Best Cashback Cards Article Discussion Area

scp_2

If you are in the habit of giving money to charity then you might want to consider the American Express RED card. It gives 1% of all spending to the RED charity for fighting AIDS in Africa.

Of course, as with other Amex cards it is not accepted everywhere, but it gives a lot more to charity than the normal charity cards.

Stephen.

georgyfras

If you wish to avoid gettin 'stung' pay off your balance as quickly as possible. I thought I should alert you to Capital One's crafty scam with their 4% cashback offer.
I applied for the card in July and was accepted with a £7.5K limit. Purchased a holiday etc and spent nearly £7.5K. Received statement 4th Aug, min payment to be cleared by 30th Aug so I made bank transfer 17th Aug. (Statement recommends latest payment date 22/08/07). Checked at bank on 20th Aug and transfer had been made.
However, I tried to make a restaurant purchase on 26th using card and was refused, causing much embarrassment. I rang Capital One from restaurant only to be told that all 'large' amounts take 7 to 10 days to clear ! No argument would get them to clear my immediate card payment request.
In my view this is tantamount to fraud, as if I had been unwary and had waited until their own recommended last payment date of 22nd Aug I would have ended up paying them interest. I think your readers should be warned.

Jace_2

Capital ONE: Really 3 months @ 4%?

At what point does the 3 months start ticking away?
Application approval, receipt of card, receipt of pin, activation of card?

Do you really get 3 months to spend - or is that a marketing gimmick?

lisyloo

Do you really get 3 months to spend - or is that a marketing gimmick?

I was told that my 3 months started from card activation (which was after I had the card).
I didn't have the PIN but I was able to make on-line and phone purchases (inluding hoildays) without the PIN.

In reality I don't think you will get a full 3 months of being able to use it with the PIN but mine was only a few days short.
I've booked holidays and business expenses on it as well as annual house and car insurance so I'm very happy with it.
I reckon I've had 3 months partial usage (phone and on-line) and 3 months minus 3 or 4 days of total usage, so I don't think that's a gimmick.

Obviously if you don't have any high spending coming up then you have to consider whetehr it's worth your while.

Jace_2

Thanks for this.

I also thought card activation would be the start date of my account - therefore didn't bother that I was away when my card arrived and I also left it for a couple of days before activating my card. The 'account opened date' on my statement however, is 20 days prior (not sure if it's application approved date, card sent out date etc.) to the activation date. I wrote and asked Capital One about this - however the 'Customer Relations Manager' didn't give me any answers - just suggested I 'spend more to make the most' of the introductory 3 months.

KDH_2

A couple of other fiddles by Capital One ........the direct debit for full payment is about 5-7 days before payment date....."so it has time to reach your account, sir"............and it's now 7 days since receiving my card and still no PIN.......only able to shop online so far........


PS. Received PIN on 8th day after card arrived

Tindella_2

Does anyone have any experience of this? It's a sort of cash back - I think it puts what you save into your Paypal account - but you can always transfer that out into your normal bank account. I have a Paypal account so it's no problem. I think you get discount by shopping through them - like on Quidco - but have not seen any mention of it on here or on Martin's email.

Any comments greatly appreciated! :beer:

lisyloo

The 'account opened date' on my statement however, is 20 days prior (not sure if it's application approved date, card sent out date etc.) to the activation date.

Can you clarify - Have they actually told you when the cashback starts or are you making an assumption here?
I asked and was told it's the activation date.

I hve some sympathy with the managers view.
This cashback is fantastic.
If you get a few days less, why don't you count your blessings and enjoy what you have been given for free rather than moan about the loss of a few days (if it is in fact true which hasn't been clearly established yet).

I don't work for Capital one but I think it's a sham that people are moaning about this fantastic offer just because it's a few days less than they wanted (maybe).

I have earned over £200 cashback so far.
I don't think I've lost any days beacuse they told me it started from the day I activated my card and not account opening.

Can you clarify the facts please about when your cashback actually starts.

lcskumar

Tils wrote: »

Are the GE Money and Morgan Stanley Plat Cards still good cards to have or do you think I should be considering changing them now?

I've noticed that they aren't on the best list any more or was there another reason they have been removed?

Both cards are not available for new customers.

Jace_2

Not really moaning about the offer; yes it is great, which is what persuaded me to apply after a good 12 months of constantly receiving marketing material through the door.

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.

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.

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