Martin Lewis names two banks to switch to after Chase cuts cashback | Personal Finance | Finance
Money expert Martin Lewis has picked out two top credit cards for those looking to ditch and switch from Chase after it slashed its popular cashback offer.
Until recently, Chase Bank offered 1% cashback on all spending in the UK and abroad up to a total of £15 a month, which was one of Martin Lewis’ regular top picks for spending. But Chase, which is an online only bank in the UK, has since cut the scope of its offer significantly, reducing it to just a few select categories.
On this week’s episode of The Martin Lewis Podcast on BBC Sounds and Spotify on April 30, the financial expert was asked by a listener to suggest some alternatives for those looking to switch away from Chase following its cashback changes.
Martin Lewis said: “Chase has recently cut its cashback from 1% on everything in the UK and abroad (well nearly everything) to 1% on just groceries and fuel and UK transport (trains and buses and things), which is obviously a lot less cashback and now only does it in the UK it doesn’t do it abroad.
“So exactly which card you’re gonna get to replace it? There are a lot of them out there I’ll just give you a few to look at.
“The best payers always tend to be American Express credit cards although they are not as usable in quite as many places as Mastercard and Visa.
“So you’ve got the Amex Everyday Credit Card which pays 5% cashback at the moment for the first 5 months up to a maximum of £125.
“That’s important as normally it’s 5% for 3 months up to a maximum of £100 so it’s quite a good time to get one especially if there’s any big purchases that you would need to do.
“Then it pays afterwards 1% cashback on spending over £10,000 and 0.5% cashback on spending below £10,000. But to get any cashback at all you have to put £3,000 a year on it.”
Martin also said that the top non Amex reward card is the Barclaycard Reward card which gives 0.5% cashback until September 30 on spending in the UK and abroad and has near perfect exchange rates abroad.
Martin added: “So those are probably the best all round for cashback on spending, those two cards. As always though, they’re credit cards. Only do this if you pay off the card IN FULL every month.”
Chase confirmed in a message to customers what it will do to cashback. It said: “Customers will be able to earn cashback on: Groceries – e.g. at grocery stores, supermarkets, miscellaneous food stores, convenience stores and specialty markets; Everyday transport – e.g. local and suburban commuter passenger transportation (including ferries), bus lines (including charter/tour buses), railroads and passenger rail (trains); Fuel – e.g. service stations (with or without ancillary services), automated fuel dispensers and electric vehicle charging points”
Mark Powys, Managing Director for Daily Banking at Chase, commented: “Chase’s cashback offer is one of the most competitive on the market, enabling customers to earn a little extra on many of the essential things they already buy daily.”
“As well as our cashback offer, Chase’s current account offers a range of money management features, interest on small change round ups through Chase’s round up account, and a competitive-rate easy access saver account.”
