Aqua Reward Credit Card - 3% cashback up to £100/year

Hooloovoo

Happy_Shrimper wrote: »

Hi,
Can anyone give an idea of internet application to card on dorrmat time?
Off on hols a week monday (6th Aug) and wondered if it would turn up before then?
Thanks

I applied on July 3.
Sent agreement back on July 7.
They should have received it on July 9.
Card arrived July 20.

If you apply today, I would estimate your card would arrive around August 14.

mrmajika

Hooloovoo wrote: »

I applied on July 3.
Sent agreement back on July 7.
They should have received it on July 9.
Card arrived July 20.

If you apply today, I would estimate your card would arrive around August 14.

I second this. You're unlikely to get it in time for the holiday. It seemed to take around 3 weeks all told with me. But then, it could be that that was due to the initial influx of applications when the card was first offered.

I'd say it's worth getting regardless.

Happy_Shrimper

mrmajika wrote: »

I second this. You're unlikely to get it in time for the holiday. It seemed to take around 3 weeks all told with me. But then, it could be that that was due to the initial influx of applications when the card was first offered.

I'd say it's worth getting regardless.

Thanks. Applied anyway and accepted. Will use instead of mbna amex for fuel purchases.
Will have to book Easter holiday now so I can use it. Lol. Not very money saving though, but good excuse

walp

In answer to a couple of past questions & posts as concerns this reward card;

1) Aqua will not consider increasing anyones credit limit until they have had the account for 6 months, not 3 (or so they told me yesterday).
2) Despite Aqua participating in the faster payments scheme (or so I was also told yesterday), payments made to the Aqua card account via this system do NOT enter the account within 2 hours:exclamati:exclamati (beware)!!
On the contrary, as having made a small test payment with the card yesterday afternoon, I then paid that amount back into the card immediately.
Nearly 24 hours later neither the debit or the credit are showing on my online statement, which seems to indicate (like other credit card accounts) there is at least a couple of days lag between credits & debits actually appearing on the account...
This does seem to compound the difficulty in "topping up" your Aqua card by making mid statement payments (something I hoped to do whilst abroad in order to get the entire £100 cashback during 2 months per year spent overseas). With a £500 credit limit, unpredictable exchange rates and the usual account lag for debits & credits, this might be easier said than done without risking breaching your credit limit & losing the entire reward aspect of the card.
I will probably safely spend up to (say) within £25 of my limit, make the £500 repayment, then wait until I can see that the recredit has definitely occurred online before using the card again.
3) What is of interest is that Aqua have also told me that although you are not supposed to go into credit on the card (ie: load the card with credit despite a zero balance), they will not penalise you for it (in any way) and will definitely still pay the reward on any purchases made with the card in a positive balance.
As to whether anyone is actually brave enough to blatantly try this, I don't know, as I seem to recall that the small print does also state that Aqua reserve the right to modify an account holder's individual benefits in respect of their habits with the card (or something along those lines)...
I probably won't personally push my relationship with Aqua in this way & risk losing any benefits...

That was a bit long-winded (sorry), but is (I think) new material & might be of use to someone...

Gromitt

I just noticed my statement period is up, so decided to pay via debit card. I was expecting the same as other cards - enter your details and they are saved for any future payments you want to make. Not so with Aqua - they actually outsource payments to Worldpay. Even though you can only pay with a debit card, surely there is a cost of something like 25p, further reducing Aqua's profits?

I think my next payment will be FPS, even if it takes 2 days to reach the account (debit card payments apparently take 3).

mistercovert

Well I've got my pin number on Wednesday but my card hasn't turned up as yet. Hopefully should be arrive early next week.

MiserlyMartin

All this talk about spending £400 then paying off via faster payments so that you can earn your £100 in a few months I think is a bad idea, especially if you then stop spending on the card. It could flag you up an an abuser of the card in their systems and might start cancelling peoples cards like Egg Money did. They are not stupid, even the customer services girl I spoke to told me that a lot of people are using this card just for the 3% cashback and commision free foriegn use, when the card is designed for people with bad credit histories to build their credit slowly.

If you spend £500 a month you'll have your £100 in 6 months nearly, is it really worth !!!!!!ing about? This business model is not sustainable for them if they have so many people there for the free ride. edit: since when has bugg-ering been a swear word?

walp

Hi Martin.
What you say may well be correct.
The problem for me is that Aqua really do not appear to have thought out their market, if indeed their aim is to target people who are trying to build up their credit scores.
If this is truly the case, they have made the error of making the card even more attractive to those looking for a spending card that simply pays the holder to spend.
I am very grateful for having my Nationwide Select card, that pays me 0.5% on all UK purchases (I don't spend enough to benefit more from the Capital One card) AND charge free spending abroad. The Aqua card not only offers these existing benefits, it also offers 6 times the Select cashback rate AND offers this on purchases abroad (no other card company offers this without monthly charging).
I would ask therefore (again) whether Aqua have got their marketing right, as the Aqua card benefits appear to be aimed at those who can afford to travel abroad (charge free spending PLUS 3% in non UK currencies) and who are in a position to pay the card off in full each month. Even the amazingly ridiculously high APR seems too high for most people (even the extremely cash-strapped... and we have all been there) to even consider not paying off in full each month...
If Aqua wanted the new-starter target market, how come they have fabricated benefits more likely to target the financially savvy?
Also, (on an ethical level), should we even be taking advantage of the card in this way? To that question I would have to say that Aqua themselves have created the conditions that will dictate the way in which this card is used (people being people). I would say in addition that I would personally worry about my young daughter (for example) having a card that charges such a hideous rate of interest on remaining statement balances (many of us will remember how difficult cash flow was at one time)... They will make a lot of money from many individuals within this vulnerable market. Aqua are no angels & will reap as they sow.
Modifying the way in which the card is used in the hope that the benefits will go on for longer may well be practised by a few, although I do not personally believe that this will contribute significantly to the cards longevity. The glittering benefit of the card for me is for abroad use only (which is what I will solely use it for), topping it up as & when to get the full cashback out of it. Should my card be subsequently withdrawn, I will question Aqua as to where I broke their rules but will ultimately be unsuprised by their lack of coherent answers & just move on.
I am actually in total agreement with you, and would actually go further by saying that I personally cannot see the card surviving in its current format...
How long before they pull the plug is anyones guess...

PS: Over 2 days since now, and still no sign of either my small spend or immediate repayment on the card via my online account. I think faster payments is clearly not the case.

derrick

MiserlyMartin wrote: »

All this talk about spending £400 then paying off via faster payments so that you can earn your £100 in a few months I think is a bad idea, especially if you then stop spending on the card. It could flag you up an an abuser of the card in their systems and might start cancelling peoples cards like Egg Money did. They are not stupid, even the customer services girl I spoke to told me that a lot of people are using this card just for the 3% cashback and commision free foriegn use, when the card is designed for people with bad credit histories to build their credit slowly.

If you spend £500 a month you'll have your £100 in 6 months nearly, is it really worth !!!!!!ing about? This business model is not sustainable for them if they have so many people there for the free ride. edit: since when has bugg-ering been a swear word?

But you will still not receive it until after your anniversary opening date.

From the CC agreement:-

"11.3 Cashback will be paid annually the day after the date of the first statement we send on or following your anniversary, or would have sent but for your account having a nil balance and no transactions being made since your last statement.
We will pay cashback by crediting your account or sending a cheque for the amount of accrued cashback within 1 month of your anniversary. Cashback paid will not count towards your monthly minimum payment(s)."

.

Gromitt

@walp: I made a payment last Saturday and it showed up on my account on Tuesday, I expect the same will happen with yours. They don't seem to bother processing transactions over the weekend.

As for the card, like a lot of people, I grabbed it for the cashback and other benefits. I've no need to build up my credit history as I already have > 10K of available credit on CCs (as Aqua can tell by the credit check they performed). I'll just use my card as normal until I reach close to the limit, pay it off, and then continue to use it. If this is what Aqua regard as "abuse", then I will indeed question where in the T&Cs does it state that I can't pay off the card earlier than the statement date. To be honest though, I really can't see me doing that very often. If they had given me £1K/month, I'd never have to do it, but that was their decision.

I'm planning on moving house later this year, and I'll most likely apply for the Capital One Aspire card, as I'll easily be able to spend 2K in the course of a month to get the £100 cashback, before moving back to Aqua (assuming I get >= 2K limit).