at SM give you 20K in 500's or 1K notes ?? I hate the mahcines that dispense 500 peso bills. Makes your pockets obvious targets.

500s. Actually, I'm not aware of any ATM's that give anything else.

Yeah That's why I don't like the ATMs. ZSeems they are set up for the locals mostly. You see them withdrawing 500 -2000 pesos at a time so 500s are fine for them.


To minimize the fees you want to get as large amount as you can each time. 20K in 500 peso notes fills up your pockets big time. I don't even use currency exchanges that won't give me 1K notes.

Seems I haven't posted an update in this thread since there were some major changes in the Angelss ATM scene. For anyone going to Angeles and planning to get money via ATM, I'd suggest getting a card from a bank on the Cirrus network. These work at the Banco de Oro ATM's, which are all over the place in the SM Mall in Angeles.

Damn, I though you were posting about Ass-To-Mouth. My bad!!

EA

500s? One time at SM, on a weekend, I believe, I got 10k in 100s. Pretty large pimp roll I had.

So did you make it rain ? Now that's pimpin !!

Are there any reliable CIRRUS ATMs near The Pacific Breeze? Also need to know an honest money changer close by. Any up to date intel & tips on getting the most bang for the buck would be appreciated.

Your best bet for ATM's is probably the mall at SM Clark. Walking distance, but better to just take a trike.

There are money changers all over Field Avenue. Some people like Norma's on the southeast corner of Oak and Teodoro Street.

I've also used the money changer in the convenience store at the Natalia Apartelle. That is on the corner of Teodora Street and Field.

Any ATM's at Clark airport?

CN

Kokomoz has the closest ATMs to Pacific Breeze. A 2 minute walk. They have 2 ATMs there now.

KM,

Shouldn't I get some peso's at the airport to pay the driver? or is that rolled in my hotel bill.

How's the ATM at Kokomoz. will they take a Visa ATM card? I've been seeing comments about Plus/Cirrus and withdraw limits.
My Visa ATM never got rejected in over 15 countries, so this may be the first.

CN

The pick up bill can be added to your hotel bill or paid the driver. Up to you as the universal saying goes. There are exchanges at airpost but better to just ask driver to stop for a minute at Natalia Apartelle on Field and use exchange there. Better rates and open 24/7 so no problem what time you come in.
The ATMs at Mos take Visa and MC / cirrus and plus. Will put out 10,000 peso per transaction.

This last trip I actually had the BDO ATM at SM Mall spit out 1,000 peso bills. A first . Used to give you a big mother stack of 500's . Too obvious in your pocket IMO. That one only takes cirrus however.

It is a shame that the Kokomoz ATMs have a 10KP transaction limit. I think it is best to withdraw as much as possible per transaction to avoid the outrageous transaction fees and currency conversion rates that banks charge.

I guess I will still have to make side trips to SM Mall.

The Mos ATMs are still good for an emergency though.

Thanks for the info.

KM,

Perfect.

No Prob with 10K "per transaction"
I don't get dinged any fees on my card so I'll just take out 10K - 3X.
Let's hope it's loaded with pesos.

Thx.

Ceenotes,

I do as KM suggests. I stop at Natalia's on the way in from the airport (just ask the driver) so I have some cash for the evening's festivities, but I just put the car on the hotel bill. Easier that way. Coming in as late as you are, you might want to exchange cash that first night because the ATMs run out of cash late at night on occasion.

Bambu

The SM Mall ATMs also have a 10K limit. Some are even 5K limit !! I hear there is one ATM on MacArthur Hwy that give 20K per pull but I cannot remember where it is.

Citibank gives 30k

Citibank gives 30k per, at least with a citibank atm card, not sure if you don't have it.

Over Xmas I found that Jollibee's has an ATM--1000's aplenty--and usually worked fine, while Mo's was contiually offline.

Hoko,

Thanks. It never occurred to me that there would be an ATM in Jollibees. Maybe because I refuse to eat there. I'll happiliy go there, however, to use their ATM.

FYI, my card is part of the Cirrus network and I could not use the Jolibees ATM. I believe it accepts VISA and Maestro though.

Just the other day, while the Mo's ATM was broken again, I went over to Jollibee's, it didn't work for me there, might have been my credit card company even though I used my Visa. But I did find another one other than going all the way over to SM Mall. You can either walk or take a trike, it isn't too far away. Head eastbound on Fields to the highway, hang a right and go about 4-5 blocks to Bali Hai. Across the street from BH are two BDO ATM's, worked great and spit out 1000 bills.

FYI. Jollibee is now my choice stop. Not for food, but for ATMs. They have an RCBC ATM which accepts Visa/Plus cards. And also a MetroBank which is Cirrus/Maestro/MasterCard.

In May, every time I passed by this atm, it was out of money. Bad timing I guess.

Don't recall that I have ever personally used an ATM in the PI yet. Ben Franklin is still king of the Philippines.

Sancho, I dare you to bring 6 weeks worth of Ben Franklins with you on your next trip!

I also never saw the Jollibee ATM actually working. RCBC is the same bank as the one in front of ABC Hotel. The ABC hotel ATM works about 50% of the time, spits out nice, clean 1000 peso notes when it ID in service.

You definitely cannot count on ANY ATM in AC working at any specific time especially weekends.

I agree with IAS. I bring the Benjamins . ATMs are too inconvenient and a gamble in AC.

Porker. Me???? 6 weeks in PI???? Only in my dreams.

KM. While I consider the implication that I am often traveling from the airport on a bus, carrying what may well be the annual GNP of a small village in Leyte in cash secreted on my body, I can only imagine YOU must be riding in a taxi carrying the annual GNP of the entire Provence of Leyte if you have enough Benjamen's in your possession to bankroll your entire trip. Maybe you should hire one of those tank like armored cars with the gun ports and all to pick you up at the airport.

I have been stranded without cash in Asia before due to non working ATM's. Never even tried an ATM in PI but once in Surabaya I was broke, couldn't get any of a half dozen ATM cards and credit cards to give me any cash at multiple ATM's. I only saved the day because I had 4,000 Thai Baht on me that I was able to exchange to Rupia at a very unfavorable rate. And once in Northern Thailand I went two days without being able to get an ATM to work. I milked out the cash I had on me but was about ready to don a monks robe and beg for bowels of rice before I FINALLY got an ATM to work. I also had a creepy, unfounded, Big Brother, IRS-ish scrutination of my ATM habits a few years back. It seriously freaked me out. I'm a cash only, no records kind of guy these days. I no longer trust international ATM's.

What does any of this have to do with ASS TO MOUTH? At least you covered the MOUTH TO ASS aspect with pictures of Jollibees.

So after two full weekends in AC, and even hitting the RCBC and Metrobank ATMs at Jollibee last night, on a Sunday, at 7PM, I had no trouble pulling 10K pesos from each.

Those two ATMs were very reliable for me for the 11 days I was just here and not offline or out of money once. You figure Jollibee will be very good about making sure the pinays have a way to get money for their palabok.

I use to split 50/50 between cash and ATM. I stopped after trying to get pristine 100's from my banks turned into such a chore and the final straw was when I lost 1K US cash on a trip last year.

I have almost never had a problem finding and using serviceable ATMs in Asia.

You lost 1k cash?

I thought it was bad getting ripped off by a PI ATM for 200 USD...

If you give your bank a couple of days notice they can easily have whatever amount of fresh off the press bills for you.

BofA has told me they can't (or won't) order fresh bills for any amount less than 25K for customers.

There was one bank supervisor who said she would do it for me (I guess give me 2 or 3K out of the batch and then put the rest into teller circulation or something), but then I could never get a hold of her afterward. Part of the reasons why I just gave up trying. It turned out to be too big a hassle for me and I lost the 1K.

BTW, Porker. I had an ATM in Panama or somewhere in Latin America rip me off during a trip way back. I called my bank and it took about 2 - 3 months, but I got money back (provisionally at first, then permanently) after they had the ATM operator conduct an audit.

(Message edited by xenono on September 13, 2010)

Welcome back to exciting US of A Xen.

Thanks KM.

(Message edited by xenono on September 13, 2010)

The need to bring pristine bills to AC is a complete myth.

I bring what ever the Bank gives me and to date have never had a problem cashing them.

Including bills with small tears, worn bills and bills with writings on them and even big black magic marker marks on them.

Agreed; I've never had a problem exchanging $100 bills in AC. Just make sure they are post-1991 bills that have the counterfeit measures built in. They will not exchange the older bills in some places, and you'll still occasionally get such bills from the banks. Post-1996 bills are even better. While banks may not be able to give you hot-off-the-press new bills, they will always exchange bills you have for better or newer ones.

New $100s will come out in Feb. 2011.

(Message edited by BWana_dik on September 14, 2010)