02329: Non-Beneficial Benefits


So about two years ago I was informed that I was now considered to be a BPI preferred banking client although the reasons were never clear why. I assumed it was because I paid my credit card bills on time and that my main account was already over 10 years old. It meant changing my ATM cards to gold and hard to stomach benefits like being able to cut in line when a the bank. Admittedly I've never taken advantage of this "benefit" since it always seems embarrassing to do so on a busy banking day. Go figure.

Now I've just been approved for the Ayala Rewards Circle (ARC) mainly because of my BPI preferred banking client status and it offers a lot of weird benefits and discounts across various Ayala-owned companies. I don't see myself buying a car anytime soon so I guess those perks won't apply and I'm also not quite ready to buy property. There's  a weird benefit for a discount for getting a franchise license for a Generika drug store that's also unlikely to see traction plus various discounts for high class restaurants around the world. I'm not sure when's the next time that I'll be in Russia, but at least I know I'll get 10% off my total bill at the White Rabbit Restaurant.

And it's not like I've made full use of the benefits of my BPI Gold Mastercard either after upgrading from their standard Blue card product. I guess in theory I enjoy the automatic travel insurance for tickets that I book with the card and thankfully have not needed to "use" this benefit fully. I've been sitting on my Real Thrills rewards points for a while not given I haven't been sure what to get so I figure I might as well save up for bigger ticket items. Beyond the rewards points that all BPI cardholders get, there are some rewards exclusive to the Gold card, but they also involve some pretty high end stuff like hotels and fancy restaurants that we're unlikely to go to.

I'm appreciative but at the same time I see how they've designed these programs to seem to offer a lot of rewards but the average cardholder is unlikely to use them, thus keeping internal costs down somewhat. I will probably using ARC's access to the customer lounges at Ayala-owned malls when I can but then if Tobie can't go in then it's kinda going to be moot. I should ask about that.

Maybe it'll justify a call to the concierge serve that I'm supposed to have. Cue laughter.

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