Is the new avios TSB creditcard freebie giveaway misleading?

TiptonAl

I wanted to know what other people thought about the deal The Avios duo creditcard with TSB is offering.

Martin's moneytips highlighted how you could get a return flight for two people by spending £500 for the first three months.
No problem, I thought, but the probationary level for the first six months is only £500 meaning you have to be very careful and spend a bit of time making sure you hit exactly the £500 limit without going over it and getting charged extra or not reaching it and missing out on why you joined in the first place.

I think it's a complete con and have cancelled the card already after they told me the limit, especially as my current c.card gives me a limit of a couple of grand.
The salesman tried to convince me to stay be saying I could top up to £500 by taking out cash on my card to get up to that limit but creditcards charge extra for taking cash out so it's misleading whatever way you look at it.
Bad bad freebie deal in my view

zerog

No

TiptonAl wrote: »

the probationary level for the first six months is only £500 meaning you have to be very careful and spend a bit of time making sure you hit exactly the £500 limit without going over it and getting charged extra

???

Do you mean your credit limit is £500? Some people get higher limits...

Also you can spend £400, pay it off and then spend another £101 to hit £500 per month...

The real problem with this deal is that the taxes on the 2 flights are going to be £60, and you are required to book a hotel through avios, which may be more expensive than direct.

OK, BA is better than easyjet, but you could probably get a better deal by just booking an easyjet flight if you wanted

However last year the avios cards had the best deal in recent memory, when they gave you 25 avios per £ for foreign spending

TiptonAl

They said all new applicants get a £500 limit for first 6 months.
It's also a lot of hassle to keep checking and having to pay off and make sure it's cleared before spending more to reach the amount every month

Other c cards just seem more honest about their offers when they are doing incentives to attract new customers.

guesswho2000

TiptonAl wrote: »

They said all new applicants get a £500 limit for first 6 months.
It's also a lot of hassle to keep checking and having to pay off and make sure it's cleared before spending more to reach the amount every month

Other c cards just seem more honest about their offers when they are doing incentives to attract new customers.

I find that very unlikely, if they just gave everyone £500 most people wouldn't bother even applying.

TiptonAl

That's the whole point of bringing this to light.
They don't tell you there's a £500 limit until after you've applied.
Disgraceful

rb10

TiptonAl wrote: »

That's the whole point of bringing this to light.
They don't tell you there's a £500 limit until after you've applied.
Disgraceful

Each person gets their own individual limit, based on their individual risk profile.

They can't tell you your limit until you've applied, because they don't know what level of risk you bring until then.

pjread

No

yeah there isn't a flat "starter" limit, that's either rubbish or there has been a major (and inexplicable) change at LTSB.

_Andy_

very easy way around - everytime you purchase something on it, bill payment is off straight away. Not rocket science

planteria

ive never used this card account...but it's not a con, it just needs to be used correctly & to your advantage