Is it still the best card for spending?
You’ll still be able to earn up to £180 a year, but you’ll be limited on which purchases will be eligible for cashback.
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How does Chase’s cashback work?
Since launching in 2021, Chase customers have been able to earn 1% on their spending in the UK and abroad on most purchases. There’s a cap of £15 cashback each month, meaning it’s on the first £1,500 spent in that time.
Over the years there have been a few changes to terms and conditions, and most recently there’s been a requirement after year one for users to pay in £1,500 each month in order to trigger the cashback the following month.
And now we’re about to see more changes which are pretty huge, and I’ve detailed them below. These will be implemented from 7 April 2025.
Change 1: no more cashback abroad
The first change is that cashback will only be earned in the UK and Channel Islands. That means you’ll no longer earn money back on overseas spending.
However the card will still be fee-free for spending and cash withdrawals overseas.
Change 2: you’ll have fewer opportunities to earn it
You’ll still get 1% back, but it’ll only be on a smaller range of categories rather than all spending as before. You’ll earn money back on:
- Groceries
- Everyday transport
- Fuel
You’ll still be able to earn up to £15 back on these categories each month, and you’ll still need to deposit the £1,500 the prior month to activate the offer.
Taking a look at each category in more detail, Chase provides the following extra information:
1% on groceries
This is valid on all major supermarkets when you shop directly with them. If you order via a third party delivery app, e.g Deliveroo, then you won’t get the cashback.
It’ll also work on smaller convenience stores like Spa, Costcutter and Londis. However, off licences and other alcohol shops, e.g. Majestic Wine, are excluded.
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Effective 6.45% rate for six months as a new Raisin customer
1% on everyday transport
So what counts as “everyday”. Well as you’d expect you’ll be fine for UK trains, and Eurostar is also covered. It appears you’ll get the cashback if you use third party apps like Trainline too.
Buses and coaches will also earn you money back, and Chase say this also includes charter and tour buses. Any ferry trips will earn money too.
And the tube, other metro systems and trams will also be eligible.
You won’t be covered with taxis (so I’d avoid the Uber app for train bookings), while flights also won’t count.
1% on petrol
Service station, from big brands such as BP through to supermarket forecourts will earn the cashback. Electric charging points are also covered, but not if you’re charging at home.
Watch out for the ‘MCC’
Sadly, even if you adhere to the guidance above, there’s always a chance your purchase will be rejected thanks to how Chase will decide if your spend is eligible for cashback.
They’ll use something called a Merchant Category Code (MCC) which is how payment providers work out what is being sold. Though the big companies will be clear, you might find independent or smaller businesses, or those that sell more than one thing have a code that doesn’t fit these cashback categories – even if you’ve bought groceries, travel or food!
Sadly there’s not much you can do about this. If it’s rejected for cashback you won’t be able to complain.
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Should you ditch Chase?
Andy’s analysis
I’m not sure it’s one to ditch, but I’d certainly be looking at alternatives to use alongside or instead of for most purchases.
First up, you can use cashback apps to earn money back on supermarket gift cards, often between 3% and 5%, so they’ll be better for grocery shopping in the most part.
For everything else, I’d look at American Express – as long as the retailer takes Amex, which most do. The top earning card here is the Amex Nectar credit card. You’ll earn two points per £1 everywhere, which works out at 1% too.
If you want to stick with Chase, the 1% rate is still very hard to beat on travel and petrol, so Chase will still be useful there. However, the Santander Edge card offers the same 1% on the same categories, though you’re capped at £10 back each month, which makes it a joint top pick on these restricted spending areas.
The end of cashback abroad is also a big disappointment. It means Chase is no longer our top pick for holiday spending as there are plenty of other cards which won’t charge you overseas. In terms of cashback, we’d look at the Barclaycard Rewards as the main payment method now if you’re eligible. You’ll earn a lower 0.25% rate, but it can add up while you’re away.
Chase is gradually becoming less and less attractive. The biggest drawback is that it is an American-owned bank—I am finding it increasingly difficult to reconcile my conscience with banking at a company based in the US.
They really lured people to move to Chase with the 1% cashback and now they’re slashing the benefits. Not really worth it anymore when you can get better cashback through gift cards on jam doughnut, etc.
Chase debit makes no sense anymore.
Supermarkets you can get better rate than 1% by paying via giftcards which are discounted by 3%-5% typically. Or do snoozing for everyday spending on interest free credit card and get interest paid on the credit card companies money essentially. Bad news overall these changes Chase seems to have gone downhill after being generous to start with.
I’ve been buying these giftcards from JamDoughnut and HyperJar, using my Chase card for the purchases. This means I’ve been able to stack the cashback. Pity I won’t be able to do that anymore. (JamDoughnut does pay reduced cashback if buying with a card, but it’s usually less than a 1% reduction.)
Are you saying you were getting 1% cashback in your chase account if you used the chase account to buy the jam doughnut gift cards? I thought the 1% cash back in chase was only on debit card purchases, not bank transfers (which is typically how you get the best cashback rates when buying gift cards on jamdoughnut, etc.
@Mel B I can’t speak for any other giftcards but we get the discounted One4all’s going through CS each month and have always bought them with the Chase card but have never ever earned any cashback.