QHaving spent a fortune getting ready for Chanukah, I was wondering what is the best way to get paid for my spending. I have seen lots of adverts for cards that give you cashback and website that do the same. Are they any good and what is the best one? I probably spend £6,000-£8,000 on my credit card each year and do a lot of my shopping online.
AWhat a good idea — there is nothing like being rewarded for spending you were going to do anyway. There are three ways to earn cashback on your spending, through a credit card, a bank account or a cashback website.
There are a handful of bank accounts offering cashback all with different offerings, so it depends how you spend your money. The newest entrant is Chase, the digital banking arm of JP Morgan. It is offering a generous one percent on almost all everyday spending on its debit card for the first 12 months, exclusions include hospital fees and money transfers. Shopping on Amazon attracts three percent cashback until the end of December. There is no monthly fee.
Santander’s 123 Lite current account offers up to three percent cashback on certain household bills, maximum £15 a month, plus 15 percent cashback on spending with selected retailers. There is a £2 a month fee for the account.
Halifax’s Rewards Current Account pays a flat £5 a month into your account and also offers 15 percent cashback with selected retailers, but has a £3 a month fee. NatWest and RBS offer up to £5 a month cashback and a further one percent for spending with its retailer partners such as Caffe Nero and ATG Tickets. There is a £2 monthly fee.
If you prefer a cashback credit card, the American Express Platinum Cashback Everyday Card pays five percent on all spending for the first three months up to £100, then 0.5 percent cashback on spend up to £10,000 and one percent thereafter. You need to spend £3,000 a year on the card to qualify for the cashback though. The card has no annual fee.
While you say you typically spend up to £8,000 on your card, if you spent £10,000 plus then the American Express Platinum Cashback Credit card is a better option. It offers 0.75 percent cashback on spending up to £10,000 and 1.25 percent above. It also has the five percent introductory offer — up to £125 —but has a £25 annual fee.
Santander offers 0.5% cashback on its All in One credit card with a £3 a month fee.
You can increase the amoun you receive by shopping on a cashback website. The best known is Top Cashback (topcashback.co.uk) which at the time of writing was offering deals such as 15 percent cashback on online spending at M&S. It is also worth checking the deals on offer from its rival Quidco (quidco.com), currently including 15 percent on spending at JD Sports.
Happy shopping!
