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[MSE Martin]

What's the deal?

The price of breakdown giant RAC's basic roadside cover currently has been reduced to £30 if bought online.

Yet there are two tricks to slice the cost down further.

UPDATE NOTE 26 June 2.15pm

Both Quidco and Greasypalm have pulled the cashback offer from their sites, probably due to popularity. However it's still possible to get cover for £14 using the Tesco technique below.

1. Pay £29.99 then get £20 cashback = £10 for a year
   
   Sign up to the breakdown cover via a cashback site and you can get £20 cashback for doing it. Cashback sites are simply special advertising sites that list product providers and retailers, and when you click through them, they get paid for ‘providing leads’. Yet when you’re logged in, the revenue raised from your click is attributed to you so the site can pay you some or all of the money it receives.
   
   The best cashback payer for RAC is Quidco which pays £20 cashback (for newcomers to Quidco, be aware it charges a one-off fee of £5 a year so you'll only get £15). The only other cashback site offering this is Greasypalm*, but it only gives £10.50 back.
   
   If you're new to cashback sites, it's important you read all the pros, cons and warnings in the Top Cashback Sites article before doing this. Plus remember in a year at renewal you'll pay full price - don't do it automatically, check the best deals here first.
2. Get RAC cover with Tesco Clubcard points for 1/4 of the price
   
   For those that shop at Tesco's, don't spend your Tesco Clubcard vouchers in-store! Instead swap them for Clubcard Deals vouchers which are worth four times the amount. One of the deals available is RAC cover; the basic cover will cost you £14 in clubcard vouchers (a quarter of the non-online price) and you can get higher end policies at a quarter of the price. For more info read the article Breakdown Cover: Get RAC cover at 1/4 of the price

What does the cover include?

This is for RACs most basic cover which gives you roadside assistance anywhere in the UK 24 hours a day providing you are a quarter of a mile away from home. It doesn't offer home start cover. If your car can't be fixed by the roadside you'll be towed to a garage within 10 miles.

Want more than the basic cover? It's still possible for around £30

This is a quick tip based on the cashback loophole, yet it's not that much more expensive to get cover including home start and onward travel; without any loophole. Full details are in the Breakdown Cover: Get the cheapest article

Martin


PS. Thanks to the many MoneySavers who PM'd, e-mailed or posted about the cashback deal.

* Using any starred links helps the site stay ad-free and free to use, as they’re ‘affiliated links’ which invisibly take you via commercial price comparison services like Moneysupermarket or Find, which then pay this site per click

You shouldn’t notice any difference, the links don’t impact the product at all and the editorial line (the things I write) is NEVER impacted by the revenue. If it isn’t possible to get an affiliate link for the best product, it is still recommended and still included. The following greasypalm.co.uk are identical unaffiliated links provided for the sake of transparency. Click on the following link for more details on this site’s non-profit driven how the site's financed

[Ninepurrs]

I can beat your deal Martin!!!!

I got AA breakdown cover for the equivalent of £3.60. Should have been £33.60, but I took advantage of Quidco's £20 cashback & Nectar kindly sent me a code worth 2000 free points (worth £10) if I took out AA breakdown cover - the AA's site actually asked me for my Nectar card number & code, even though I came through Quidco!

[MrsTine]

BA01 worked for me - unfortunately the AA website did not at the time... GRRR
Don't forget to save your Nectar points for the upcoming 1/2price deals on Nectar (see Martins mail) making the 2000 points worth £20 and therefor giving YOU money for taking out the policy if you use the quidco offer and 2000 nectar points how grooooovy
The code was sent out to Nectar Card holders in the latest mailing - everyone I know who has a Nectar card got this offer sent so check your mailing

[roger_c]

From Nectar website:

2,000 Nectar bonus points when you join the AA today!

Have the reassurance of being a member of the UK's No.1 breakdown service and collect 2 Nectar points per £1 spent plus get 2,000 bonus points when you buy AA Membership.

The AA can help you to stay on the road; as the UK's largest breakdown organisation no-one has as many dedicated patrols.
Membership starts from £39
On average, the AA arrive around 40 minutes after your call
98% of Members who used our breakdown service would recommend the AA
The AA keep you informed of their estimated time of arrival by text or phone

To collect your bonus points simply enter BA01 when applying.


Valid until 14 August 2007
Terms & Conditions

£39 is for Option 100 Vehicle Based Cover, when joining online and paying by Direct Debit or by credit card under a recurring annual transaction arrangement and only available to new Members. Nectar Bonus Points are only available to new Members when joining before 14/08/2007 and not available on renewal. Collect 2 Nectar points for every £1 spent on the purchase of all AA membership products including European Breakdown Cover, Breakdown Repair Cover and upgrades and renewals of such cover. Points not available on any other AA products or services. Simply provide your Nectar card number to the AA and earn points on all subsequent valid payments. Points awarded within 28 days of receipt of payment. The promoter is Automobile Association Insurance Services Limited: Fanum House,
Basing View, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 4EA. Registered in England and Wales number 2414212.

[MSE Martin]

Can anyone confirm they've been paid the Quidco cashback after using the Nectar points. Effectively both the Nectar code & Quidco are affiliate deals - and usually they're discouraged from being used together. I'd be interested if anyone's actually made it work and been credited with the £20 payout?

Great spot though

Martin

[MrsTine]

Mine hasn't been credited yet but it HAS tracked correctly. Will keep an eye on to make sure it credits correctly.

T

[maneesh]

I'm rather upset because the first time I used the cashback site quidco, I used it with the AA and after waiting around 3 months, they declined to pay me the £20 cashback.

[Milky_Mocha]

Is it me or is RAC no longer on quidco? cant find it in a-z search or under finance.

[theraes]

Just logged onto Quidco as I am already a member - searched for RAC on their site and under breakdown cover no access to RAC at all. Has anyone else been able to log on to it?

[jille]

Originally Posted by Milky_Mocha

Is it me or is RAC no longer on quidco? cant find it in a-z search or under finance.

No, I can't find it either!!

[Janeyjaz]

RAC - can't find it at all

[vikingaero]

Have they withdrawn it because of the high profile on here and other sites?

I definitely signed up by clicking through Quidco last night! Or was I dreaming?

[t8769]

Sure its cheap, but you're far better off with one of the breakdown companies where you pay the driver and get a refund from the company.

You'll get better cover, for greater distances than the AA or RAC..

[Taffyscot]

Originally Posted by maneesh

I'm rather upset because the first time I used the cashback site quidco, I used it with the AA and after waiting around 3 months, they declined to pay me the £20 cashback. :confused:

Did they give you any reason for not paying you. I haven't used quidco before but thought that I would try it now. Also can someone give me the code for the nectar points. I just checked my nectar points that I was sent and there is nothing there about RAC. Thanks Taffy

[johnmc]

Nectar was for the AA ..............

[WELSH-DRAGON]

I am not surprised the offer for RAC has been pulled, maybe it will come up again in the near future

Welshy x

[Taffyscot]

oops sorry I meant AA I have tried for the last 3 hours to put my application into AA I keep getting so far and then it says cannot display the page. It keeps happening over and over and I do not know if it my pc or the actual site blipping me out because now they want to pull the AA site as well. Anyone else had this problem? It is saying at different stages ie the address, the credit card, the nectar points over and over. thanks Taffy

[headoutthesand]

Originally Posted by MSE Martin

Can anyone confirm they've been paid the Quidco cashback after using the Nectar points. Effectively both the Nectar code & Quidco are affiliate deals - and usually they're discouraged from being used together. I'd be interested if anyone's actually made it work and been credited with the £20 payout?

Great spot though

Martin

I got my quidco cashback but no nectar points. I also cancelled my cover and they have still validated the membership

[wowzetov]

Is there a cooling off period applicable to this, enabling you to change your mind?

[vikingaero]

I think there's the standard 14 day cooling off period providing you haven't used their services.

But I think the RAC offer is stilled pulled off Quidco.