Best Cashback Cards Article Discussion Area

lisyloo

What I didn't understand, was that on my statement my 'account opened date' isn't the same as the activation date. I thought that they would be the same.

If they don't actually create an account for you then they wouldn't be able to activate your card as they would have no records.
They have to make computer records so that they have them available when you ring up to activate your card, otherwise they wouldn't have your details to hand.

You asked whether I'm 'assuming' this - I guess I have to. Capital One's response didn't help at all - just told me my account open date stands and suggested that I 'use my card more' to make the most of the offer. Sorry, but that's poor from a Customer Relations department.

Well that was the date they opened the account so why should they change it? That would be recording the facts incorrectly and they could be open to accusations of fraud and all sorts if they start altering factual data.

Did you actually ask them when your cashback started?
You seem to be assuming it's account opening date.
I don't see why you have to assume this.
Why can't you just ask them (over the phone if you don't want to wait for snail mail).

So - are you saying that the cashback offer doesn't necessarily start at the same time as the account opened date?

I queried it when I activated my account.
I was told my cashback started on the activation date.
I can't guarantee that the same applies to everyone else because I can only query my own account.
My account was activated 6 days after it was opened so I don't think you can hold them responsible for delays at your end.

I think the manager's advice to make best use of your card is good advice.
My own advice would be similar.
If you have any holidays you were thinking of booking, or amounts owing for holidays then pay them during the 4% period rather than wait.
If you have any annual car or house insurance coming up then pay for it now to take advantage of the 4% cashback.
I think that's good advice and I've made over £200 this way.

Daguar1

Citi bank now offer Shell mastercard with 3% cashback on shell fuel purchases, and 1% on any other purchases you make on the card up to 10k p/annum, great if you do the miles. If you make the most of it and start filling up at shell stations then get a drivers club points card and swipe for xtra drivers club points and shell goodies.

kernowkarmann

I have my Capital 1 card and have just got my first statement.

I cannot see on it any mention of how much cashback i have earned (when I activated it the guy confirmed it was a cashback 4% card).

Can anyone tell me if there is a way to check or if we just trust them to work it all out at end of year?

alexburt1

Hi,

Thought you may be interested, I have a Rewards credit card from MBNA, once you take out the card you get access to MBNA Lifestyle. Here you can buy discounted vouchers online for shopping in supermarkets (only with your MBNA credit card), e.g Sainsbury's are discounted 6% on orders over £100.

You can even use the Sainsbury's ones in the petrol station (never tried the others but presuming it works). Also not forgetting you also get the reward points.

You can also buy discounted vouchers from the high street, e.g Argos, Boots, Love2shop

As there is no charge for this card I reckon this beats your top recommendation????

lisyloo

I have my Capital 1 card and have just got my first statement.

It's on the paper statement (but not on-line).
If you mean the paper statement then check again (don't have it in front of me right now so can't tell you exactly where).

If you are looking on-line then I don't think you'll see it until you get the paper copy.

rkm_hm

I've had a CapitalOne (Mastercard) credit card for several years. When I
first had it, it provided a cash-back of 1% on all purchases. They
subsequently changed the rules so that it is now only 0.5%
I always pay the balance in full each month, and so never pay any interest.

I've recently been looking round for alternatives which provide a better
rate of cash-back - and have discovered that CapitalOne now does one which provides a whopping 4% cashback for the first 3 months, and 1% thereafter -and would thus be infinitely preferable to the miserable 0.5% which I'm getting at the moment. Of course, they hadn't told me about that - 'cos it's just there to attract new customers.

Anyone know whether financial institutions have a duty to tell their
customers when they come out with new products which are more beneficial than the old ones (like better interest rates on investments, etc.)? I had a feeling that they did.

Anyway, I rang up CapitalOne yesterday, to ask them to convert my credit
card to the new type. Would they hell! They are making it as difficult as
they possibly can for existing customers to benefit from the new deal.
Firstly, they point-blank refuse to do a straight conversion. Then they
refuse to let any individual have more than one of their credit cards - so
you have to cancel the existing one (which they say can take anything up to a couple of months!) before you can even apply for a new one. Then they point out that there is no guarantee that your application will be accepted, because you're starting from scratch - effectively as a new customer.

So their company policy is clearly to use whatever means are necessary to
snare new customers, and then to treat them with utter contempt once they're on the hook.

So if you're tempted to go for their latest offer - beware, it ain't all it seems!

GrannyAnnie_3

The article says about the Abbey card: "So get this card use it only for your normal supermarket spending and you'll get a free £50. Once you've got that, ditch it."

But if it works in a similar way to Egg Money you might lose your cashback if you ditch it that quickly. Egg Money only pays the cashback once a year presumably to make sure you hang on to the card for a while.
"Your cash back amount is calculated from the March statement in each year to the February statement the following year. It's paid into your account each March, up to a maximum of £200 for each 12 month cash back period, as long as your total cash back earned over the year is more than £5. Each month you can check how much cash back you've earned on your monthly Egg Money statements. If you close your Egg Money account you will not be paid any cash back earned." copied from Egg Money's cashback pop-up.
I suppose the article means - Once you've got that £50 in your account, ditch the card. Just be careful and read the terms and conditions!

hansi

rkm_hm wrote: »

I've had a CapitalOne (Mastercard) credit card for several years. When I
first had it, it provided a cash-back of 1% on all purchases. They
subsequently changed the rules so that it is now only 0.5%
I always pay the balance in full each month, and so never pay any interest.

I've recently been looking round for alternatives which provide a better
rate of cash-back - and have discovered that CapitalOne now does one which provides a whopping 4% cashback for the first 3 months, and 1% thereafter -and would thus be infinitely preferable to the miserable 0.5% which I'm getting at the moment. Of course, they hadn't told me about that - 'cos it's just there to attract new customers.

Anyone know whether financial institutions have a duty to tell their
customers when they come out with new products which are more beneficial than the old ones (like better interest rates on investments, etc.)? I had a feeling that they did.

Anyway, I rang up CapitalOne yesterday, to ask them to convert my credit
card to the new type. Would they hell! They are making it as difficult as
they possibly can for existing customers to benefit from the new deal.
Firstly, they point-blank refuse to do a straight conversion. Then they
refuse to let any individual have more than one of their credit cards - so
you have to cancel the existing one (which they say can take anything up to a couple of months!) before you can even apply for a new one. Then they point out that there is no guarantee that your application will be accepted, because you're starting from scratch - effectively as a new customer.

So their company policy is clearly to use whatever means are necessary to
snare new customers, and then to treat them with utter contempt once they're on the hook.

So if you're tempted to go for their latest offer - beware, it ain't all it seems!

I have one of those 1% Capital One Cashback Mastercards, and when they generally introduced the 0.5% rule, I e mailed them and asked them whether that applied to my account. They replied that I would still get the 1% cashback and I am still getting it (very useful it is too) so maybe they hand pick customers. Incidentally, I pay off my balance in full every month too.

stphnstevey

Is it just me or is anybody else thinking is it worth the hassle of opening another credit card for just £50?

At least the Egg card allows you upto £200 cashback even if it is acrued at 1%, but that is on ALL spends

lisyloo

I've had a CapitalOne (Mastercard) credit card for several years. When I
first had it, it provided a cash-back of 1% on all purchases. They
subsequently changed the rules so that it is now only 0.5%

I had one of these (and the other poster is right the reduction was not applied across the board).
When they applied the reduction to me. I found a better card (Egg Money) and closed Capital one.
Recently I was able to apply for the 4%.

So the moral of the story is
1) review every now and again to see if you can get a better deal
2) Don't be afraid to walk away as you can often get a better deal as a "new" customer. The only caveat is that some companies have rules e.g. 12 months to be a "new" customer.
3) Make sure you close the card down otherwise you won't be able to get new deals (and there are several other reasons why it's a good idea too).