Santander Amazon opening offer x2

goatfaced

Off topic but ONSI give 4% discount on tesco gift cards. If you're an Amazon flex driver which we all are 😁 also today topcashback have a £2 bonus if you spend a tenner (the bonus needs to be activated) so that's more than 20% return if you buy topgiftcards (if you don't already have topcashback look for a sign up offer, Martin posts about them, and if you don't know how to activate the bonus, it will show up near the top, just swipe through the offers until you see it, or wait for it to cycle through)

s71hj

So anybody going to try the payment to own Skipton /YBS etc account route or is everyone sticking with the bananas at self service tills approach? 

Jabod

s71hj said:

So anybody going to try the payment to own Skipton /YBS etc account route or is everyone sticking with the bananas at self service tills approach? 

I wouldn't do it by making payments to own accounts. Transfers are specificially excluded by the terms of the offer. I wouldn't risk £100 to find out how well they enforce this! If Santander disqualifies the transactions for being transfers, there may be no way of knowing that until the time comes to claim the voucher. 

I have used debit card transfers with other bank offers in the past, but in those cases the terms were less specific, you could track whether transactions qualified, and the inconvience of making actual purchases was a lot greater. For example, Halifax required you to "spend" £500 on your debit card each month, which is a lot harder than buying 15 bananas! Halifax also told you whether you had met the conditions before the reward was due.

Bettie

Jabod said:

Yeah, I have just tried this myself (clicking on the "proceed to Santander" button at the bottom as I have already filled in the VoucherSent form). It is taking you to the application form for the Edge Explorer account. Someone should inform TCB (perhaps it is VoucherSent or Santander that is responsible for the error, but the starting page is clearly flagging the Everyday Account so TCB should take charge of fixing it).

From TCB FAQ
Santander Everyday Current Account issues.

We are aware of an issue with members trying to open an Santander Everyday Current Account and be directed to open a Santander Edge Explorer current account after filling out the Amazon.co.uk gift card details form. Our team are currently investigating this. Last updated 31/10/2025 18:19

s71hj

Jabod said:

s71hj said:

So anybody going to try the payment to own Skipton /YBS etc account route or is everyone sticking with the bananas at self service tills approach? 

I wouldn't do it by making payments to own accounts. Transfers are specificially excluded by the terms of the offer. I wouldn't risk £100 to find out how well they enforce this! If Santander disqualifies the transactions for being transfers, there may be no way of knowing that until the time comes to claim the voucher. 

I have used debit card transfers with other bank offers in the past, but in those cases the terms were less specific, you could track whether transactions qualified, and the inconvience of making actual purchases was a lot greater. For example, Halifax required you to "spend" £500 on your debit card each month, which is a lot harder than buying 15 bananas! Halifax also told you whether you had met the conditions before the reward was due.

So is this going to show as any different in terms of the automated process for verifying if a debit card payment has been made. Is there a specific category of a "transfer" or is it just that they are or aren't debit card payments? It's a genuine question that perhaps people with knowledge of banking systems may be able to answer! 

Jabod

So is this going to show as any different in terms of the automated process for verifying if a debit card payment has been made. Is there a specific category of a "transfer" or is it just that they are or aren't debit card payments? It's a genuine question that perhaps people with knowledge of banking systems may be able to answer! 

There are some posts about this earlier in the thread, around pages 5-7. Santander will be able to see that the transaction was a bank deposit as there is a specific MCC code for this. However, according to previous posters, Santander does not share this code with retail customers, unlike some banks.

Note that the issue, in terms of whether a transaction qualifies, is not whether it is a debit card payment but whether it is a "purchase" (this is the term used in the offer terms and conditions).

I suppose that banks can tell the difference when calculating cashback. If they were unable to tell whether a debit card payment is a purchase or a deposit, you could generate huge amounts of cashback by shuffling money back-and-forth.

trickydicky14

So, bananas and carrots it is. Don't want to risk missing out on £100.

ThePirates

I'm not holding my breath based on the £75 for putting £100 in a Santander S&S ISA fiasco...

SickGroove

I'm just going to use my Santander debit card on everyday spending on transport, bits & bobs, some Amazon gift cards, until I've hit the 30 required.

friolento

ThePirates said:

I'm not holding my breath based on the £75 for putting £100 in a Santander S&S ISA fiasco...

Keep the faith. And your OLA numbers.

 The Amazon vouchers are administered by VoucherSent, who AFAIK have no connection with TCB. Whilst some people experienced some issues with VoucherSent on previous Santander Amazon vouchers (the £50 ones), most people received their vouchers automatically. Those who didn’t were able to appeal and provided they could supply their OLA number, also got their vouchers. 

It’s a different matter with the TCB cashback. You might remember their TSB offer, which was reneged on in spades. I’d not be surprised if they will also try to wriggle out of the Santander ones, as we have already seen the start of it. For years, I did find TCB totally reliable but in the last couple of years I have completely changed my mind about them.