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

Blue_Max

Lorraine71 wrote: »

I applied for an Aqua credit card last week, simply because I was interested in the 3% cashback. I always pay in full my credit card balance each month and I don't have any other debt (apart from my mortgage).

I received a letter from Aqua this morning, telling me that I had not been successful. I wasn't surprised, as I know I'm not the kind of customer they are trying to market to but I was staggered that the reason they gave me for turning me down was because my payment history 'didn't meet their criteria' and that I should contact Experian to find out why. Seeing as I have a 99% credit rating with Experian I was amused by this. I just hope that my credit rating isn't to affected by being turned down by this company.

A surprising outcome! Aqua card is primarily for people with 'not so good' credit history. But others are also eligible. So something is not right.
Experian offer a free 30-day trial. Get a full credit report from them to find out what the problem is. If there isn't any send a copy to Aqua and appeal.
Good Luck!

lisyloo

Then shift £500 back and forth twice, or £250 back and forth 4 times

I really don't keep these amounts lying around.
I'm not saying that just to argue with you I really don't.
I pay all my bills straight away and leave myself with £150 to last the month. I guess I could pay that in and out 7 times, but I'd be going clsoe to Zero and have to watch it carefully.

I will personally guarantee you can do it in less time than you spend on this forum - for which you don't get paid a penny

I make large savings by spending time on these forums.
Not in every single discussion I grant you, but oevrall it's time very well spent.

I just thought I'd point out that free money is worth applying for!

Yes and some of us thought it was worth pointing out the hoops and that there are better deals available. I stick by that. If you don't agree then that's up to you.

(Not £24 - you get £60 from the current account so using your figures it would be £84)

No that's not right.
If you spend £300 on Halifax you get £5 cashback right = £60 per annum.
If you spend £300 on Capital one instead at 1% you would get £36, so the benefit of switching in that case is only £24.
You cannot do your credit card spending twice and get £84 !!!

Of course I'm using Aqua so I would get £100 so I am also making the point that most of the time there are better deals than Halifax out there.

I've accepted the merit of your points, why can't you accept the merit of mine/ours/others?

Shall we just agree to disagree rather than waste more time?
Others can decide for themsleves on the merits of the arguments and how it applies to their personal circumstances. I have no issue with what anyone else decides as everyone's situation is differnt.

anon_ymous

lisyloo wrote: »

You have to make sure you do these payments at the right time and in the right order to qualify and log into 2 accounts 12 times.
I can see your point but it's more effort and less benefit than you claim (for me anyway although I appreciate everyone's circs are different).

I understand that you may not want a Halifax account, but it's definitely possible to automate the process, with you just having to log in once/twice in a lifetime if you wish

Just send £250/week or £1000/4 weeks (I don't like the month option), and send the money back to your main account the next day.

Then you're transferring in £1000/month, which is enough to get the £5 credit and you're transferring it straight back out the day after

I'd also say it artificially makes your bank balance look better? (I have no basis for this), but when your own bank sees that you can manage transferring 12K in/out, that's a good thing surely?

I transfer at least 17K/year in/out of my account, but I don't have that capital. It's just me cycling money about to other banks for the benefits they offer.

There'd also be no need to "switch" - just use the other account for whatever freebies it offers. This is the only reason why I have several bank accounts. I realise that you might not wish to do this, but just pointing out the possibilities

lisyloo

Just send £250/week or £1000/4 weeks

I am a devilishly hard working whatever MSE:-) which means I don't leave this kind of money lying aoround. It's all in ISAs, NSI as quick as it comes in.
I've already said I don't have that money lying around.
I do have plenty available in ISAs or NSI accounts that I would not want to withdraw for very sensible MSE reasons.

I accept your point about not needing to switch current accounts.
But I think I can generally find better deals on credit cards though, often Amex do 5%, Cap One have 5% and Aqua 3%, so I think I can do better.

I accept it may work for some people who for whatever reason cannot find a deal deal, but I think I can.
As I said circs are different so what works for one doesn't work for another.

anon_ymous

lisyloo wrote: »

I am a devilishly hard working whatever MSE:-) which means I don't leave this kind of money lying aoround. It's all in ISAs, NSI as quick as it comes in.
I've already said I don't have that money lying around.
I do have plenty available in ISAs or NSI accounts that I would not want to withdraw for very sensible MSE reasons.

I accept your point about not needing to switch current accounts.
But I think I can generally find better deals on credit cards though, often Amex do 5%, Cap One have 5% and Aqua 3%, so I think I can do better.

I accept it may work for some people who for whatever reason cannot find a deal deal, but I think I can.
As I said circs are different so what works for one doesn't work for another.

Fair enoughs and yeah you have a point. Personally, I'd like to have about £1000 in my account, just in case and put the rest in to a savings account

Gromitt

lisyloo wrote: »

I really don't keep these amounts lying around.

Neither do I, so what happens is that I get paid at the end of the month into my FD account, then I transfer that money to Vantage 1 -> Vantage 2 -> Vantage 3 -> Halifax -> Nationwide -> FD. It takes me minutes, and I get 4% on each Vantage account (so 4% on 18K), £5/month from Halifax, a 4.25% ISA and 6% Regular Saver from Nationwide and finally a 8% Regular saver from First Direct. I remember to do it as I always do it when I've been paid. No timing needed. Well worth the effort I think. My main current account has about £10 left the day after I've been paid, as any left over is transferred to savings. I can access it instantly as and when I want to. No point in leaving money in an account gaining no interest.

Wywth

Gromitt wrote: »

Like I said earlier however, even if the bill doesn't reach you, you must make payment before the due date, giving time for them to apply it to your account, otherwise you risk losing all cashback, a £12 charge, and a hit on your credit report.

Easiest way therefore is to setup the statement date in your calendar, and when near, login to online banking, check the amount due and pay it via faster payments. Or setup a direct debit. Or ring them and ask for the balance and pay over the phone. Don't depend on the statement reaching you.

Indeed, as I also mentioned earlier, I thought they were trying their best to prevent me getting my £100 at the end of the year, but they'll have to try harder than that

Wywth

I got notified of some changes of their t&c's today as well.

I notice it seems to say that money transfers will now (w.e.f. 26 Nov) be treated as purchases rather than cash transactions.
It says no fees. Does that mean I could accrue cashback for transfers?

Fingerbobs

Gromitt wrote: »

You didn't check the available balance? That changes pretty much instantly after your card is authorised.

Not always. When I use my credit card on a train (e.g. to buy a ticket or my lunch from the buffet) it can take several days before the amount shows as a pending transaction.

Also, while I was doing the Metro Bank cash-advance stooz, one of my £300 cash withdrawals took well over a month to show up. I had to imagine it was there, and make sure I kept the "available credit" to £300 instead of £0, while hoping I'd got £300 free. Sadly it did show up eventually :-(

anon_ymous

Gromitt wrote: »

Neither do I, so what happens is that I get paid at the end of the month into my FD account, then I transfer that money to Vantage 1 -> Vantage 2 -> Vantage 3 -> Halifax -> Nationwide -> FD. It takes me minutes, and I get 4% on each Vantage account (so 4% on 18K), £5/month from Halifax, a 4.25% ISA and 6% Regular Saver from Nationwide and finally a 8% Regular saver from First Direct. I remember to do it as I always do it when I've been paid. No timing needed. Well worth the effort I think. My main current account has about £10 left the day after I've been paid, as any left over is transferred to savings. I can access it instantly as and when I want to. No point in leaving money in an account gaining no interest.

Why don't you do standing orders instead? Easier than having to log in to different banks