There is a new breed of Filipino travelers, those who prefers do-it-yourself vacations and diy travel itineraries on a budget. One thing that unites these travelers are promo fares like piso fare launches.
There was a piso fare promo from both Cebu Pacific Air and Air Asia Zest early days of March, and online traffic slammed the two booking websites to crawling speed until the airline sites becomes inaccessible.
For the lucky ones who were able to start the booking process, they faced another hurdle, that of paying for the reserve tickets in a convenient, easy way. Our 1PisoFare Team believes that the easiest way to pay for online tickets is to use an Atm card or Credit Card or Paypal (for Cebu Pacific), then for Air Asia it’s via DragonPay to avoid the high credit card processing fee.
But how about those who do not have access to these payment options? Those who don’t have a credit card and debit card, can they still book Air Asia tickets, Cebu Pacific promo fares? PAL seat sale? Is there an alternative for them?
The answer is YES. There are available offline payment methods like 7 Eleven, LBC, Bayad Center, Cebuana Lhuillier and over-the-counter bank deposits like in BDO and Metrobank. But these options entails that you physically go to the payment outlet within the allotted time frame given by the airline. If you can’t pay on time, your ticket reservation is forfeited.
We all know that promos like PISO FARE 2017 starts midnight but payment centers are closed at night except for 7 Eleven. What if there is no nearby 7 Eleven branch and you are rearing to book?
The good news is this – there is another way to pay for PAL, Cebu Pacific and Air Asia promo tickets and that is by using prepaid cards like GCash and GCash Mastercard.
HOW TO APPLY FOR GCASH?
If you have a Globe sim card, register your sim for a GCash account. Dial *143# on your phone, a menu will pop-up. Look for “GCash”, then hit “Register”. You will need to enter the following info:
- 4digit GCash Pin or MPIN
- Year of Birth
- Complete Address
- First Name
- Last Name
Once done you need to wait for a confirmation message that will be sent to your Globe phone. You will know you successfully registered for GCash when you get the confirmation sms.
Once registered, you can then just load your GCash account wallet with enough funds for your projected ticket expense. Ideally, a day or days before the next piso fare promo so the funds are ready for spending the moment official booking period begins.
Why load early? There had been a few reported delays in receiving the loads from loading stations or remittance centers. So to minimize delays possibilities, it is best to load funds to your GCash ahead especially if you know a fantastic seat sale is coming up. It pays to be ready!
*You can already put funds or cash-in to your GCash account even if you do not have a physical GCash blue card. You can also use this fund to pay for online shopping where GCash is accepted.
You can pay Air Asia tickets booked online using GCash via DragonPay with no high processing fee. Check 1PisoFare guide for the Air Asia – DragonPay Payment here.
You can also pay Cebu Pacific tickets using GCash by accessing your GCash menu on your phone then “Pay Bills”. Check the Cebu Pacific – GCash Guide here.
Unfortunately, you can’t use GCash to pay for PAL and PAL Promo tickets yet. For PAL, you need a GCash Mastercard to be able to book online then pay.
APPLY for GCASH MASTERCARD
You need a GCash account or wallet to apply for a GCash Mastercard. The wallet will be connected to the card.
Once you are registered to GCash, go to the nearest Globe store branch to apply for a GCash Mastercard.
*If there is a GCash Mastercard Caravan happening in your area, go there because you may be able to get the card for a discounted fee.
A GCash Mastercard has the “Mastercard Logo” on the front of the card. See the picture above.
The GCash Mastercard acts like a prepaid credit card. The good thing about this is that you won’t run the risk of excessive spending because the available funds there are only what you deposited or “cash in” to your GCash account.
Example: If you will load P1000 to your GCash, then you have P1000 that you can spend buying stuff online where Mastercard is accepted like in Lazada or Zalora, or paying for your promo tickets from Air Asia, Philippine Airlines, or Cebu Pacific.
Less requirements too if you will apply for a GCash Mastercard, you only need to bring 1 valid ID, and P150 card fee. You also need to fill up the required ‘Know Your Customer’ form of Globe or the “KYC form” and then have the Globe CSR take your picture for their file.
If you will apply for a bank based debit, credit, or prepaid card, they are more strict requiring you a TIN number, 2 valid IDs, pictures, etc.
Before you leave the Globe Store, request to have your GCash Mastercard card activated. Activation typically completes within 24 hours.
You can also activate your GCash Mastercard yourself by typing *143# on your phone, go to Option 9 for GCash, then Option 2 for GCash Card Activation, Enter your GCash Mastercard number, then finally Enter your MPIN to verify and complete transaction.
GCash Mastercard Loading or Cash-in
Cashing-in or loading funds to your GCash account linked to Mastercard is easy too. You can just go to any 7 Eleven branches and load from there, or visit any Globe store to ‘deposit funds’ to your GCash wallet or any accredited “GCash loading station” like Villarica Pawnshops and Prime Asia. No loading fee for Globe Stores cash in transactions.
Alternative way to load funds to your GCash is to do online loading or fund transfer via your BPI account. We are not sure if you can load GCash via BDO internet banking. If you know for certain it is possible, please let us know by leaving a comment below.
Your GCash load or “money” will not expire. There is also no maintaining balance or annual fee. However, there is a ‘no activity fee’ or ‘maintenance fee’ of P50 if you will not use your GCash card within 6 months.
Your GCash Mastercard is accepted worldwide in establishments where Mastercard is accepted. You can even go to a Mastercard accepting ATM and withdraw funds from your GCash Mastercard. Withdrawal transaction fee is P20 for local ATM, it’s P150 if you withdraw abroad.
The Globe GCash Mastercard is real handy to have especially if you do not own a bank issued credit card. If you don’t like Globe or don’t want a GCash account, there are alternative prepaid cards available in the market. Just do some research on it.
DISCLOSURE: 1PISOFARE is not connected in any way with Globe or GCash. This is also not a sponsored post. We published this post to share info to our readers who wants to have another option to pay for promo tickets in a convenient way. If you have additional info to share about Gcash and Gcash Mastercard, kindly share to spread awareness. We will also adjust this post if there is correction to be made, just let us know in the comments section. This way 1PisoFare readers will get accurate and updated info about this product.
The next time there is an upcoming seat sale, you may want to use GCash for online ticket booking. GCash or any other Mastercard or Visa prepaid card could make it easy for you to book piso fare 2017 promo tickets.
Happy promo flight bookings!
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Israel Endrina says
How much the cost for GCASH Card n where to get it.
Anecita says
Sorry i dont have a pin number from the globe. . Because im work here in hongkong.. i will use the barkadahan smartone in hongkong.. can you give me the idea how to apply your Gcash ? That iam from abroad? And how can i take it the card if i m from hongkong?
Mary jean Nieva says
Gud afternoon,pwede po aq mag apply g cash mastercard,panu po
1PisoFare says
Hi Mary Jean, punta po kayo sa Globe Business office sa mga malls, dala po kayo ng IDs, at least dalawang ID. Then bring your phone with Globe SIM na naka-register na sa Gcash. Ipakita po yung requirements para maissuehan ng GCash Mastercard.
glenn says
hi. Nag book po ako ngaun sa cebu pacific tapos nagbayad po ako thru gcash app, ganu ba ktagal bgo ma confirm yung ticket ko po? nkabyad na aq tapos yung status ng flight q ay on hold pa rin.