Charge it to the family

Control. It’s a simple word, but its meaning is often hard to grasp. You intend to do some (harmless) window-shopping one fine afternoon, but you come home with a trunk loaded with shopping bags. Oh, well, it’s that cute little piece of plastic, isn’t it?

Certainly, the art of spending has reached newer and more convenient heights with the presence of credit cards in one’s wallet. They’re practical and convenient – just swipe and go.

Yes, just about anyone in the family owns a credit card right now. There’s the main user, Mom and/or Dad and then, there are the supplements – your children and perhaps, some relatives. Of course, there’s no problem with this. Having a credit card is actually one of the best ways to ensure that your children will have access to a sizable amount of cash should the situation require it. But oftentimes, financial emergency becomes synonymous with a sale, a "good buy" or a must-have. This is how problems come in.

Every month, there are horrendous bills to pay. I believe the biggest chunk belongs to the credit cards. See for yourself. First, there are the expenses you recognize, the ones you purchased yourself. And then, there are the "unknowns."

Your parents had no idea that your big brother used his card to pay for the lunch he had with his friends. They had no clue that you and your younger brother bought pricey outfits and toys and put it on the card. Dad thought that mom had a good idea of how your month’s credit card expenses would figure. But somehow, they ended up paying so much more. Is there a way to put an end to this monthly routine? Well, if they get a Citibank credit card, it should be able to fix it... possibly for good.

The Philippines’ premier credit card provider Citibank once again introduces a country’s first credit card feature. Keeping Filipino families’ needs and concerns in mind, Citibank recently launched the new Spend Limit feature for supplementary cards. Finally, moms and dads can keep expenses in check!

Citibank vice president for card marketing Bea Teh-Tan admits that providing supplementary cards to their loved ones builds up a lot of anxiety in customers. After all, it used to be that these supplementary holders are also entitled with the same credit line. That is, the child’s credit limit would be just the same as their parents’ credit limit. Well, this does not have to be the case anymore.

The Spend Limit feature sees to it that the supplementary card holders’ spending entitlements can be controlled by enabling the main users to assign spend limits in increments of P5,000. To assist you further, Citibank will also see to it that you receive an extensively consolidated bill, which would contain all the purchases made by each supplementary cardholder. More, in the event that one of the supplements loses his card, the rest of the related cardholders would be able to continually use it without a problem.

Haven’t got any yet? Well, now is the best time to apply. Big families also need not worry for Citibank allows one to have as many as seven supplementary cardholders. If you apply now, you will also have your fees waived for the first year. That allows you to save up to P8,750 for Citibank Gold and P4,200 for Citibank Silver.

And while Citibank is making sure you’ve got your family’s expenditure in check, they also guarantee that you can use your credit card in just about any part of world. In fact, Citibank is accepted in more than 29 million establishments spread out in over 300 countries and territories. Also, if you run into a little cash emergency while overseas, you can simply use your Citibank credit card to acquire cash advances from more than 600,000 ATMs worldwide, be it BancNet, MegaLink, MasterCard Cirrus, Visa Plus as well as other associated MasterCard and Visa networks.

Should certain purchases become necessary, Citibank credit card is also there to assist. As a Citibank cardholder, feel free to take advantage of the PayLite Installment Plan that allows you to pay by installments from three to even 24 months at low interest rates. Meanwhile, monthly utility bills can also be settled with your Citibank card via Citibank’s 1Bill. Simply enroll your utility bills in your Citibank card and you can settle your bills all at once.

Finally, when all your bills are settled, you can just sit back, relax, and watch your reward points go up. As this happens, you can be assured that the Citibank’s Rewards Program has some great gifts in store for you.

Indeed, with the new Spend Limit feature, you can face your credit card bills without being clueless about what you’re paying for ever again!

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For more information, call 423-3000 or visit: www.citibank.com.ph.