Free money
Are you feeling the squeeze?
Inflation continues to rise, and with it the gap between your outgoings and income shrinks. You can’t completely stop spending, but you can earn cash back when you spend. There’s a range of ways to do this, but you need to check the conditions carefully.
Credit cards
The best-known option is a cashback credit card. This will give you a percentage of your spending back as money, usually sent to your bank account. You may get a fixed percentage on all spending, a percentage that depends how much you spend, or a varying percentage that depends exactly what you are spending on. Watch for any monthly fees and be sure these won’t wipe out the benefits.
The key rule for using such cards is that you should only use them for purchases that you would have made anyway: don’t buy stuff just to boost your cashback.
The interest rates on cashback credit cards are often quite high, so make sure you pay the balance off in full every month, preferably by direct debit. And don’t get cash advances such as bank machine withdrawals as, again, the rates can be high.
Bank accounts
Another option is to get a bank account that offers some form of cashback, often called a reward account.
There’s often a small monthly fee, but if you are paying regular bills you can usually come out ahead. Check the conditions carefully though: some rewards accounts have a minimum amount that you must pay in each month.
Apps and online
The newest option is to use specialist apps and online sites. These aren’t operated by banks or credit card providers, but rather by independent businesses. In principle, all you need to do is visit the site or app before being passed on to the retailer and you’ll then earn a percentage of any spending as cashback.
However, make sure you check prices carefully and see if you could get it cheaper elsewhere, outweighing the rewards. Be particularly wary of any membership costs. Often such services are free or have a free tier, but they can have monthly fees that may come as a surprise and reduce the overall benefit.
Loyalty cards
Finally, don’t forget about supermarket loyalty cards. They don’t pay cash but do offer discounts on future shops. These days, the best value often comes from taking advantage of tie-ups with other retailers and programs, though this does mean doing some research and keeping up to date with the latest policies.
For example, earlier this year anyone using the option to convert Sainsbury’s Nectar card points to Avios air miles effectively boosted their cashback by 25 per cent – though of course, that’s only worthwhile for people who planned to spend their air miles. Remember also that how much financial benefit you get from air miles can vary depending on the type of flight you book.
“ earn cash back when you spend”