M&S cuts credit card reward points on shopping
An EU cap on credit card fees has meant that M&S has decided to reduce the points you can earn on its credit card.
M&S has announced that it's dramatically reducing the number of reward points shoppers can earn on the M&S Bank credit card.
Cardholders will only receive one point for every £5 spent outside Marks & Spencer, reduced from the current system where you get one point for every £2 spend.
M&S has confirmed that none of its other terms are changing, so you’ll still get a point for every £1 you spend in-store. The change will take effect from February 29.
Why is it being cut?
M&S Bank is blaming the new interchange fee cap which was introduced in December 2015 and controls how much card providers can charge retailers for processing credit card and debit card payments. The limit is 0.3% for credit cards and 0.2% for debit cards.
Since the change, a succession of rewards schemes have been changed or scrapped entirely, with card providers arguing they simply cannot afford to continue them. NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland, Capital One and Tesco Bank all cut rewards last year.
Other financial bodies argue that the cap will save cardholders money in the long term. The UK Cards Association trade body estimates that £900 million of savings should be passed on to customers, although it's unclear if that is happening.
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