Direct Debit maximising returns

pecunianonolet

Hi, 

I am trying to optimise my direct debit payments and wonder if I am missing a trick.

Current setup:

Council tax = Via PayPoint at Coop using a council issued payment card so I can pay with Amex for air miles
Mobile phone = Lebara was happy to collect from my Amex cc 

Fibre, gas, electricity and various credit cards all come from my main account with HSBC. 

Any day to day spending on credit cards

I am aware of Zopa offering cashback on all direct debits, this is already maxed out. I am aware of Santander but that account comes with fees, which would wipe any savings. 

Any other alternatives out there I am missing to maximise returns on something I've got to pay for anyway?

born_again

Move 2 to a separate account & switch using CASS to get the bribes.

Over a year that will/should be a better return given the amounts dished out.

Rob5342

born_again said:

Move 2 to a separate account & switch using CASS to get the bribes.

Over a year that will/should be a better return given the amounts dished out.

It's better to stick with one bank that you like for your normal spending, and have a second one that you switch around to get the switching bonuses.

pecunianonolet

I am not eligible for any switching bonus for at least the next 1-2 years. I've got current accounts with I think 10 banks.

I am asking specifically if there are options to maximise returns with direct debits as I may miss something, maybe not.

WillPS

pecunianonolet said:

I am aware of Santander but that account comes with fees, which would wipe any savings.

This is my only tip. Remember you can deliberately overpay your gas and electric, I do this in order to get the full £5 each month from Santander 123 Lite (NLA). TBH, I'll probably stop bothering when the plug is inevitably pulled on the 123 products, it makes far less sense with Edge. In a way I'm surprised it's been allowed to continue so long!!

friolento

You didn't mention the Natwest and the RBS Reward accounts. You can make £3 net a month from each of these - £72 a year in total. You are supposed to have just one Reward account at either bank, but I know that some people have two each, making £144 a year.

pecunianonolet

friolento said:

You didn't mention the Natwest and the RBS Reward accounts. You can make £3 net a month from each of these - £72 a year in total. You are supposed to have just one Reward account at either bank, but I know that some people have two each, making £144 a year.

Thanks, got that already for both with Plum & Moneybox in action. 

penners324

Paying council tax at a paypoint sounds overly complex and fraught with issues. Just for the few pence in cashback  

pecunianonolet

penners324 said:

Paying council tax at a paypoint sounds overly complex and fraught with issues. Just for the few pence in cashback  

The contrary is the case. I work from home and Coop is under 10 min walk and part of my lunch time walk route. I hand over the council issued card for the cashier to swipe, tell them the amount, put my card in the reader, type my pin in and walk out with the receipt and of course my meal deal. Amex adds the points for the transaction and it adds additional spend to the card for further spend bonus points. Points will be turned into air miles (Avios) helping to fund the next oversees trip. Never had any issues with the council either.

PRAISETHESUN

How does the 1% cashback from Chase compare to the value you get from your Amex points? Or have you already got a way to max this out without using your normal spending? That's about the only other thing that comes to mind besides the Santander DD cashback you've said you've already explored.

steven141

There’s also the Santander Edge Credit card 2% for the first year although £3 monthly fee.