Are you trying to be a smart Christmas shopper? I am and as much as I want to keep Christmas shopping in control- regular family expenditures don’t stop on holidays and in fact, are topped up by the costs of merry-making. Memories of Christmas family reunions and community traditions like gift-giving are priceless. We don’t have to be a holiday Grinch about it just to save money but instead look for ways to make your money and shopping work for you.
Important Note from Mommy Lace: Only use a credit card if you already know how to properly use one. Never use a credit card to buy something that you know you will have difficulty paying for.
Use your credit card with the best Christmas rewards
Does your bank automatically send you credit cards? My bank does and so far, I am only using one of all that they have sent. It’s a good idea to check out and review the Christmas rewards and specials of these credit cards and compare them with each other.
Buy Now Pay Later Offers
Some credit cards are now offering up to 2 months billing holiday at 0% interest, depending on how much you spend (typically P3,000). If you are good at budgeting your money and have a better plan for your cash on hand (i.e. investing your 13th month vs. using it to pay for purchases) then you might want to take advantage of these buy now pay later offers.
Be sure to read the fine print as every bank or credit card company have varying terms & conditions.
Credit Card Christmas Promos
One credit card company who has an exciting raffle promotion is Citibank. Ongoing now until January 31, 2016 – Shell, Citi, and BMW are running the “Your BMW, on us” raffle promo. The prizes include 1,000 Shell fuel vouchers worth P2,000 each to be given away and three BMW luxury vehicles.
Raffle entries can be earned automatically by using your Citi Card to pay for your gasoline/fuel at Shell Stations and your holiday shopping.
Mommy Lace tips (on how to earn more raffle entries):
1. Be sure to register for the promotion online via www.citibank.com.ph/bmw, if you do this you can easily double your total raffle entries and without spending more.
2. Log-in to your Citibank Online account, this will earn you 1 raffle entry for each login. Note you can earn a maximum of 20 entries by logging in.
3. Update your records with Citibank and call +63 2 995 9999 to update your mobile number, register a new mobile number, provide an email address, and/or update your income. Each information you provide will give you 10 raffle entries.
I hope one of us wins, especially following the extra tips I provided above. The next raffle draw is on December 28, 2015 and February 15, 2016.
If you are not a Citi card user, do check with your credit card company if they are running similar exciting promos for their cardholders. Good luck and shop smart this Christmas! 🙂
