Chase extends 1% cashback

The 1% rate now won’t end after 12 months for all customers.

Good news for anyone who signed up for Chase Bank’s current account as the 1% cashback will be extended. There will also be 1% interest on in-account balances. Here’s what you need to know.

Some articles on the blog contain affiliate links, which provide a small commission to help fund the blog. However, they won’t affect the price you pay or the blog’s independence. Read more here.

When will Chase’s cashback now end?

Since launch, Chase Bank has offered new account holders 1% cashback for 12 months, which is activated when you open the account.

It’s already been extended once. Those who opened the account before 1 March 2022 were able to keep earning cashback until 28 February 2023.

And now it will continue for another year after your initial offer ends, meaning customers will be able to get the reward until at least the end of March 2024. This applies to all customers, new and old – but there are conditions.

How to extend your Chase cashback

You don’t need to activate the offer in the app as it’ll automatically start when your first 12 months end. For those who’s cashback is due to end on 28 February 2023, you’ll keep earning as normal until the end of March 2023 before the new system kicks in.

And this will have an extra condition – you will need to deposit £500 into your account each month to trigger cashback in the following month. This means to start you need to add the cash in March to qualify for cashback when the offer begins in April, and so on.

The money has to come from an external source, and can’t be an internal transfer between your different sub-Chase accounts.

This will apply to all existing customers once their initial 12 months are over. However, new customers signing up won’t have to do this until their first year is complete.

How much cashback can you earn?

The 1% rate remains the same, but there is a new £15 monthly cap. This will apply to existing customers from March 2023, and new customers from 9 May 2023. So the last date to open an account without the cap is 8 May 2023.

This means you’ll only get it on spending of up to £1,500 each month. That’s pretty generous for most everyday spending as there are already some exclusions.

However, you will likely miss out if you are making a large purchase – though since it’s often wise to use a credit card for anything really expensive to get additional consumer protection.

Where to earn cashback with Chase

You’ll get 1% back on most purchases made with your debit card, but there are some exceptions.

You won’t get the money back from financial transactions, such as clearing credit card bills, paying tax bills, buying crypto and cash withdrawals.

Also exempt are things like hospital bills and vehicle purchases. You can see the full list here.

Can the cashback be beaten?

The 1% rate is the best rate out there for most purchases. Though you might get a slightly better rate on retailer specific cards, they tend to offer much lower cashback when you spend elsewhere.

The only other card offering the same 1% is the American Express Nectar card, offering 2 points per £1, with each point worth 0.5p at Sainsbury’s, eBay and Argos. However in year two this card has an annual fee that needs to be factored in.

It’s also worth checking if you’re eligible for any welcome bonuses that could make your spending much more rewarding. Personally I’d wait until these are boosted so you earn even more, though you might also need to time them for when you have larger amounts of spending.

Cashback credit cards can also be better when you’re buying items costing more than £100 as you’ll get improved consumer protections.

Chase adds 1% interest to current accounts

From April you’ll also earn 1% on money held in the normal Chase current accounts. This is different to the 3% on offer in the Chase savings accounts and 5% available via round-ups.

Despite the lower rate it does mean you’ll be able to earn something back on money held in your main account for spending. I’d still suggest you look to keep your cash in higher paying accounts for as long as you can.

Other changes for Chase

Chase also published other plans on the horizon:

• ways to let you pay in cash to your Chase account
• new tools to help you budget and manage your money
• seeing Chase on your credit profile – so credit agencies can get a more accurate picture of your finances
• switching your current account with another bank to us using the Current Account Switch Service 
• a Chase credit card

I don’t think any of this is a surprise, especially the credit card. There’s no timeline announced for these things, though a separate email to customers earlier this week revealed reporting to credit reference agency Transunion will begin in the coming months.