2020 Update! BDO and RCBC credit cardholders eligible for multiple entry Korean visas

Good news! The Korean embassy has announced that Filipinos with selected BDO and RCBC credit cards are eligible for multiple entry South Korean visas and are exempted from submitting bank certifications and income tax return (ITR) until 2022 and 2020, respectively.

BDO Cardholders – promo extended until 2022

According to an announcement posted at the Korean embassy website: “The Embassy of the Republic of Korea has agreed to give BDO Gold and Elite Cardholders multiple-entry visas. Applicants who can submit credit card account statements, are subject to following:

  • BDO Gold Cardholders: multiple-entry visa to Korea valid for 5 years
    • Gold Visa Credit Card
    • Gold MasterCard Credit Card
    • Gold UnionPay Credit Card
    • Gold JCB Credit Card
    • American Express​ Gold Credit Card
  • BDO Elite Cardholders: multiple-entry visa to Korea valid for 5 years
    • Platinum Visa Credit Card
    • Titanium, Platinum and World Elite MasterCard
    • American Express​ Platinum Credit Card
    • Cathay Pacific American Express Credit Cards (Standard and Elite)
    • American Express Internatiomal Dollar Charge Cards
    • Diamond UnionPay
    • Diners Club Premiere
    • JCB Platinum”

Notes:

  • The following should be submitted:
  • Original hard copy credit card statements of the last 3 months
  • Photocopy of the credit card
  • The above cardholders are exempted from submitting Bank Certificate and ITR when applying for a visa.

RCBC Bankard Cardholders – eligible until Dec. 31, 2020

According to the announcement posted at the Korean embassy website: “The Embassy of the Republic of Korea has agreed to give RCBC Bankard Premium Cardholders 5 years multiple-entry visas…subject to following:

  • The promo is exclusive to the following active and current principal RCBC Bankard cardholders:
    • World Mastercard (including co-brands Balesin and The City Club)
    • Black Platinum Mastercard
    • Diamond Platinum Mastercard
    • Visa Infinite
    • Visa Platinum
    • JCB Platinum
    • UnionPay Diamond
  • Latest 3-month original hard copy credit card account Statement of Account (SOA) and photocopy of the credit card should be submitted.
  • For cardholders enrolled in electronic Statement of Account (eSOA), they must present a printed copy of eSOA.
  • They are exempted from submitting Bank Certificate and ITR (Income Tax Return) when applying.
  • Other requirements such as Employment Certificate/Business Permit are still required.
  • Promo period is from January 1 to December 31, 2020″

Note: “Eligible applicants are not automatically issued a multiple entry visa. Issuance of visa whether single or multiple entry is subject for approval of the consul in-charge.”

How about BPI credit cardholders?

Unfortunately, there are still no announcements on whether a similar promo for BPI credit cardholders — which ended last December 31, 2019 — will be extended.

(As a side note, I had an eligible BPI credit card when I applied last year but I was only given single entry. 🙁 🙁 🙁 Nagsugod pa naman ko ug plano na mobalik for fall — mao na di jud mag-assume, lol. So, anyway, FYI, the consul-in-charge does exercise his/her discretion in these promos. That said, I do know others who were given multiple-entry visas on account of their BPI credit cards, so…let’s keep our fingers crossed. 🙂

If you’re going to South Korea, you will also find the following useful:

INTERNET


ACCOMMODATIONS


TRANSPORTATION (The private cars are great for groups)


PHOTOS