CIRCLE REBATE - fight for your 1% cashback

zcaprd7

It does seem weird - I'm assuming they make more than 1% on each transaction - and as Galstonian has mentioned they have very little risk (or admin)...

Surely better to keep the 1% for those that ask (a small % I would think)?

lisyloo

I spent about £19K during 2003 because I moved house and had large expenses for furniture etc.
Also business expenses.

I clear it each month and got the letter to say it's being reduced.

However I'm not sure what the point is in trying to work out their strategy if their nothing we can do.
They don't seem very amenable to changing their minds.

zcaprd7

Just curious...

hansi

I only recently got my Circle One Card so I sent them a secure message querying the drop in cashback. Here is their reply.

"Thank you for your secure message query about the cash back on your account.

I can confirm that we are reducing the rate of cash back to 0.5% on a certain number of accounts. We have sent a letter to all customers who will be affected bythis change.

However I can confirm that your account has not been affected and you will continue to benefit from 1% cash back."

And I clear my balance every month!

deemy2004

I asked via their online messaging and was told that I am not one of the naughty people who for whatever reason are being punished by capital one. :P

My monthly spend varies from £400 to £2000. I pay the balance off in full. I joined in Dec 03, so maybe its clients who have been with the card for less than a year ? ???

TheDink

Could be that newer customers have earned a reprieve. I've had my card for about 2.5 years.

What was it about it being easier for a company to keep an existing customer than win a new one?

lisyloo

I think this is highly likely.
I am a high spending customer (£19K last year) and have been with them 2 years, so I was hoping I might get to keep it, but unfortunately not.

I think they don't want to appear as if they are taking it away too quickly, so they are letting more recent customers keep it.
It then doesn't appear as if they are offering it as an incentive and then withdrawing it too quickly.

At least I've had 2 years, so I can't feel that bad about it.
To be honest I always expected it to go and it's stayed longer than I expected.

ler01kjh

I think you're absolutely right . I'm sure they're just hoping that people will stick with the card because its easy to, and in the meantime they generate 1% additional income for the sake of losing a few thousand customers.

Could be that newer customers have earned a reprieve. I've had my card for about 2.5 years.

What was it about it being easier for a company to keep an existing customer than win a new one?

oscarhugo

As far as I can see, there doesn't appear to be any rhyme or reason as to who's having the reduction from 1% to 0.5% & who isn't. I've had the card for, oooh, I don't know, 3 or 4 years, spent lots on it & cleared it every month. Since MSE Martin announced they were reducing the cashback, I'd stopped using it [and used my Nationwide Cash Reward card - who seemed to have 'forgotten' to reduce my 1% after 6 months.... but now they have...]. But I've never had any letter telling me that my cashback was being reduced by Capital1. So... after reading all this, I've now experimentally used the card for a 4-quid purchase & will v.carefully check the amount of cashback they credit me with on the postal statement when it arrives. And it could be that the CapitalOne Circle Rebate Mastercard will be retaking its place back in my wallet - alongside its new friend the American Express Platinum card!

Tim_L

I'm exactly the same as Oscarhugo - I spend about 900 -1000 each month, clear the balance, have had the card for around 3 years. I checked the situation last month having not received a letter, and find that I am still getting the 1%.

There is no logic to this at all, which is mindblowingly stupid marketing. They will lose a lot of goodwill by the random nature of the way this change has been implemented, with some people being 'punished' while others aren't. And all for the sake of maybe £50 per customer per year.