Top Cashback Cards Discussion Area

dj1471

Bunfoo wrote: »

I'm trying to find a credit card that gives rewards AND 0% charges for purchases abroad.

There are a few.

The Tandem card pays 0.5% cashback on all purchases with no fees or exchange rate load.

Also the Lloyds Avios cards (can only apply by phone now) earn Avios on all purchases with no fees or load.

In_the_dark_yet_again

Tandem? Had a quick look; new(ish) start up bank, had some issues with capital requirements in the past when a backer pulled but now back up and running. Me, a little risk averse so I'm going to pass.

Nationwide have recently cut the cashback rate to 0.25% so looking for an alternative; I know, I'm a bit slow off the mark.
Amex is a non-starter for me.
Amazon or Asda are 0.5% effective (I know, vouchers rather than cash but I can and do shop occasionally at both so 'near cash' for me) both seem viable options. Does anyone have real life experience with either or a preference with reasons? Both MasterCard so no issue there. Me, tending to tilt in Asda's favour but mind still open.

dj1471

In_the_dark_yet_again wrote: »

Tandem? Had a quick look; new(ish) start up bank, had some issues with capital requirements in the past when a backer pulled but now back up and running. Me, a little risk averse so I'm going to pass.

Not sure what risks you're worried about, it's not like they will be holding your money. They recently purchased Harrods Bank so I'd say they're doing OK at the moment.

In_the_dark_yet_again wrote: »

Me, tending to tilt in Asda's favour but mind still open.

Asda are dropping their rate in two weeks time.

Your choices are Tandem or Aqua for real cashback and Amazon or John Lewis for vouchers. I opted for Tandem.

In_the_dark_yet_again

Risk? Reliability of new systems, level of customer support (God forbid it should be necessary), general security (probably totally unfounded) concerns with new, unproven providers - Yeah, I know, the long established providers seem more than capable of messing it up anyway so maybe a false worry..... just too new for me at the moment so Amazon it will be.

Cheers.

kevrex

i too am in the same boat attempting to find a replacement for asda plus card. was looking at the reviews of the amazon card provider and they seem to be awful.
has anyone got any real experience as to whether this card is worth having?
thanks

blitzboy

kevrex wrote: »

i too am in the same boat attempting to find a replacement for asda plus card. was looking at the reviews of the amazon card provider and they seem to be awful.
has anyone got any real experience as to whether this card is worth having?
thanks

I've been using the Amazon card for a few months and not had a problem. Transaction reports are fine, points automatically convert to vouchers once you reach £10 worth and add to your amazon account.


The only downside so far is it doesn't support apple pay, but this seems to be fairly common with cashback cards for some reason!

eDicky

A few ways I've noticed in which Tandem differs from most other cards for overseas or non-sterling transactions:

When you want to pay off the amount of a foreign cash withdrawal you have made, the payment goes first to the cash withdrawal, not to any purchases made even if they have already appeared on your statement. This is useful when making such payments to reduce daily interest accruing on withdrawals. With most other cards payments go towards already statemented purchases first, so it's easier with Tandem. This was explained and confirmed to me when I enquired via the in-app chat, although I'm unable to confirm it by personal experience (this month).

Usually when a credit card is used to withdraw foreign currency from a MoneyCorp multicurrency ATM at a UK airport, selecting 'Without Conversion' to circumvent the imposition of MoneyCorp's own dreadful exchange rate, it is converted by the card and recognised as a foreign transaction without any cash advance fee (if it's a 'travel' card without overseas fees). But with Tandem this is not the case, the conversion is made at the MasterCard rate but the UK location of the ATM is recognised and a 'Cash Advance Fee' is imposed by Tandem. I discovered this when withdrawing $200 at Stansted recently - the fee of £3.54 appeared and was explained by a CS agent as above, but they refunded it as a one-off goodwill gesture at my request.

When you make a transaction or withdrawal in a foreign currency a notification is given as usual and it is shown immediately in the app, but only as an amount in pounds. Don't despair that you may have allowed yourself to be charged in pounds by mistake, a couple of days or so later when the transaction settles the final amount in both pounds and the local currency will be shown. Tandem differs again in this from most cards, where usually the provisional amount in both currencies is shown from the outset. The Tandem app doesn't display the exchange rate given, you have to calculate it yourself if needed.

The app is not yet showing any improvement in the couple of months I've been using it - hopefully it will do so - perhaps they need to poach a few decent app developers from Revolut..!

geoff_ss

I'm disappointed that the MSE cashback page, doesn't highlight that with Aqua cashback, if your account goes a few pence over their tiny credit limit, then all the cashback that you've earned for your whole year's use gets confiscated (on top of their large overdrawn fine).

So if they offer you £250 limit, it would take an dedicated accountancy mind to try to build your monthly spend close to that £250 (in an attempt to earn as much of the maximum £1.25 cashback as possible), without going a penny over.

They're also unlikely to ever offer a higher limit over time. You're permitted to ask for an increase every 6 months. I gave up asking on my 3rd refusal (each one a pointless 15min phone call). Aqua aren't interested in customers who pay their full balance each month, they want to snare permanently indebted punters, who they can keep surcharging.

From my experience, Aqua card's low credit limits, & its cashback confiscation clause, makes Aqua simply not worth the effort.

Fingerbobs

geoff_ss wrote: »

I'm disappointed that the MSE cashback page, doesn't highlight that with Aqua cashback, if your account goes a few pence over their tiny credit limit, then all the cashback that you've earned for your whole year's use gets confiscated (on top of their large overdrawn fine).

So if they offer you £250 limit, it would take an dedicated accountancy mind to try to build your monthly spend close to that £250 (in an attempt to earn as much of the maximum £1.25 cashback as possible), without going a penny over.

They're also unlikely to ever offer a higher limit over time. You're permitted to ask for an increase every 6 months. I gave up asking on my 3rd refusal (each one a pointless 15min phone call). Aqua aren't interested in customers who pay their full balance each month, they want to snare permanently indebted punters, who they can keep surcharging.

From my experience, Aqua card's low credit limits, & its cashback confiscation clause, makes Aqua simply not worth the effort.

You don't have to stop spending at £250 each month. Just pay it off manually when you get close, and continue spending to earn more cashback.

I had an Aqua card with a stupidly low limit when they were giving 3% cashback, and I sometimes paid it off 3 or 4 times during the month.

Roger1

geoff_ss wrote: »

I'm disappointed that the MSE cashback page, doesn't highlight that with Aqua cashback, if your account goes a few pence over their tiny credit limit, then all the cashback that you've earned for your whole year's use gets confiscated (on top of their large overdrawn fine).

But why should they? Each card account comes with its own terms and conditions. And you did read the T+Cs, didn't you?

So if they offer you £250 limit, it would take an dedicated accountancy mind to try to build your monthly spend close to that £250 (in an attempt to earn as much of the maximum £1.25 cashback as possible), without going a penny over.

Not really. Just spend within the limit.

They're also unlikely to ever offer a higher limit over time ... Aqua aren't interested in customers who pay their full balance each month, they want to snare permanently indebted punters, who they can keep surcharging.

Nonsense. My limit is much higher than yours. From time to time, Aqua have offered me a credit limit increase. I have paid Aqua precisely nothing in fees or interest.

From my experience, Aqua card's low credit limits, & its cashback confiscation clause, makes Aqua simply not worth the effort.

From my experience, the Aqua card is very useful, with 0.5% cashback including abroad and practical credit limits.