Credit Cards for senior citizens

         My wife is a dual citizen and 70 years old, she can only get a debit card here.  Some businesses refuse the debit card, but will take her US credit card.

Not sure Findlay MacD.

Age maybe who knows, far different operating requirements etc. About a year after we moved here I cancelled my Amex and Mastercard as we never used them, far less travel and purchases etc. Amex slugged us AU 150 per year and Black Mastercard from memory AU 100 bucks a year for a service we rarely used once moving here, Cash is king, debit cards both here and Oz as well as Gcash seem to work.

Better half was badgered by BDO for a credit card sign up years ago with a limit of a whole P 20K,,,,, go figure, I have no need to bother as the 3 things we use work perfectly for purchases and paying bills.

OMO.

Cheers, Steve.

@FindlayMacD

Yes. Seems to be a problem as, in my case the age limit appears to be 70. One option may be, if an S&R member, to get one of their cards. The other option is to take one out in wife's name if under the age limit. This was suggested by BDO as an option.

Depending on the credit card you want, you will need an annual income. At least the BPI has that rule. I use the bank account/debit card (BDO) of my wife to pay and withdraw money. Refill with WISE money transfer from my bank account in Austria. No need for credit cards here.

@FindlayMacD

I would be interested to hear if there are any consumer protection ( probably zippy dip) laws in the Philippines when using a credit card.

I say this because here in the UK (the OP is a Brit) we have a wonderful piece of legislation that was passed in 2015 entitled the ‘Consumer Rights Act’. Essentially ANY purchase made between £100 (US$125) & £30,000 (US$ 38,000) is covered under the Act.

You are covered for a period of 6 years with a credit card (120 days with a Debit card). So for example anything purchased online can be returned to the supplier for no reason within 14 days. After that if its a faulty item, or is not ‘fit for purpose’ to use the jargon, can be returned.

Moreover (and this part of the legislation is really beneficial) Even if you pay £101 deposit on a card for a £25,000 car for example and the rest by bank transfer YOU ARE STILL COVERED FOR THE ENTIRETY OF THE FULL AMOUNT PAID if problems arise.

A case in point:

Last September I purchased a replacement Braun shaver cassette head from a Chinese website (via ebay for £25 instead of £50 from a UK store.) This was through my credit card. The cassette buckled after 9 weeks. Ebay refused to refund my account even though other users had the same problem.

I emailed ‘Lulu’ the Chinese (would be wouldn’t it ) seller quoting the Chinese Confucius proverb “ He who laughs last laughs longest”

Because the amount was under £100 I did not have an automatic right to a refund so went down the ‘chargeback’ route. The Filipina call centre girl in Manila (yeah right) said we need you to get the cassette analysed by a third party registered Shaver dealer to confirm that the foil is a fake.

For fear of upsetting the Forum Police I am not at liberty to state what my expletive was.

I then went down to the local branch of my bank here in Bath (HSBC) and demanded to see the manager who calls himself ‘Team Leader’🙄. I read the riot act to him. Given that I am a Premier account holder I requested £100 compensation to which he credited my account immediately and apologised.

What many UK punters (we’re all punters in this world) don’t realise is that you can appeal above your banks decision to the UK Financial Ombudsman for free. Quite simply if there has been a ‘breach of contract’ by the supplier they will rule in your favour and the bank has to cough up. It actually costs the bank or any credit card supplier a fee of £600 if they fight your claim. You nothing even if they find in the banks favour.

Why get so pissed off about £25 quid? Its the principle and for me I ended up having the last laugh with Lulu. As for eBay well I shall never use their service again. Credit card protections DO NOT Apply if you use Paypal. Always use credit card with eBay.

Findlay’s question specifically relates to Philippine credit cards so would be interested to know if there is any protection in place or indeed with other countries.

I suppose the answer is to use a UK forwarding mail address with your UK,bank which would allow you to keep your domiciled bank account and be protected by the above legislation. UK banks cannot deny a pensioner a credit card as it counts as age discrimination with one caveat: if you have a very poor credit rating they can refuse on these grounds but worth trying other credit card providers whose lending (which is effectively what they are doing) criteria are less stringent.

One of my debit cards is the US (great bank!) JP Morgan Chase. It has a facility on the app where you can check your credit rating in seconds. In fact everyone should do this at least twice a year to make sure there have been no frauds on your account which would act negatively on your rating.

By the way ‘Lulu’ is still trading on eBay..

FindlayMacD said . . . . I'd like to hear ex-pat members knowledge and advice on this subject. When I lived in the UK I had several credit cards, but then, for some reason, probably because they became aware that I now lived in the Philippines, my UK bank (Santander UK) closed my UK bank account and also cancelled my two credit cards that I had with them.
I Have three active bank accounts accounts here in the Philippines but try as I might, I can't seem to get an actual credit card although I have applied to many banks and institutions for a credit card. Recently someone told me that the reason I have been rejected for a credit cards was probably because I was over 65 years of age.

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I can't help you there, but to members I have this advice:

Cards can be cancelled for inactivity after one year. So make timely charges from time to time. It's important on credit cards you have had for years. FICO (USA) scores are base on the longevity and percentage of credit available to credit used and your payment history.

@Lotus Eater

I think the UK legislation you are referring to is the Consumer Credit Act. The Philippines does have a Consumer Rights Act (R.A. 7394), which like the UK Consumer Rights Act does not address credit card protections.

Providers of consumer credit are supposedly regulated by the Philippines Central Banks, but there is no Consumer Credit Act.

The credit card issuing banks seem to offer some limited protections, but nothing on the scale of the UK Consumer Credit Act, and you can only imagine the amount of red tape that would be involved to pursue even the simplest of claims.

@TrevorH

Yes indeed Trevor. You are right its the 1974 consumer credit act which used in conjunction with the 2015 legislation gives the UK consumer tremendous protection. As the 1970's American Express TV commercial states 'Never leave home without it'

I've been thinking maybe not in Finlay's charge card problem, but from time to time my CC issuers ask for an update on my income.

As per many expats who are older their income can be much lower as they are not working. A retirement income can surely jeopardize the ability to repay because it is lower than the original threshold when the card was issued.

When I'm asked one of the options is ask me later. It can be much lower, so be careful on what you answer.

On another thread about regarding SS and their checking of proof of life I recently received two letters from SS sent to my mail forwarder, I was concerned maybe they were questioning me so I spent $58 to have the letters FedEx'd to me. The one letter said I was getting an increase and the other letter let me know how much I received in 2024 benefits.

So $58 down the drain.

the other letter let me know how much I received in 2024 benefits.

So $58 down the drain. - @Enzyte Bob

Always good to know what number they sent to the IRS.

@Enzyte Bob

As per many expats who are older their income can be much lower as they are not working. A retirement income can surely jeopardize the ability to repay because it is lower than the original threshold when the card was issued.

Well yes and no. Once an individual reaches retirement inevitably (at least for most people) their income will reduce. That said a state pension is guaranteed for life. Someone who is self employed (like I am) is arguably a riskier proposition.

Moreover many pensioners will have a consistent additional income through private pensions & annuities (guaranteed)

"So $58 down the swanny" At least you have piece of mind Bob. Does that amount come to one months pension increase?

@Enzyte Bob
As per many expats who are older their income can be much lower as they are not working. A retirement income can surely jeopardize the ability to repay because it is lower than the original threshold when the card was issued.

Well yes and no. Once an individual reaches retirement inevitably (at least for most people) their income will reduce. That said a state pension is guaranteed for life. Someone who is self employed (like I am) is arguably a riskier proposition.
Moreover many pensioners will have a consistent additional income through private pensions & annuities (guaranteed)

- @Lotus Eater

          I know a pair of teachers in PA who retired after 35 years of public school teaching.  Their state pension was 87.5% of the average of their three highest years wages.  They took extra assignments to earn extra monies their last three years, such as clubs or coaching sports, with the idea that the extra earnings would pay 87.5% of the extra earnings every year of retirement .  they retired at age 58, and were also eligible for social security benefits starting at age 62.  They waited until age 70 and got 32% a year more than if they would have started collecting at age 66.  At age 72 they had to start taking required minimum distributions from their IRA accounts.  At age 72 they had by far their highest reportable income in their lives.  Age 73 will be even higher.

I hear you mugtech, retired at 59, lived of savings and investments very comfortably and let my super grow until I turned it into a pension fund when I was 64. I actually make more money now than when I was working myself to death and we can't spend it, just keeps growing and not taxable.

Happy camper sitting on the beach enjoying life and did away with credit cards 5 or more years ago.

Cheers, Steve.