Follow this topicThe best cashback credit cards
Get a cashback credit card and you can make some serious cash, simply by using your credit card regularly. But which is best?
Everybody loves to get something for nothing. Cashback credit cards are an easy way to get a proper return on your spending – you get a percentage back of how much you spend on the card in cold, hard cash at the end of each year.
However, these cards are only worth considering if you pay your bill off in full each month – otherwise the interest will eliminate your cashback. But if you do, they are a fantastic friend to have in you wallet.
Let's take a look at the best cashback credit cards.
Barclaycard Cashback card
For the first three months you have the Barclaycard Cashback card it pays a cracking 6% introductory rate on your top five purchases giving you the chance to earn up to £120.
After that, you’ll get 2% cashback on your five biggest purchases each month, and 0.5% on everything else. That’s as long as you make at least 15 purchases each month. Plus the rate will double to 4% for one month each year to mark your anniversary with the card, although again only on your top five purchases.
However, it comes with an annual fee of £24 and a relatively high representative APR (the annual cost of interest and other charges if you don't pay off your bill in full each month) of 24.8%.
Creation Cashback card
The Creation Cashback MasterCard is a fee-free card that pays up to 1.5% cashback on all petrol and supermarket spending and 0.5% on your other retail spending. There's an annual cashback limit of £200.
To apply, you need to be aged 25 and have a household income of at least £20,000 a year. The representative APR is 18.9%.
Aqua Reward card
The aqua Reward MasterCard is designed for people with poor or non-existent credit ratings, but it actually offers a very generous 3% cashback on everything you buy all year round. So even if you have a good credit rating this card might work for you. Especially if you're a relatively low credit card spender as the cashback is capped at £100 a year.
The card also offers no foreign exchange fees on purchases abroad so it's a good option for overseas as well.
However, please note that the representative APR is a whopping 34.9%. So if you don't pay off your balance in full one month, you'll be hit by very high interest charges.
American Express Platinum card
The American Express Platinum Cashback card also pays 5% cashback in the first three months up to £100.
What's more, there's a flat cashback rate of 1.25% on all of your spending after that, irrespective of how much you spend. And each year you have the card, in your anniversary month the cashback rate doubles to 2.5%. However you do need to spend £10,000 in the previous year to qualify for the special 'anniversary' 2.5% rate.
However, there is a £25 annual fee to take into account. It has a representative APR of 18.7%.
The Santander 123 card
The Santander 123 Cashback MasterCard pays 1% on supermarket spending, 2% in department stores and 3% on petrol or train fares. There is a £24 yearly fee, though if you move your current account to the Santander 123 current account, there's no fee for the first year. The representative APR is 22.8%.
Making the most of cashback cards
To make the most of your cashback card, put as much of your spending on it as you possibly can. As a bonus, this will give you the legal protection offered by Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.
However, that's not an excuse to spend more than you would normally!
In addition, never use these credit cards to withdraw cash. The charges are horrendous and your withdrawals won't qualify for cashback. Balance transfers also aren't eligible for cashback.
This article is regularly updated
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