Word of the Year: Intentional

2019 was neither the best nor a bad year for me. Technically, it was okay but I was just so surprised that it has ended so fast. Before I knew it, it was already the holidays and I realized I was not really able to accomplish something major for the entire year. I felt that I either slacked off or I had a lot of distractions.

Though I had no regrets about how the year went, I promised myself that I will try to achieve more of my goals this year. I promised that I'd be more INTENTIONAL this 2020. 

So, what do I mean by being intentional? 

According to liveandlovework.com, being intentional means you are purposeful in word and action. It means you make thoughtful choices in life. It also means that you live a life that is meaningful and fulfilling. 

In this sense, this is how I want to spend my year. I want to start making choices that are aligned with my goals and dreams. I want to make conscious decisions and here's how I plan to do it: 

1. Choose the projects to work on - As a freelancer, I am lucky to have the luxury to choose my projects and clients. This time, I want to do the tasks that I love and those that are aligned with my skills. If it would require some training, I want to make sure that it's one of the skills that I really want to learn and not spend time studying for the sake of the clients' needs. 

Just like what Leanne Jacobs of Beautiful Money said, “If an opportunity is not aligned with what matters most to you (your core values), let it pass. The opportunities that don't make your soul sing, or that you can't be excited about, just end up taking space where a better opportunity could be. Don't settle for something fine―wait for something great!”

2. Manage Smaller and Active Groups - Building and managing a community entails a lot of time and hard work. The bigger the group, the more effort you have to put in organizing events, addressing the needs of the members and keeping everyone engaged. If it's an online community, content moderation takes up a lot of time and effort to filter posts. 

Thus for this year, we, together with the other group admins, decided to clean up the groups that we manage. We started removing inactive members and will try to update certain group rules especially in online communities. We believe that it's better to have a small group with active and truly engaged members. In that way, we do not have to waste any effort on members who are no longer interested in the group's advocacy. 

3. Blogging - Though, I haven't really blog consistently for the past years. This 2020, I would love to write more posts. I am aiming to create at least 3-4 blog posts every week. I want to write my posts with my readers in mind, " How will this post benefit them?" 

This also means that we might be skipping some PR or sponsored posts that may not be aligned with our target audience. 

4. Minimize Shopping - Lastly, I want to try to lessen shopping. I usually go crazy whenever there's a sale or a huge discount is offered. Thus, I plan to minimize the things that I purchase. I have to make sure that it is something that we actually need. No more hoarding. (LOL!) 

Anyway, there are a lot more ways on how we can be more intentional which I plan to share on my future posts. However, let me end this post for now with my favorite quote from Richie Norton, “Intentional living is the art of making our own choices before others' choices make us.”

How to Refund Your Airport Terminal Fee?

Are you someone who gets excited during seat sales from Cebu Pacific, books a flight immediately but finds out later on that you cannot make the trip or flight because of an emergency or a sudden change of plans? 

Well, I am guilty. In fact, it happened twice already. 

Just like last December 2018, I was able to book roundtrip tickets from Bacolod to Davao for only Php 600+ for July 2018 (7 months in advance) but later on canceled due to workload. (boo!) 

I know that it's just a small amount but getting it refunded is very much welcome. Unfortunately, the cancellation fee or the rebooking fee (if allowed) is much higher compared to the purchase price, which means it is more practical if you just forfeit the ticket and let it go. 

If you are lucky, there are instances that Cebu Pacific also has sudden changes in their flight schedule or cancellations. If these cancellations are initiated from their end, this makes you eligible for a full refund of the ticket price, however, if you're the one who canceled, then technically there will be no refund.  

But wait....  not everything is lost. :)  

Many of us forget that our airline tickets for domestic flights already include terminal fees in the amount that we paid during booking. Terminal fees are collected by Cebu Pacific at the time of booking and payment of flights on behalf of the airport authorities for the use of the terminal facilities. This means that since we did not take the flight, we are actually NOT required to pay the terminal fee. 

According to Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), passengers with unused Cebu Pacific (CEB) and CebGo tickets from Feb. 1, 2015, to the present may refund their terminal fees.

Based on my experience, I was able to refund the terminal fee for my canceled July 2018 Cebu Pacific trip in full and with no administrative charges. I have yet to check if we can also do this with PAL. 

Anyway, here's how you can request/ process the refund of your terminal fee: 

Option # 1: Go to the Cebu Pacific website and fill out the Guest Feedback Form. 

Under the Type of Feedback, select "Request" 

Under Category, select " Refund of Taxes for Unused Tickets" 

After submitting all the information, you will receive an email confirmation with a reference number that you can use to follow up. 

Option # 2: Contact the Cebu Pacific hotline at +632 702 0888 for Manila or +6332 230-8888 for Cebu) This is not really advisable due to the long wait time. If you are not based in Manila or Cebu, calling these numbers would also entail long-distance charges.  

Tip: If you have an internet connection, you may also call their US toll-free number via Skype at +1-8555-232722. It is available from 7am-10pm (PH local time), daily. No long-distance charges. :) 

Option #3: Through the Travel Agent where the ticket was purchased. 

To manage your expectations, the processing of refunds usually takes 4-8 weeks. The refund will be made directly to the passenger's credit card, Paypal account, via the travel agent, or in form of cash, depending on the form of payment that was used to purchase the ticket. I was able to get mine after a month while Val's refund is still in the process even though we sent it the same day. 

Please keep in mind that they will only refund this upon request. It would be ideal to request a refund of your terminal fees as soon as you can. 

If you have any experience refunding your terminal fees, feel free to comment below.