Ideas for 10 small online debit card transactions please

juw8e7

Ideas for 10 small online debit card transactions please.

Do signing up to free trials to subscription services like Tidal, Qobuz, Spotify etc count?

Considering the CO-OP switch.

Thanks.

flaneurs_lobster

Don't think so, the switch bonus rules ask for spend on the debit card. By definition, free trial offers don't debit your account.

Lots of people have satisfied the spend by self-service checkout and 10 carrots (other loose veg is available). 

PRAISETHESUN

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6445857/savings-investment-dds-and-debit-card-deposits-an-updated-list/p1

As above, you need to actually make a payment. Using your debit card. If the trial charges your card then it will count, but if it doesn't then it won't. Either way, make sure you cancel any subscription you sign up for after the trial period to avoid big fees being charged.accidently.

Otherwise my usual go to options are to repay one of my credit cards that accepts repayments by debit card with multiple £1 transactions, or to make manual payments toward my energy bills by debit card. For larger amounts, such as the now defunct Halifax Rewards, some of the savings accounts linked in the thread above have been useful over the years.

Failing that, my usual fallback is to go to Tesco at a quiet time and buy individual items through the self serve checkout - individual carrots, pieces of fruit, etc.

vacheron

A few people are recommending paying off an outstanding bill (phone, energy, credit card) with multiple £5 transactions. The benefit is it all comes of the balance anyway, so you aren't spending on anything unnecessary.

You can also top up your Amazon gift voucher balance £5 at a time.

Rob5342

Surely it's not that difficult to find 10 opportunities to spend in a month. Use the card when you need bread, milk etc and pay for each item separately, use it for your Amazon purchases and streaming subscriptions etc. 

Jami74

When I did this a couple of years back I paid off credit cards £1 at a time, topped up Amazon gift card and deposited tiny amounts into NS&I savings accounts. I spread them out (ie not 10 consecutive £1 payments to the same card) to avoid flagging suspicious activity. Also did slightly different amounts each time (eg £1.01, £1.02 etc) to make it easier to track each payment (credit card payments would sometimes be pending and I'd get confused how many payments I'd actually done). I decided quite quickly that I wouldn't do it again.

Rudyson

The debit card payments don't have to be online to qualify for the Coop switch bonuses. In person transactions are just as good.

Nasqueron

Carrots sold by weight tend to be the cheapest I found, just need to weigh at the till and do it at a quiet time as you have 10 receipts for 2-3p a time!

Rob5342

Thanks for pointing this out. I've been round most banks for the switching offer but not coop. They look very old fashioned so I doubt I'll use them much, if at all, but for some free cash and a spare account I won't complain too much. 

Nebulous2

I rarely spend on debit cards, certainly not 10 transactions a month, but I found it quite easy.

Some grocery shopping, split a small basket into smaller transactions. We were also doing some long distance driving during the promotion, and simply paid fast food meals at motorway service stations separately, then went and bought two separate coffees. That gave four transactions in one stop. 

I'm not a believer in pushing my luck during these promotions - ten carrots is too extreme for me, but I wouldn't create expenditure for the sake of it either.

I'm considering changing to the packaged bank account, the European breakdown cover is attractive and if the underwriting is okay I'd be paying less for the package than I currently am for travel insurance. So I could end up with a long-term relationship with them.  

slinger2

The 10 carrots idea is not for me. Managed the 40 transactions quite easily over the 4 months or so. Single food purchases in supermarkets, birthday cards, stamps, a few cups of coffee, etc. Total spend about £90, so lost a bit in cashback but compared to the £175: a drop in the ocean.