Tandem Cashback ending 9th March

stupendous_J

stupendous_J wrote: »

Just read the T&C for the tandem savings account, it states a max limit of £250,000. So I assume 1.5% AER of this? Though only first £85,000 is protected. Might be a better alternative for those wanting to save more than 20k than Santanders limit.

Contacted Tandem and got this reply

'Thanks for getting in touch. You're quite right that the maximum that can go into the account is £250,000.

The maximum weekly deposit is £500.
Interest is then paid back into the Tandem account on a monthly basis'.

As someone else pointed out, You'll need at least a base of £4,800 in the account so that 1.5% AER of this will offset the £5.99 monthly fee. But paying in £500 per week will take a time to build this account up to really maximise the potential of the 1.5%. Knowing Tandem, another yr or so down the road, they've probably lower the AER / increase the monthly fee / move the goal posts again etc.

I think everyone's circumstances are different, myself...I have a 8K limit on the cash back card and use it for everyday spending
such as food, petrol and even my business expenses as I travel a lot and overseas, so abroad use is handy.

However, that said, since I've had the card back in mid Feb 2019, I have only earn't £73 cashback.

I think the 1.5% AER might convince me to stick with the £5.99 fee, as I already have a Santander 1,2,3 which is maxed out at the moment. Plus I have pretty much smashed all the bank account switch offers out there for the time being, so no movement there. Though by the time I build this account up to something special, will Tandem change the terms again?

chistery

You can transfer more than £500 to your Tandem savings account, but you have to transfer it from your linked current account, and not via the registered debit card.

To make the payments into your Tandem Account, you will need to use your registered debit card.
Using your registered debit card, you can save up to a maximum of £500 within a rolling 7 day window. If you’d like to fund your Tandem Account above this amount, you can make a transfer directly from your linked current account.

stupendous_J

chistery wrote: »

You can transfer more than £500 to your Tandem savings account, but you have to transfer it from your linked current account, and not via the registered debit card.

That's good to know, I'm going to open up a savings account now and transfer some funds across.

It is easy to transfer back out of the savings accounts into your registered debit account?

Nick_C

gwapenut wrote: »

Does this not count as a cash transaction?

I top up Revolut from Virgin MC, Lloyd's MC, and Nationwide Visa. These have never been treated as cash advances.

Wouldn't attempt it with a Tesco MC though, as I know they charge for using it with Curve.

18cc

If you are making an interest/ fees calculation, don't use 1.5%. You can easily get say 1.3% elsewhere, so the difference is only 0.2% (less if your interest is taxed).

Assume an 85k deposit. deposited into Tandem rather than another savings account. You get 0.2% x £85k difference in a year ie £170 (less tax if applicable)

If fact to exactly offset the £72 a year for the card, you need to deposit £36,000 (not a taxpayer) or £45000 (basic rate taxpayer for interest).

Please correct my maths if necessary!

withaspritz

rawhammered wrote: »

what's the best next (non Amex) option now? Aqua?

I'm considering the Barclaycard Rewards Visa Credit

No fee
0.25% cashback
Free to use abroad (purchases only not cash withdrawals)

Cantisque

Am also applying for the Barclaycard Rewards one, at least for the timebeing. Such a shame, too. I'd just praised Tandem for adding Google Pay support and now I have to go elsewhere!

Tim11111000111

Quite a few people seem to have fallen for the "bait and switch" and are tying themselves in knots trying to justify keeping the Tandem. The question everyone should be asking themselves is "if I didn't already have a Tandem Cashback Credit Card, would I sign up for Membership now?" And the answer is almost certainly not. All of the "perks" can be beaten (or nearly beaten) by free or lower-fee alternatives:

1.5% easy access saver. Might be a market leader, but only fractionally above Marcus' 1.35%. And if you have enough money saved to make it worthwhile, ask yourself if it all need to be easy access - you can easily beat the rate with notice accounts and/or fixed savers.

0.5% cashback. Amex is the obvious competition, but there's also Aqua, Barclaycard Rewards, RBS/Natwest Rewards. All offer 0.25 - 1.25% cashback, with fees (if any) lower than Tandem's.

0% APR (stoozing). I get the impression that Tandem credit limits are rarely high enough to make stoozing worthwhile, and there are several credit cards on the market offering 0% for 2+ years.

Overseas spending (no fees + cashback). Plenty of no fee options out there now for both cash withdrawals and purchases. I think some of the cards mentioned above pay cashback overseas too, but double check. Even if not, you'd have to spend a lot overseas for the cashback to justify the expense.

Maybe there are some people with extremely unusual circumstances who could come out on top using Tandem Membership, but I suspect these people are few and far between.

chamelion

Tim11111000111 wrote: »

Quite a few people seem to have fallen for the "bait and switch" and are tying themselves in knots trying to justify keeping the Tandem. The question everyone should be asking themselves is "if I didn't already have a Tandem Cashback Credit Card, would I sign up for Membership now?" And the answer is almost certainly not. All of the "perks" can be beaten (or nearly beaten) by free or lower-fee alternatives:

1.5% easy access saver. Might be a market leader, but only fractionally above Marcus' 1.35%. And if you have enough money saved to make it worthwhile, ask yourself if it all need to be easy access - you can easily beat the rate with notice accounts and/or fixed savers.

0.5% cashback. Amex is the obvious competition, but there's also Aqua, Barclaycard Rewards, RBS/Natwest Rewards. All offer 0.25 - 1.25% cashback, with fees (if any) lower than Tandem's.

0% APR (stoozing). I get the impression that Tandem credit limits are rarely high enough to make stoozing worthwhile, and there are several credit cards on the market offering 0% for 2+ years.

Overseas spending (no fees + cashback). Plenty of no fee options out there now for both cash withdrawals and purchases. I think some of the cards mentioned above pay cashback overseas too, but double check. Even if not, you'd have to spend a lot overseas for the cashback to justify the expense.

Maybe there are some people with extremely unusual circumstances who could come out on top using Tandem Membership, but I suspect these people are few and far between.

wish i could upvote this a thousand times.

I went down the really ridiculous 'trying to justify this' route going through the exact thought process. Hey i could earn 0.2% more on this in savings and offset the amount by depositing xyz etc... but the hassle of it just isn't worth it, and you can do lots more with the money you're not locking up for the sake of offsetting an unnecessary card.

I'm definitely shredding up this card. Pointless to keep it if it means jumping through all sorts of loopholes to justify it.

allan1954

seen this on Trustpilot is it true please as I dont want this credit card after March 9th.
The new £5.99 fee is a joke! Especially as you have to accept it or close your account - (which damages your credit score.)