How To Waive Credit Card Annual Fees

 

Last week started off with a decent surprise as I was able to save Php1,800 by having my Citibank Cash Back Visa's annual fee waived. No questions asked. No conditions necessary. I don't normally expect that from Citibank since it is the only credit card company that was able to force me to pay up on an annual fee a few years back. Getting away with an annual fee without anything in return is quite rare these days. But I did it with not one, not two, but three credit cards this year. That means I get to enjoy getting points and/or rebates on gas, phone bills, groceries and other purchases for another year. 

Credit Card Annual Fee is the yearly membership fee charged to a cardholder for the right to carry and use a lender's credit card. Today I am gonna share with you many different ways to save on your credit card annual fees. All based on personal experience. 

1. Use your points or miles. In most cases, banks just won't waive your annual fees without anything in return. They would suggest that you give up your points in exchange for the annual fee reversal. 
2. Transaction-based conditions. In my experience with Standard Chartered's Platinum Cash Rewards Visa, I had to make five (5) swipes in order to reverse my annual fee. I gladly obliged since there was no minimum amount required. I could have just bought five 99-cent Apps from the AppStore and I would have saved Php2,500. I didn't buy apps, but I did save twenty five hundred bucks.
3. Amount-based conditions. HSBC once asked me to spend a total of Php5,000 within 30 days so that they would waive my annual fee.
4. Auto-charge a utility bill. Saved another Php1,800 by enrolling my cellphone bill to my credit card.
5. Enroll to e-statements. If you haven't done so, go green now. You save a thousand bucks and you help save mother earth too.  
6. Subscribe to text/e-mail alerts. This is my favorite. Partly because it doesn't make sense (for the bank/credit card company). But hey, I saved Php1,200 by doing this.  
7. Request for an annual fee reversal/waiver. Sometimes, all you have to do is simply ask.

How about you? How were you able to reverse your credit card's annual fee?

P.S. If you like this post, kindly use the share button above, or subscribe to Richardson Consulting. That's all for now. Happy swiping everyone! =)

My Take On Cost Averaging

 

As many of you already know, the Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) has been on a rampage, breaking record highs day after day after day. Value investors must be smiling right now since most of the stocks they bought one or two years ago are probably 3 or 5-baggers by now. Those who invested in the stock market via cost averaging (as recommended by Bro. Bo Sanchez in his free e-book) are probably smiling too. But some people might be asking: what the heck is cost averaging?

According to wikipedia, Cost Averaging is an investment strategy wherein money is invested in equal amounts regularly and periodically over specific time periods (such as P1,000 monthly) in a particular investment or portfolio. By doing so, more shares are purchased when prices are low and fewer shares are purchased when prices are high. The point of this is to lower the total average cost per share of the investment, giving the investor a lower overall cost for the shares purchased over time.
Like I said before, I am not a big fan of Cost Averaging. I must admit, though, that I would have used this investment strategy during the global economic recession. Bu that was 2008. Fast-forward to 2010, if I were asked right now if I would cost average my investments, I'd probably say 'No'. Here's why:
Cost averaging is feasible in any market, whether rising or falling. But while it is true that a person who invested Php120,000 in a top performing equity mutual fund in 2009 through cost averaging (10k per month) would have probably earned more than 100%, fact is, that person didn't maximize his potential ROI. As seen in the image below, cost averaging was not as feasible compared to a lump sum investment. Both strategies, however, did give decent returns because we currently are in a bull market.

On the other hand, when the market is going downhill, it may be wise to cost average an investment for the simple reason that we do not know when a market hits its bottom. At the same time, we are able to mitigate the risk of buying too many shares at too high a price. As we can see in the theoretical scenario below, the total average cost per share of the investment was lowered significantly compared to a single lump sum investment. In this scenario, cost averaging was the more feasible investment strategy.

In a nutshell, money cost averaging is still feasible at any market. But in a bull market, doing so may not yield the maximum earning potential of your investment. In a bear market, however, cost averaging is a more favorable strategy. How about you? What's your take on cost averaging and other investment strategies? Let me know by dropping a comment below. Thanks! P.S. If you like this post, kindly use the share button above, or subscribe to Richardson Consulting. That's all for now. Happy investing everyone! =)