This is the best time to get yourself an SM Advantage Card (SMAC) or, if you already have it, to shop with your SMAC. This Christmas season, Globe and SMAC #UniteVsHunger to help put meals on the table of those in need through the Hapag Movement, Globe’s technology-driven program against involuntary hunger.
Continue reading “Globe and SM Advantage Card #UniteVsHunger join hands for the Hapag Movement”
Despite the Philippines having an average basic literacy rate of 95%, there are still pockets of illiteracy in different regions, especially in rural and remote areas that are hardest to reach by educators. Illiteracy is a key issue that hampers an individual’s ability to function in society. It limits employment opportunities and perpetuates the cycle of poverty.
Recognizing the crucial role literacy plays in uplifting lives, Globe has partnered with NABU, a reading app and mother tongue publishing platform that makes literacy accessible to children globally.
Continue reading “Globe and NABU partner to help develop the reading skills of Filipino youth”
Globe myBusiness, the micro, small-and medium-scale enterprise arm of Globe Telecom, launched recently its online learning site, Globe myBusiness Academy Online, in order to broaden access by entrepreneurs to its lessons and insights culled from industry experts – any time, anywhere.
Continue reading “Globe myBusiness Academy Online gives more MSMEs access to its learning site”
I just discovered a new way to bond over food and recreation with my family without spending a cent – Globe MyRewards!!!
To be honest, I never paid much attention to telco reward points. Every so often, I’d get a text saying I had these much points but I was really never interested in redeeming them because the redemption options at that time were not really relevant to me. So those points sat on my phone for quite a long time.
But at the launch of Globe MyRewards some time back, I was totally surprised that they had reworked the rewards program so that it was now more relevant and meaningful to subscribers. New Globe MyRewards partner stores included Petron, Figaro, Enchanted Kingdom, Rose Pharmacy, Wendy’s, Ayala Malls Cinemas, and Sunglass Hut.
Unlike some other reward programs where several points are equivalent to PhP 1, each point you earn under the Globe MyRewards program is equivalent to PhP 1. So if you have 500 points, that’s PhP 500 worth you can spend any way you want at any partner store.
One day in June, my older son and I were ‘trapped’ inside Promenade in Greenhills due to a very heavy downpour. We had already ‘cased’ Fully Booked as well as other shops, our feet were killing us, and we were hungry. Since we were right in front of the cinemas at that time, the only cafe in sight was Figaro.
As we were ordering, I spotted the Globe MyRewards poster on the counter. Savior! I hurriedly checked how many points I had (I had a lot of accumulated points to spend!). We ordered our food. I texted the number of points to be deducted using the given syntax, and almost immediately, the points transfer was done. Just like that. Our entire Figaro merienda was on Globe MyRewards.
With that very successful and burp-ful experience, I was excited to try using my points on another family bonding moment.
The opportunity came when a nephew came visiting. The kids were excited to have their cousin over and it seemed like a good time as any to bond over food. So I took them out. Our destination this time? Wendy’s!
Wendy’s has always been a favorite fastfood place for me. They used to have a fresh salad menu with different dressings (my favorite was blue cheese) but for some reason, they stopped offering it. I am happy though that they retained the baked potato line because I could never go to Wendy’s without ordering the one with bacon and cheese.
At Wendy’s Greenhills where we ended up, the Wendy’s team, including their store supervisor, was very helpful. It took a while for me to round up the orders of all the kids but they patiently took all of them down, totalled them up, and waited for me to send the SMS with the corresponding points. It took just a few seconds again before I heard the store supervisor’s mobile phone go off. Hooray, point transfer successful! We were ready for lunch!
 |
| The store supervisor himself helps me out |
 |
| Our Wendy’s orders. Who says my kids are not hungry? |
 |
| Happy son and mommy |
By now I guess you could tell that we had quite a hearty lunch with the kids wolfing their food down while chatting and telling all sorts of stories. I was looking at them and wishing there were many more times like this one. I know people say that bonding comes in many forms but the favorite bonding form of Pinoys is over food. It’s great to know that just by continuing to top up my Globe prepaid phone, I am also accumulating Globe Rewards points at the same time.
Black Friday in the United States (that’s this November 23!) is always a long-awaited shopping spree day after Thanksgiving when huge gadgets, appliances and just above everything drops heftily. It is not uncommon to see long lines of people outside stores at dawn waiting for the shops to open. And even more people visit online shopping sites to avail of the huge discounts available. Of course, one has to be in the United States to avail of all these and those of us here in the Philippines have been left pretty much to ourselves to ogle and be envious of those who could get their hands on the items of their dreams for so much less.
Well, if Globe and American Express were to be asked now, they’d probably yell in unison, “Not anymore!”
They’ve come up with something that will allow you to buy from Best Buy, K-Mart, Target, Amazon and more this coming Black Friday — the GCASH American Express Virtual Card!
“With the GCASH American Express Virtual Card, you simply need your GCASH wallet to pay for your purchases even if you don’t have a credit card. And what is good about the Virtual Card is that even if most US online sites only deliver within the US you don’t have to worry how to get the goods delivered to the Philippines. We provide you with a personalized US address where your goods can be delivered and from there, you can have them shipped to the Philippines right to your doorstep at very low shipping rates,” said Paolo Baltao, President of G-Xchange, Inc. (GXI), a fully-owned subsidiary of Globe Telecom and operator of GCASH.
Here’s how:
1. Register your GCASH wallet and email address online at www.globe.com.ph/gcash-amex
2. Once your account has been validated, you will immediately receive your virtual card number, your personalized US shipping address, and other pertinent information via email so you can already start shopping.
3. Just remember that you need to have enough balance in your GCASH wallet for the transaction to push through. Converting cash to GCASH is FREE at over 7,000 GCASH outlets nationwide.
4. First-time subscribers get a one month free trial. After the trial, subscribers can continue with the subscription by paying as low as P250 per year via GCASH or have it charged to their postpaid bill. Monthly and semi-annual subscriptions are also available.
More details on this service are available HERE.
At a recent blogger event, we were introduced to the 2012 line-up of Globe Tattoo@Home.
At the launch was Ford Supermodel of the World 2010 Danica Flores Magpantay who is Tattoo@Home’s newest brand ambassador. Danica’s mom, Lala Flores, was herself the 1990 Supermodel of the World-Philippines winner who is now making a name for herself as a celebrated makeup artist.
The main feature of Tattoo@Home plans is its customization. Depending on how you use the internet, whether you are just a light user or an ultra heavy user who demands faster speed and more bandwidth, there is a plan you can choose from.
 |
| (click to see larger image) |
The barebones, cheapest plan is only P999/month (internet only) with speeds up to 1MBPS. Plans P1,099 to P6,299 are internet and landline bundles with speeds ranging from 1-15MBPS and from 3-5 users. Calls to Globelines and Globe DUO subscribers are FREE for these plans. Plans starting with P1,299 also come with a free wifi router.
 |
| (click to see larger image) |
 |
| (click to see larger image) |
In a grand launch headed by none other than Globe’s President, Ernest Cu, media and the tech community were introduced to Globe Telecom’s most aggressive telecommunication network modernization and expansion project.
 |
| Globe President Ernest Cu |
Cu told us that when their network infrastructure was put up, it was primarily meant for SMS and calls. But these past years, they had seen a significant drop in SMS and calls. In fact last Christmas, they found that more people were communicating through Facebook and greeting each other there than calling or texting.
Globe will be investing US$ 90 M over the next 5 years (US$70 M of that to be spent in 2012/13) in order to put up a structure that will be able to handle the exponential data traffic that smartphones are now handling. Roughly 90% of its BSS and BI platforms covering billing, campaign management, front-end systems and enterprise data warehouse will be replaced by the new network infrastructure. Cu says that Globe subscribers should expect faster response to customer requests, convergent billing, better credit control, quicker time-to-market for new products, and better analytic models to support campaigns.
This does sound like good news but as a subscriber to both of the major mobile carriers as well as one who has tried various internet service providers, I take all expansion announcements with a grain of salt. In the end, the test of the pudding is in the eating. Will currently dissatisfied subscribers who complain of dropped calls, slow internet connection, billing woes and the like really get the service they deserve and pay for?
I really hope this time we do. The next 5 years will be a test of whether Globe’s planned expansion will become a promise come true.
Globe Tattoo, which previously launched as a USB-based broadband service, will be launched this Aug. 30, 2009 via a Tattoo SIM which is already call-, text- and internet-enabled. With your Tattoo SIM you can do all 3 with just one single top-up.
In addition, Globe has a new, no-expiry text offer called ImmortalTXT. For only P10, you get 50 texts to Globe/TM and 10 texts to other networks that will never expire .
Continue reading “Globe Launches ImmortalTXT and Tattoo Broadband SIM”
