Barclaycard Cashback card

Mondegreen

Hi MSE members,

I am thinking of applying for my first credit card and I am considering the Barclays cash back credit card.

I'm not able to post links as a new member, but the details of the card is as follows:

You’ll get 2% cashback on your 5 biggest purchases each month when you use your card a minimum of 15 times over the month
And you’ll earn 0.5% cashback on everything else you buy
You’ll also get a 4% ‘thank you’ bonus every year on your top 5 purchases in the month after your card anniversary

Representative
exampleRepresentative APR
24.8% APR
(variable)Purchase Rate pa
19.9% pa
(variable)Assumed Credit Limit
£1,200
(variable)Annual fee
£24

I'm planning on make a few large purchases within the next 3 months (flight tickets/computer) and feel that the cashback would coincide well with it. I fall just below the income requirement at around £19100, but I am an existing Barclays customer and the pre-application check indicates that I have a strong 80%-90% chance of successful application. I have no problems with paying off the balance in full each month and plan to set up a direct debit to deal with this. The only thing I'm not ecstatic about is the £24 annual fee, but I think the returns from the cashback should easily cover this.

Does anyone have experience with this card or can offer any advice on its suitability? I know each card depends on personal circumstances, but I don't have too much personal experience with credit myself so any input is appreciated.

Thanks

P.S if anyone can post a link to the product on my behalf that'd be great.

grumbler

Mondegreen wrote: »

P.S if anyone can post a link to the product on my behalf that'd be great.

Cashback Credit Cards: 5% cashback for first 3 months

Does Barclaycard Cashback card not pay up to 6% during the first 3 months?

lawstudent

Take a good read of this.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4201459

Mondegreen

Sorry yes it does include the 6%. I seemed to have omitted it from the list.

Thanks lawstudent, I was looking for something like that.

planteria

i got my first statement today.
staff had told me that the Maximum total cashback that could be generated during the first 3 months was £120. i can confirm that this is not the case. you can earn £120 at 6%, ie. spending £2k, and from then on it generates 0.5%CB

Milarky

planteria wrote: »

i got my first statement today.
staff had told me that the Maximum total cashback that could be generated during the first 3 months was £120. i can confirm that this is not the case. you can earn £120 at 6%, ie. spending £2k, and from then on it generates 0.5%CB

This doesn't sound right either. The way I read it:

Cashback with instant access

Earn 2% cashback on your top five monthly purchases and 0.5% on everything else. All you need to do is use your card 15 times each month for the 2% booster to kick in (conditions apply).

Enjoy a 6% welcome bonus on your five biggest monthly purchases. You can earn up to £120 cashback on these during your first three months (conditions apply).

Each year you'll get a 4% thank you bonus on your top five purchases in the month after your card anniversary, no matter how much you spend.

Because the 6% relates to five specific purchases over a 3 month period, while the standard cashback @2% relates to five specific largest purchases each month, if you make purchase of: £400, £400, £400, £300, £300 in one month, then £400, £300, £300, £300, £300 the next, and £400, £300, £300, £300, £300 in the third, how would they allocate 2% to each of the normally qualifying amounts (all of £300) - given the 5 times £400 amounts would receive 6% totalling £120?

I would work this out by assuming the '6%' is actually a '4%' premium paid on the top five (of the top 15) single purchases covering the first three months and this '4%' is capped at £80 in value whilst the 2% it sits on top of is not capped (up to £75k of spend pa)

So my example would provide £80 (4%) just from the 5 x £400 amounts, and £100 (2% of £5000) from all the fifteen amounts combined.

[can anyone actually say if this is right or wrong in their experience with the card?]

jonesMUFCforever

Either way you work it out don't forget the £24 annual charge.
For many this will be a substantial chunk of your cashback.

michaels

Is the cashback only paid at the end of the first year? Does this mean it would be impossible to bank the introductory cashabck and close the account without paying two years of annual fee?

Milarky

michaels wrote: »

Is the cashback only paid at the end of the first year? Does this mean it would be impossible to bank the introductory cashabck and close the account without paying two years of annual fee?

Yes it get paid to the account only at the anniversary normally.

Also, 'Special Conditions' state:

"9.1 you will be entitled to a pro rata refund of the remaining part of the annual fee which you have paid in relation to your account from the date you confirm you want to close your account".

So close after production of Annual Statement to get cashback and avoid further disappointment.

(So, well spotted, most people won't think that through.)

Milarky

Can we just check that payments of council tax still count as 'eligible purchases' despite being categorised as 'fees' on my recent transactions screen? The rules state:

By “Eligible Purchases” we mean any card purchases you or an additional cardholder make with your Barclaycard Cashback card. It excludes balance transfers, insurance premiums, interest, default charges, other fees and charges, any item charged to your Cash Balance(such as Gaming or Cash-Like Transactions)

I assume 'other fees' above relates to a 'fee' charged by Barclaycard itself (who else would it be)

Has anyone used the card specifically for council tax and had the value reflected in cashback?

(thanks)

jonesMUFCforever

Yes me but I do have the old Egg card now a world mastercard.