Imagine your everyday credit card user. Financially happy-go-lucky, swiping unnecessarily on trendy items, and quickly racking up expensive debt. This misguided perception plays in many people’s minds.
With over 210,000 highly engaged members, the Facebook community – KasKasan Buddies (Credit Cards Hacks and Promos) shows how Filipinos can wisely spend with credit cards. If you need to spend, might as well get a great deal out of it too.
Redefining the “Kaskas”
Kaskas is a Filipino term that represents the act of “swiping” one’s credit card against the payment terminal.
For KKB co-founders Jax Reyes and Joel Cabugos, credit card users can learn to be wais (wise), one just needs to look past the negative misconceptions surrounding credit cards.
Before conceiving the idea of the community, Jax had already been educating young millennials and GenZ on how to properly “swipe” a credit card. Through his TikTok videos, Jax created guides covering the credit card approval process all the way to the best foreign exchange conversion rates.
Through these videos, Jax’ grew his TikTok account to tens of thousands of followers and Filipino viewers became aware of the positives of using credit cards wisely.
This initial education campaign also ensured that the first wave of community members were open to the best practices of using credit cards.
Months later, when Joel approached Jax to set up and manage the community, the tone had already been set.
Empowering Community Experts
Members generate over 90% of the community’s content and benefit neither from the credit card companies that they mention nor from the brands that they spend money on.
The sharings come from the bottom of their hearts with the intent of educating and encouraging other readers.
Most notably, one member narrated how her credit card was used as a last resort to pay for her mom’s hospital bills. She racked up a few million pesos of debt and took years to finally pay it
off. The member eventually recovered and relayed how credit card companies began offering her higher credit limits once again.
Similar authentic stories can reach thousands of reactions and comments. But beyond the thrills of engagement are the lessons one can provide.
With less than 10% of the local population in possession of a credit card, there aren’t that many experts who can cover the topic. An even smaller number would be willing to share such personal experiences.
Kaskasan Buddies rises above this constraint by empowering its members to share and create content. Thousands of people act as subject matter experts and comprehensively discuss topics from said debt recovery stories to the best dining rewards. One expert can only cover so much when it comes to the one hundred or so credit card offerings on the market.
This decentralized content network also keeps high quality and in-depth material flowing at all times. Content can differ from a screengrab of a successful annual fee waiver to a meme comparing credit cards to romance. The differing media captures all ranges of audience reactions.
The people of KasKasan Buddies make the group strong.
Giving Value Back to Members
Joel and Jax make sure that no good deed goes unrewarded.
To encourage members to continue sharing, the two have focused on closing brand deals exclusively for the community. Kaskasan members get to save through discounts from brands such as Power Mac and Klook. On the credit card application front, successful applicants get a chance to win cash prizes and electronic gadgets.
The value provided to the community goes beyond the digital sphere. Jax and Joel also host real-life events. Last August 2023, Kaskasan Buddies held its first ever Grand Meetup in partnership with The Travel Club and The World Traveller.
This mix of online and offline rewards allows the group to grow even closer together.
With the continued success of Kaskasan Buddies, more people are becoming knowledgeable on the proper use of credit cards. In the end, credit cards are simply tools. And in the hands of the right persons, they are powerful financial weapons.
