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November 4, 2020   |   Articles

Cashback credit card hacks

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How to boost the money you’ll make from cashback credit cards including American Express.

I love cashback credit cards. They’re one of my favourite ways If you have a cashback credit card these are some basic tips that will increase your earnings.

Rather watch than read (or do both) then check out this video from my YouTube channel

Please do head over to my YouTube to click like and subscribe

Get extra cashback or a referral when you apply

Many of the best cashback or reward cards will give you a little extra when you join. It can come as a referral code from a friend, cashback from a cashback site or a gift card from the credit card provider.

American Express

The highest paying ones are when you sucessefully apply for an Amex via Topcashback or Quidco and you can earn some additional cashback, currently up to £30. Rates can change but here are the latest:

CardQuidco rateTopCashback rate
American Express Platinum Cashback£20£10
American Express Platinum Cashback Everyday£5£15
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold£10
American Express Rewards£10£10
American Express Nectar£30
Updated 22nd March 2021

If you’ve not already signed up to either of these cashback sites then you can get yourself an extra £10 or £17 cashback as a new customer. You probably can’t get this new member bonus cashback by applying for the Amex as there’s a minimum spend – but that’s easily rectified with your next online shop! Check out the latest new member deals here.

Or you can see if any friends already have the card you’re after and see if they have a referral code where you both get a payment if you successfully open an account. This can sometimes beat the cashback rate so it’s worth checking.

For example, this link will get you £25 back on the American Express Platinum Cashback card. But the referral for the Amex Nectar card is worth just £5.

Other cards

Here are the offers you’ll see on the credit card company websites.

CardWelcome gift
Amazon Platinum£20 Amazon gift card
John Lewis Partnership CardOccasional £20 John Lewis gift card (not at present)
Marks & Spencer Reward Plus£15 gift voucher
Sainsbury’s Nectar Reward10,000 Nectar points, worth £50 (spend £400 at Sains, Argos to qualify)
Correct 22nd March 2021

Time your application

All of the American Express cards listed below offer a huge bonus when you join – worth £100 or more. And this is on top of the cashback site / referral code bonus.

But the time to get these welcome bonuses is limited. Most of the time you have three months to get the increased cashback rate from when you open the card.

These spending levels tend to be between £2,000 and £3,000. With the cashback cards, if you spend less you won’t get the full bonus. But it’s worse with the reward cards. If you don’t hit the target you’ll get nothing.

So it’s important that you open the card when you know you can hit those spending thresholds. That could be a big purchase or just an expensive month (eg you’ve just moved house or Christmas). Or you might be able to hit it with your everyday spending.

CardBonus dealMax value
American Express Platinum Cashback5% back on first £2,500£125
American Express Platinum Cashback Everyday5% back on the first £2,000£100
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold20,000 Reward points when you spend £3,000 (in addition to 1 per £1 spent)£186*
American Express Rewards5,000 Reward points when you spend £2,000 (in addition to 1 per £1 spent)£56*
American Express Nectar20,000 Nectar points when you spend £2,000 (in addition to 1 per £1 spent)£110
Correct 22nd March 2021 *If swapped for Nectar points

Get a supplementary card

Earning cashback on your card is great. But you can earn more if you have a partner. You can get a supplementary card in their name so they can earn cashback too.

Though they’ll have their name on it, it won’t be their card. This means you’ll be liable for all their spending! So make sure you trust them – though you’ll see all their transactions in your account so it’s easy to make sure it’s not being abused.

Supplementary cards are also handy when it comes to joining bonuses – more on these in a bit.

Spend as much as you can on the card

I hardly use my debit card. Every bit of everyday spending I do is on a cashback credit card.

This means I am earning on every pretty much every purchase. There might be a handful where I don’t, those under £1, but I wouldn’t have earned anything on them anyway.

This can take a little more admin to ensure you don’t spend more than you can afford, but apps like Yolt and Money Dashboard allow you to see the balance on your credit cards alongside the ones for your current accounts.

The only times I’ll use my debit card now is if there’s an additional cashback offer on that card linked to a specific retailer (eg this year I’ve had money back from Now TV and Beer52 from Natwest).

Pay the full amount every month

A very basic one, but probably the most essential. If you don’t clear the card and end up paying interest it’ll wipe out any cashback you’ll have earned. Set up a direct debit so this happens automatically – just make sure you have enough in your account when it’s time for that to be paid.

Watch for annual fees

Some cashback credit cards are free in year one, but charge you each subsequent year. With the Amex Gold (£140) and Amex Nectar (£25) cards I’d cancel before you are charged and apply for the free Platinum Cashback Everyday card or the Membership Rewards card.

The Amex Platinum Cashback card might be worth keeping, despite the £25 fee, if you spend enough. Check out my review for more on this.

Boost American Express cashback

The highest paying cashback credit cards, and the ones with the best promotions are from American Express. These tricks are specific helping you make even more money from an Amex credit card.

Use PayPal

Not all retailers take American Express, which is frustrating when you’re trying to earn cashback. But there is one workaround for online purchases, and it’s to use PayPal.

Since you can connect your Amex to PayPal you’re able to still earn money on your purchase.

However, it’s worth noting that using PayPal can affect your consumer rights if something was to go wrong. This is important for anything that costs more than £100.

Check for extra offers

Something I love about American Express are the bonus offers you can activate to your card – especially the annual Shop Small promotion which is worth up to £50 per card.

You’ll need to add the to your card and some of the best ones go fast. So make sure you check on a regular basis to see what deals are on there.

If you have a supplementary card and want to take advantage on there too it will also need to be added by whoever has the card in their app/account.

Have more than one type of Amex

The more cards you have, the more offers you can use. So for something like Shop Small, you could have two Amex cards in your account, plus two supplementary cards, giving you access to the promotion four times, potentially worth £200.

And sometimes the extra offers mentioned above are specific to a type of card. So a free Membership Rewards card might have a deal that’s not on a Platinum card. And the Platinum Cashback Everyday card the other way.

However it’s worth noting that at times offers are user specific so you might not see them in your account no matter how many cards you have.

The multiple welcome bonus trick

You can only get the welcome bonus once – unless you’ve not had a card in your name for two years.

You could cancel the card and wait two years to reapply and get that bonus – but that has downsides. For a start you won’t be earning the cashback at Amex levels during this time. Plus you don’t know if the welcome bonus offers will still be around in two years or if the rules will have changed.

However, if you have a partner there is a work around so you can get a new bonus every two years.

First you open an Amex and keep it for a year. Then at the end of the first year you cancel your card and your partner applies for their own card. You’ll both get the welcome bonus, and remember you can get supplementary cards to you’ll both be earning cashback in this time.

Then once it’s been two years since you’ve had a card, you can open a new account yourself and get a new welcome bonus. Your partner cancels their card, and the two year cycle starts again.

There’s a little more detail about this trick and the welcome bonus rules in this article.

October 29, 2020   |   Articles

Why you need to cancel NOW TV (and how to do it)

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Plus a trick to save you money every single month.

I’m a big fan of NOW TV as a way to watch premium channels such as Sky Atlantic or Sky Sports without a long and expensive subscription to Sky or Virgin.

It’s generally cheaper per month and you only need to commit on a month by month basis.

Despite this I think you should cancel NOW TV every month – even if you want to carry on watching.

Here’s why, and how to do it.

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

Rather watch than read? Here’s my video on cancelling NOW TV

Please do click through to my YouTube channel to like the video and subscribe.

Cancelling because you’re not watching

Of course, cancelling NOW TV is a given if you aren’t watching it. You’re not saving money if you’re paying for something you don’t need.

But even if you are using it, it might not be enough to justify the price. We have so many streaming options that I think we don’t need more than one or two in any given month.

Any more than that there’s a good chance we just won’t watch more than an hour or two of our third or fourth option. If that.

So it’s better to pick and choose your service, and binge watch the ones you are paying for. Then switch to a different one the following month.

Cancelling to get a better deal

There are lots of ways to save money on NOW TV passes, though there are less than there used to be (here’s our regularly updated list of deals).

In fact, I never pay full price for a NOW TV pass. I rarely, if ever, pay more than 50%. And the easiest way to find a discount is to cancel.

When you go through the process (see the video above) the final page you get will usually offer you a discount for your next pass. It could even say that offer will last for longer, say three or six months.

Sometimes these are cracking deals, with huge savings. I’ve had £1.99 a month movies in the past, or £2.99 Entertainment. Sometimes they aren’t as good as what you can get elsewhere. And sometimes you don’t get anything.

But it’s always worth checking to see what is there rather than letting it auto-renew at full price.

How to cancel NOW TV

Cancelling NOW TV is one of the more annoying ones to complete, but it doesn’t take long.

Navigate in your account to your passes, then select cancel. You’d think that’d be it, perhaps asked to confirm you mean to do this.

But you’ll actually be asked something along the lines of “are you sure” two or three times! I know people sometimes think they’ve done it but didn’t complete the process.

The important thing is to make sure you get confirmation of cancellation. This should show on the final screen, but I’d always double check in your account too to make sure it’s gone through.

The latest NOW offers

Check out these deals to save on NOW TV passes for when you want to sign back up

Now TV deals

Remember the video at the top of this article takes you through step by step.

Read next

October 20, 2020   |   Review

Monzo Premium review

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There’s another new Monzo option, this time a Premium account at £15 a month. Here’s what you’ll get.

Monzo’s standard free account is one of the best out there, but I was left underwhelmed by Monzo Plus which launched in the summer. At £5 a month you didn’t really get much more for your money.

Now, and no doubt in response to financial worries at the bank, there’s another paid-for account – Monzo Premium. It costs £15 a month and you get even more features bundled in, as well as a shiny metal card.

Here’s a rundown of what to expect if you sign up, and my thoughts on whether it’s worth it.

Rather watch than read (or do both)? Here’s my video review of Monzo Premium

Please do head over to my YouTube channel to like this video and subscribe for more

How much is Monzo Premium?

Monzo Premium costs £15 a month. That’s £180 a year. There’s a minimum six month term when you first sign up.

Monzo claims that the insurance policies are worth £256 a year. That’s calculated by taking the average price charged for similar policies across a number of providers.

Who can get Monzo Premium?

As it comes with insurance there’s an age limit on this account. You have to be between 18 and 69 years old.

It’s only available as a sole account, so you can’t get it as a joint or business account.

If you are currently paying for Monzo Plus you can upgrade and you’ll get money back on any unused time from this month. So for example if you’re half way through a month you’ll get £2.50 back.

What do you get with Monzo Premium?

For a start you get everything that Monzo Plus customers get. This includes virtual cards, enhanced analytics and advanced round-ups. You can read my full Monzo Plus review here.

Here’s what you get extra with Premium:

Metal card

The card is a single 16g sheet of white steel with an engraved logo. Apparently it costs £50 to make, and a big part of that six-month minimum is to cover the cost.

The card is a single 16g sheet of steel with an engraved logo.

I genuinely don’t get why people are happy to pay for a metal card, but lots of people do like this! It does look very slick and shiny.

All your details are on the back, a feature I love (you also get it on Starling’s free account), so you can show off your new card with no fear others will steal your details.

Our podcast

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Episodes every Tuesday.

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Phone insurance

What you’re really paying for here is the insurance. Monzo says this mobile part is worth £97 a year, though I’m sure you can shop around and get it for less.

in return you’ll get up to £2,000 cover against theft, loss and accidental damage. They say this also includes cracked screens. This is only for the account holder’s phone.

They’ll either repair or replace damaged phones, and replace lost or stolen phones. The replacements will be refurbished handsets, but they can’t guarantee the same colour.

Headphones, chargers, cases and other accessories are also covered up to £300, but only if they are damaged/lost at the same time as it happening to your phone, not on their own.

If someone nicks your phone and uses it for unauthorised calls or data use you can claim up to £1,000.

However, the excess is £75, meaning you’ll pay that on each claim. You can also only make two claims per 12 months

Worldwide Travel Insurance

This cover is estimated to be worth £159 a year. You get cover you and your family, including children up to 19-year-old (it’s extended to 21 if they’re in full-time education).

The maximum trip duration is 45 days, which is going to be more than fine for most holidays. Excess is £50 per claim.

You’ll need to look at the cover details to make sure it includes everything you need. It looks decent enough on cancellation and medical cover, but some things aren’t there such as valuables.

Once again, it’s worth comparing it against stand-alone cover- especially if you don’t want cover for a partner or children.

Obviously, there’s no blanket cover for coronavirus, so you’ll need to check a separate coronavirus cover page for the latest details.

Interest on savings

Whereas Monzo Plus offers 1% on £2,000, Premium increases that to 1.5%. You’ll earn it in your main balance and regular pots, but not separate savings pots.

Increased overseas withdrawal limits

If you are overseas you can take out £600 every 30 days without paying a charge. This is £200 more than you get with Monzo Plus, and £400 more than the free account.

Free cash deposits

You can deposit cash five times a month for free. There’s a £1 charge for the free account and Monzo Plus only gives you one each month.

Discounted airport lounge access

You get access to lounges in the LoungeKey programme for £24 per person per visit.

Is Monzo Premium worth it?

Let’s look at the main features in turn:

The insurance

Since the big benefits here are the insurances we’ll start here. First you need to ask do you need both sets of insurance.

I’d question the need for travel insurance at the moment as it’s hard for us to travel full stop. If you are going abroad, then you need to consider:

  • Do you need worldwide cover?
  • Do you need annual cover?
  • Do you need family cover?

If the answer is no to at least one of these you might easily find you can get cheaper travel insurance.

And phone insurance isn’t something we all need. If you look after your phone with a screen cover and a case you reduce the chance of it breaking. And if you’re at home much more there’s a much smaller chance it’ll get lost or stolen. Plus you might already have cover on your home insurance.

Even if you still want to have insurance for your phone, it’s once more worth getting quotes for a standalone policy to see how much it would be.

So it could be good if you definitely want both insurance policies at the level on offer. But if not, crunch those numbers to see if you are getting close to that £160 annual charge.

Metal card

Like I said, I don’t get the appeal of paying for this when so much of Monzo is geared to saving you money by better budgeting!

Extra travel features

The increased travel ATM quota can easily be beaten by the free account from Starling or a specialist travel credit card.

And the airport lounge discounts aren’t much use right now either. But if you want them then the American Express Gold Credit card gives two free passes.

Monzo Plus features

It’s important not to forget that you also get the Monzo Plus features. Though I don’t think they’re worth £5 a month above what you’d pay for the free account, you could argue they’re worth at least a couple of quid.

Alternatives to Monzo Premium?

There are a number of packaged bank accounts offering similar insurance coverage. Pick of the bunch is Nationwide’s FlexPlus account.

For £13 a month you get worldwide family travel insurance, worldwide family mobile phone insurance and UK and Europe breakdown cover. So it’s cheaper and you get more for your money.

Conclusion

Right now, while travel is so restricted it’s really not offering value for money. That could change once we’re able to go abroad more, but even then you need to be taking advantage of all the features of Plus and Premium to beat the Nationwide account’s increased cover and cheaper price.

September 23, 2020   |   Articles

TSB axes Classic Plus account and cuts 1.5% interest to 0%

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It’s replaced by a “Spend & Save” account.

Pretty much every major high street bank has made big changes to it’s rewards in 2020, and now it’s the turn of TSB.

From December 2nd the interest rate will drop from 1.5% (on balances up to £1,500) to zero. ZERO. Following on from the NS&I cut which will take place in late November it’s a huge blow to savers.

Existing Classic Plus customers will be able to keep their accounts, but it’s now been closed to new applicants. It’s been replaced by a TSB Spend & Save account.

Here’s more on the new account, and what to do if you currently have a TSB Classic Plus.

TSB’s Spend and Save account

Right, let’s take a look at the replacement for the Classic Plus. The name gives away the intent – Spend and Save. To get the benefits you need to use it as your main account.

The spend aspect rewards you with £5 cashback each month – though only for the first six months. The save element brings in some of the auto-savings and top-up features we’ve seen at banks like Monzo and Starling.

Here’s more:

Features

Savings pots

Those with Monzo will be familiar with this idea. You essentially separate your money into sub-accounts and name them for different goals or expenses. So you could have one for holidays, one for Christmas, one for emergencies and so on.

If your main account balance gets too low (you set the level), money can automatically be moved out of the pots to avoid you going overdrawn or missing payments. You need to activate this “Auto Balancer” feature.

Save the Pennies

This roundup feature takes each debit card transaction and tops it up to the nearest pound. That extra doesn’t go to the merchant though. Instead it’s moved to one of your savings pots.

Introductory cashback

For the first six months you can earn £5 cashback a month, so a total of £30. However to get this you need to make 30 debit card payments a month.

You can get this offer when you open the account up, or if you switch an existing TSB account over – but NOT a Classic account.

Is it any good?

Frankly no. Though the budgeting features are good, you’re better off going to Monzo or Starling as you’ll get more features.

And the cashback is ridiculous. Asking someone to make 30 transaction a month right now – at a time when we’ve been asked once again to go out less – just isn’t practical. And since it’s not ongoing, it’s hardly worth opening a new account just for six months.

So all-in-all not an account you want to bother with.

What to do with your Classic Plus accounts

Your next move depends a little on why you’ve got the account. Is it, like me, just for savings? Or is it your main current account?

With both it makes sense to switch away. Here are a few options:

If it’s mainly for savings

It’s another frustration for savers this week. I’m particularly peeved as Becky and I have six Classic Plus accounts between us (back when you could have two personal accounts and two joint accounts each). So we, and many others will now be looking to move that cash.

You can wait until the rate drops in December and keep earning that 1.5% until that date. Do this and there’s the risk that other rates will fall and you’ll miss out.

If you haven’t had one already, the best account is the Nationwide FlexDirect offering 2% for one year on £1,500. It’s only for new customers, but one workaround is to open an additional joint account. And since it’s a current account you can move your money in and out, even though the rate is guaranteed for 12 months.

Alternatively, and if you’re able to fix, then it might make sense to open another a savings account now rather than in December. At the time of writing a one-year 1.3% fix was available with Tandem – but that could be gone any day!. And I’d say it’s unlikely you’ll see an account with a higher rate any time soon.

If you need easy access it might also make sense to move now to a new account, even though they come with variable rates as there’s the chance they could be pulled from the market. Virgin Money’s current account offers 2.02% on up to £1,000. However, there’s no guarantee the rate there or elsewhere won’t drop – just as we saw with NS&I.

Here’s my regularly updated guide to the best easy-access cash savings and regular savings accounts

If it’s mainly for banking

If savings aren’t an issue (or once you’ve moved them) then you’ve got quite a few options, and while there are bank switch bonuses available I’d say you should look to nab some of those while you can.

At the time of writing you can choose between £100 from Lloyds or RBS, £125 from HSBC, and possibly £50 from Metro. You could even get hold of more than one – perhaps even all four.

But when you’re thinking of which bank is best for you in the long run as your main account there are other things to think of.

In my latest podcast episode I’ve looked at the most ethical accounts, and Nationwide, Co-op, Starling and Monzo all come out well. The winner though is Triodos – but that does come with a £3 a month fee.

As mentioned above new Nationwide customers can earn interest for the first year, while Monzo and Starling are also great for budgeting.

I’ve listed all the different switching bonuses, rewards and features from high street banks here.

September 1, 2020   |   Articles

How to find bargain second-hand clothes

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This September Oxfam is urging us to shop second-hand in a bid to reduce the environmental impact of making new clothes.

Thirteen million items of clothing are added to landfill every week in the UK! That’s a huge amount of material that could be recycled or repurposed.

In fact much of it is probably still ok to wear. But with clothing so cheap, and new styles available every week (both the consequences and cause of ‘fast fashion’), items can be worn just a few times before they’re consigned to the scrapheap.

The problem is every time a new garment is manufactured, it takes its toll on the planet. Oxfam say 20,000 litres of water are required to make one pair of jeans and one t-shirt. For a person to drink that much would take 13 years.

And that’s not the only problem. There’s also an issue with pollution (particularly from dyes) and how often do we hear about labour issues, whether child labour or incredibly low wages. We really need to consider more sustainable alternatives. 

Listen to Andy chat with fellow money bloggers Hollie and Faith about the Second-hand September campaign in this episode of the Cash Chats podcast.

And if the environmental argument to buy less new clothing is quite enough to get you away from Primark, there’s also a financial one. 

If you’re guilty of buying items you hardly wear, so are other people. If they donate it after a couple of wears, then you’ll be able to buy something practically brand new for a fraction of the price. And there are other ways to get second-hand clothes without spending anything at all.

So whether you’re looking to take part in #SecondHandSepember or just want to reduce how much you spend on clothes, I’ve a few tricks to help you get involved.

Where to buy second-hand clothes

Find local charity shops

The obvious places are charity shops. It probably makes sense to hit a few in one shopping session to help uncover that gem that’s just right for you.

Some shops will be a jack-of-all-trades and sell everything from cutlery to board games, but take a look to see if there are specialist fashion stores which will have a wider range. There are also some geared explicitly at younger people.

You can use this Charity Retail Association tool to see which shops are near you and get an idea of what things are sold there.

Remember too that there are lots of charities which need your money, so you might want to choose local or smaller ones in the first instance, or ones which support causes close to your heart.

Hunt for high end and designer second-hand

If you can go to posher areas you might find that the items that have been donated are not just M&S or Top Shop. They could be high-end high street, or even proper designer. Last year a Mind shop in Kent had £50,000 worth of gear dropped off anonymously. Of course, if the staff are on to this, they’ll price the items accordingly.

Big brands sometimes even donate old or second stock to charity shops, though they might be detagged so you need to have a keen eye to spot the Miu Miu from the M&S.

Some of the bigger charity shop networks will get individual stores to send through anything obviously designer. Oxfam, for example, has a designer outlet store, while the Red Cross has specialist shops around the country.

> Oxfam’s designer boutique

> Red Cross vintage and designer shops

Even so, you could still pick up something that you’d never normally afford for a fraction of the original price. And you might find a better range of donations at smaller, independent charity shops where they sell what they are given.

This article from Stylist magazine has some great tips for how to work out if what your looking at is a retro classic or cheap knock off.

Check out vintage shops

Though run for profit rather than charity, and usually at the pricier end of the second-hand market, vintage shops still fit with the sustainable and ethical approach to buying second hand. This Harpers Bazaar article shares ten top vintage retailers around the UK.

Search on resale sites

We all know about eBay, but I think you’re better off looking for bargains on Facebook Marketplace (it’s easy to find on the app), or websites llke Debop, Shpock and Preloved.

How to get free second-hand clothes

As much as I like the idea of buying second-hand (the money often goes to good causes), you can also refresh your wardrobe without spending a penny.

Stocktake

I’m confident that if you properly had a look at what’s in your wardrobe you’ll find items you’ve completely forgotten about. And if you start wearing them again (or even for the first time), you’ve updated your wardrobe without any new spending.

Shwop

If, during your Marie Kondo style clearout you find items that are still perfectly good but not right for you, then try shwopping. This weird word is an amalgam of swapping and shopping which should give you an idea of what you’ll do. 

You can go to organised events or just run one with your friends (or just informally do it with one or two mates). The idea is you bring along anything you no longer want, as long as it’s in good nick, and hang it up in a makeshift shop. Then you get the chance to take something new back home, and someone gets to give your old gear a new lease of life.

Becky, my good friend Silke and half a dozen others did this a few years ago and all of them went home with something new, as well as clearing out those items they didn’t want anymore.

Hand-me-downs

Parents do this all the time to their own kids, but there are Facebook groups set up to help parents who don’t have relatives or friends that can pass things on.

Donate

Of course, as well as not buying new clothes, it helps to not add your old ones to landfill. You’ve got a couple of options. One is to give wearable items to charities – whether shops to resell or places like refuges. Or if they’ve had better days look to donate the items for recycling. 

Get free M&S and H&M vouchers for donating and recycling

M&S, John Lewis, New Look and H&M all have schemes where you get vouchers to spend in-store for bringing in old clothes. I’ve written more about how they works here.

Swap old clothes for H&M, M&S or New Look vouchers

Buying less new clothes longer term

Buying second-hand is a great alternative to brand new, but there will be times where you need to get items that haven’t been worn before (do not buy second-hand pants!). So how do you do this in a way that’s sustainable?

Buy it good, buy it once

Cheap clothing just doesn’t last as long. Buy something that’s better made and it should last longer. This also means you should be looking at classic styles that you know you’ll be happy wearing next year and the year after. 

Make do and mend

The wartime necessity of fixing broken clothing was brought about through rationing, but there’s no reason why adopting those principles today can’t give your clothes an extra lease of life, Basic repairs such as sewing buttons back on should be within the grasp of most people (or your mum). If you have better skills then you could even look at turning old clothes into something new. 

Rent

You could also consider renting clothing. It’s not just formal wear like tuxedos and prom dresses that you can get. Online stores such as Girl Meets Dress let you hire designer gear for a few days at the fraction of the price of buying it.

Secondhand doesn’t just mean clothes

Think broader than clothes too when considering second-hand. You can buy cheap books, DVDs, CDs and games from the likes of CEX and MusicMagpie, while furniture is a big thing for charity shops. Facebook marketplace is once again a good place to look for things.

Six alternative ways to save on clothes and fashion
August 23, 2020   |   Articles

What’s the best American Express cashback credit card?

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I’m a big fan of Amex credit cards, especially the cashback ones, but which is best?

It’s easy to rant about a bad customer service experience or call out some dodgy dealings. But it’s a lot rarer that I can unequivocally rave about something positive.

Yet there is one company which I have hardly anything negative to say about – American Express. Or ‘Amex’ as it’s often known. Out of all the financial products I use, none compare for customer service. 

But of course, the main reason I’m a fan is the fact that I earn money back every time I use my card.

There are two American Express credit card which pay you in cashback – money back to your account rather than points to transfer.

They’re the Amex Platinum Cashback Credit Card and the Platinum Cashback Everyday Credit Card. On the whole they’re very similar. But there are key differences in the fee you pay (one charges, ones doesn’t) and how much cashback you earn.

You can watch my comparison video of the two cards here, or keep reading for a breakdown of which I think is best. First though, a quick rundown of how you earn money from the cards.

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

Watch the video over on our YouTube channel and hit “like”

How you earn cashback

Cashback is earned in a few different ways, especially in the first year.

Referral bonus

When you first open the card you can either get a referral bonus from a friend who has the card, or sign up via a cashback site. This extra initial cashback is worth between £5 and £25 depending on the card and referral source.

Introductory cashback

When you first open a cashback card you can earn 5% cashback in the first three months. These introductory offers alone are pretty much unbeatable, though they are capped. You can make either £100 to £125 depending on the card.

If you’ve already got an Amex, American Express has been making it harder to earn these sign up bonuses. You have to have not had a reward/cashback Amex in your name for at least two years – though there is a work around to slightly reduce that time.

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Ongoing cashback

After your welcome bonus you can keep on earning cashback with every full pound you spend. Right now you can’t beat the cashback offered by American Express.

The rate is between 0.5% up to 1.25% back. The best you’ll get on everday spend on Visa and Mastercard is 0.25%.

Additional offers

Then there are the frequent “statement credit” offers. In the last few years I’ve claimed rewards (ranging from 5% to £20) from places like NOW TV, the restaurant Hawksmoor, Beer52 and hundreds more from the annual Shop Small promotion.

You activate these in the app or online account and they’re paid soon after purchase back into your account.

Featured savings deal
More Details
Trading 212 Cash ISA
AER (variable)
5.07%
Minimum
£1
New Trading 212 customers get an increase of 0.72% AER to 5.07% for 12 months.
More details ▼
Additional Info

Existing Trading 212 customers get a rate of 4.5%

FSCS Protected?: Yes

Allows transfers in?: Yes

Flexible ISA?: Yes

▲

When is American Express cashback paid?

You get the money from the welcome bonus, referral code (except from cashback sites) and ongoing cashback paid on the anniversary of opening the card. So you do have to wait 12 months to get it.

The best American Express credit cards in the UK

I think the two Platinum cashback credit cards are the best options for most, though you might want to checkout the rewards and points cards.

Platinum Cashback Credit Card

Cashback rates

  • Tiered cashback for every full £1 spent
    • 1% cashback on spending up to £10,000
    • 1.25% on spending over £10,001

Welcome offer

  • 5% cashback for first three months
    • Max of £125 in this time, which would require a £2,500 spend

Fee / minimum spend

  • £25 fee
  • No minimum spend

Referral bonus

  • £25 if referred by a friend (use my link here)
  • Or Quidco/Topcashback cashback: £20 (Quidco), £10 (TCB)

Platinum Cashback Everyday Credit Card

Cashback rates

  • Tiered cashback for every full £1 spent
    • 0.5% cashback on spending up to £5,000
    • 1% on spending over £5,001

Welcome offer

  • Intro offer: 5% cashback for first three months
    • Max of £100 this time, which would require a £2,000 spend

Fee / minimum spend

  • No fee
  • Minimum spend of £3,000 in a year to get the cashback

Referral bonus

  • £10 if referred by a friend
  • Or Quidco/Topcashback cashback: £5

Not used cashback sites Quidco or TopCashback before? Get a bonus of up to £17 here.

Which Platinum Cashback card is best?

Both are decent cards, but I think the one with the £25 fee is the best of the two Platinum cards. Despite the fee, you’ll make most of that back from a higher referral bonus, and you’ll earn more in the first year with the increased introductory offer and higher cashback rates.

If you choose to keep it for the second year then you’ll need to spend £5,000 over 12 months for it to break even with the Everyday card. Then if you spend more than £10,000 you jump up to 1.25% cashback, earning you even more.

So as long as you expect to spend at least £5,000 each year – which is £450 a month – it’s the best option as it has the potential to earn more.

Of course if you don’t think you’ll spend that much on the card but still want it for the introductory bonus and those extra offers you could look at the Everyday instead – but don’t forget you need to spend at least £3,000 a year to get any cashback with that card.

For further breakdowns check out these tables:

Year One

Rough spend and cashback figures by card in the first year with introductory offers.

Amex Platinum EverydayReferral bonusBonus 5%
(up to £2k in 3 months)		0.5%
(up to £5k)		1%
(over £5k)		Year 1 cashbackYear 1 cashback
after £0 fee
Monthly spendAnnual spend
£200.00£2,400.00*£10.00£30.00£9.00£0.00£49.00£49.00
£500.00£6,000.00£10.00£75.00£17.50£10.00£112.50£112.50
£833.33£10,000.00£10.00£100.00£15.00£50.00£175.00£175.00
£1,000.00£12,000.00£10.00£100.00£15.00£70.00£195.00£195.00

* £3,000 minimum annual spend required to get cashback on the Everyday card

Amex Platinum CashbackReferral bonusBonus 5%
(up to £2.5k in 3 months)		1%
(up to £10k)		1.25%
(over £10k)		Year 1 cashbackYear 1 cashback
after £25 fee
Monthly spendAnnual spend
£200.00£2,400.00£25.00£30.00£18.00£0.00£73.00£48.00
£500.00£6,000.00£25.00£75.00£45.00£0.00£145.00£120.00
£833.33£10,000.00£25.00£125.00£75.00£0.00£225.00£200.00
£1,000.00£12,000.00£25.00£125.00£75.00£25.00£250.00£225.00

Year Two

Rough spend and cashback figures by card for year two (and onwards) when there are no extra bonuses.

Amex Platinum Everyday0.5%
(up to £5k)		1%
(over £5k)		Year 2 cashbackYear 2 cashback
after £0 fee
Monthly spendAnnual spend
£200.00£2,400.00*£12.00£0.00£12.00£12.00
£500.00£6,000.00£25.00£10.00£35.00£35.00
£833.33£10,000.00£25.00£50.00£75.00£75.00
£1,000.00£12,000.00£25.00£70.00£95.00£95.00

* £3,000 minimum annual spend required to get cashback on the Everyday card

Amex Platinum Cashback1%
(up to £10k)		1.25%
(over £10k)		Year 2 cashbackYear 2 cashback
after £25 fee
Monthly spendAnnual spend
£200.00£2,400.00£24.00£0.00£24.00-£1.00
£500.00£6,000.00£60.00£0.00£60.00£35.00
£833.33£10,000.00£100.00£0.00£100.00£75.00
£1,000.00£12,000.00£100.00£25.00£125.00£100.00

You need to know this before you apply for ANY credit card

Any bonus and cashback you earn is only worth it if you clear the credit card in full every month. If you don’t do this you’ll be charged interest, probably at something like 22%, which will obliterate your cashback savings.

Also, you’ll be credit checked when you apply for a card, so check your credit report before applying. A rejection could damage your credit score further.

You’re given an option to check your eligibility on the Amex website which doesn’t affect your credit report – so it’s well worth doing this before applying. You’ll be given a figure showing the likelihood you’ll get the card – for example I was given a score of 9.5 out of 10 – so very likely.

> Apply for an American Express cashback credit card

Alternative cashback credit cards 

For those occasions when American Express isn’t accepted, I like to have a Mastercard cashback card in my wallet. You can read more about these here.

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August 16, 2020   |   Articles

How do you cancel a Tastecard membership?

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The steps to take to avoid your Tastecard auto-renewing.

A Tastecard can save you money when eating out or going to the cinema – I’m a fan. But it’s only decent value for money if you use it.

And sometimes those who don’t use it – or forget they have one – have been caught out by auto-renewals. And even those who remember might find it hard to process their cancellation.

With my trial about to end I thought it was a good time to find out just how you to end your membership and stop it auto-renewing.

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

What is Tastecard?

Tastecard is a discount membership where you receive two for one or 50% off at selected restaurants. The more recent Tastecard+ add-on lets you get some pretty decent discounts at cinema chains.

You can normally get a 90 trial for £1 (sometimes even free), or a full year for a discounted £30 or less. After that, prices jump to anywhere between £40 and £105.

The best Tastecard free trials and offers

Plus deals on Gourmet Society and Meerkat Meals memberships

Tastecard deals

The problems with cancelling Tastecards

In the past Tastecard has had a bad reputation for people trying to cancel. You just have to search Twitter for Tastecard to find someone angry about their membership or free trial autorenewing and not being able to claim a refund.

Now, it is clear in the terms and conditions that once the trial or first year ends, you will auto-renew.

Though it’s not ideal, Tastecard isn’t the only service that does this, so it is down to the customer to make a note to cancel before the membership ends.

But even if you do remember to cancel, it’s not easy to find how to actually do it.

How to cancel a Tastecard membership

So with my Tastecard coming to an end, I made a note in the diary to cancel more than a week before the expiry date. Here’s my video for how I did it.

The good news is they’ve now added an online form to cancel. It took just seconds to fill it in, and my card was cancelled.

How to make sure you don’t get charged auto-renewal fees by mistake

If you have a full membership you could cancel as soon as you get your card. This way you won’t forget and then accidentally get charged for another year. Doing this won’t affect how long your membership lasts – it’ll carry on as normal but stop on the expiry date.

If you’re on a multi-month trial then leave it to the start of your final month to cancel so you definitely get the full trial length you signed up for.

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August 10, 2020   |   Articles

Are you overpaying for an old Sky TV package?

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Legacy Sky TV plans could be costing you more than you need to pay.

Earlier this year Sky TV shook up its channel list and plans, just two years after the last revamp. The changes, in theory, bring you greater flexibility and potentially save you money too.

Though new customers when signing up would get the new suite of channels, existing customers haven’t been automatically switched over – and will have faced price increases too.

Though the latest changes aren’t too different in price (if you’re paying full price), older packages were much more expensive. You could be paying at least £32 a month for the Variety package or £38 for Box Sets – and getting less channels.

So what can you do about it? Well first a little about the differences

Sky TV bill

How the new Sky TV packages compare

Sky Signature & Sky Ultimate (2020 onwards)

There are two new TV packages. The prices below are the out-of-contract ones, but it’s likely you’ll get a discount for switching over/signing up to a new 18-month contract.

Sky Signature

In 2020, Sky Signature replaced Sky Entertainment as the basic TV package.

This package costs £30 (though new customers or those who re-contract will currently be able to pay less £5 to start – if not more).

It includes the Box Sets package as standard which was previously £5 extra a month, though you could pick and choose which months you had this.

Sky Ultimate

There’s also a Sky Ultimate package which costs an extra £6 a month (again there are discounts for new customers). You might be getting this a flexible add-on, or you might be signing up to a new 18-month commitment.

Sky Ultimate includes the basic Netflix subscription (which normally costs £5.99 a month). You’ll need to be on Sky Q to get this.

Extras

You have to pay extra for additional top-ups though you can pick and choose these every 31 days.

  • Sky HD (£6 a month)
  • Sky Ultra HD & Netflix Premium (£10 a month)
  • Kids (£5 a month)

You can also add on Sky Cinema channels and Disney +.

Sky Entertainment (2018-2020)

Sky Entertainment was introduced in 2018 and if you have this you’re set up as follows:

  • Entertainment (£24 a month for most) – all the entertainment and music channels from the Original and Variety packages

Then there were extra top-ups you can add or remove month-by-month.

  • Kids (£5 extra month)
  • Box Sets (£5 extra month)
  • HD Channels (£5 extra month)

Sky Original, Variety or Box Sets (pre 2018)

The previous changes saw the end of these old Sky TV plans:

  • Original (£20 a month) – the standard Sky TV channels (eg Sky One, Sky Atlantic, Fox)
  • Variety (£32 a month) – additional entertainment (eg Discovery), kids and music (eg MTV) channels
  • Box Sets (£38 a month) – The Variety bundle plus box sets and HD channels

Andy’s Analysis

Will you be paying more or less?

If you only want the very basic Sky TV package, Signature will be more expensive than Entertainment.

However if you have any extras such as box sets then it’ll be a similar cost. If you’re on the older Variety pack then you will be saving money and getting more channels.

The change in price also depends on whether you’ve got a discount right now or not. Often if you’re out of contract it also means the price you pay is more than it was when you signed up.

Should you pay for Netflix via Sky?

It’ll be tempting for lots of people to get Netflix as part of their package and pay for your Netflix via your Sky bill. But should you?

Personally I think it’s better to keep it separate as it gives you more control. The Ultimate package locks you in for the first 18 months, meaning you will pay for your Netflix even if you don’t watch it. 

The only exception is if you want to add HD channels to your Sky subscription and use the mid-level Netflix package.

Signing up for HD channels on Sky will cost you an extra £6 a month every month. This combined with the Ultimate add-on to get Netflix (another £6 a month) totals £12 a month.

However paying for HD and keeping your mid-range Netflix separate (an extra £8.99 a month) means you’d pay around £2.99 more a month.

You can link your existing Netflix account to your Sky account via the Sky Q box or your Sky account.

What to do if you’re on an old Sky TV package

First, work out what you’re paying for now and how much it costs. You need to get a copy of your bill. It should clearly say what package you are on. If it says anything other than Signature or Ultimate for your TV then you’re on an old bundle.

You then need to find out how much they’ll charge you for the new packages. It’s likely they’ll be offering a discount if you agree to a new 18-month contract. 

It can be hard to get through via the phone right now, but you should also be able to see on your online account – or even via your Sky box – whether you’re being offered discounts to switch over to Sky Signature or Sky Ultimate.

Before you agree to a new deal, even if it is a lot cheaper, I think it’s also worth asking why you’ve been overpaying – particularly if you’ve been on an older Variety for the last few years.

You should ask for the money you’ve overpaid back. They might not do this, but you might be able to get a further discount instead or have one of the add-ons (eg HD) given to you for free for a year.

However, it’s better to consider whether it’s even worth staying with Sky at all.

How to reduce your Sky TV bill

You’ve got two options. One if you want to stay with Sky, and one if you’d consider leaving. With both you still get the same channels and you should save some serious cash.

Leave Sky – Replace with NOW TV

Personally I think the best savings are through ditching Sky TV.

I’ve not paid for Sky TV (or Virgin, Talk Talk or BT TV) for six years now. That’s because Sky has another service called NOW TV which has the bulk of the channels, including Sky Atlantic and lots of box sets, and it’s far cheaper.

You pay £8.99 a month for the Entertainment pass. You can actually get it for less through special offers and I never pay more than £5 a month.

Even at full price it’s £21 less every month than the full price Signature pass – which adds up to £252 a year. Even if you manage to get Signature for less, say £25, that’s still £192 a year more than the same channels with NOW TV. You’re also not committed to a 12 or 18-month contract so you can cancel at any time.

You can also buy Kids, Sky Cinema and Sky Sports passes. Kids and Cinema once more work out the same or cheaper than going through Sky and you are also on a 30-day contract.

Sports though is a different case and costs more on NOW TV if you want to watch it at least a few times a week. However there are day and week passes which represent good value, and often discounts on month long passes too.

The big difference between Sky and NOW TV is this is a streaming service, like Netflix or iPlayer. So you can stream live or on-demand, but you can’t record. If you want to record Freeview channels (so BBC, C4, Five etc) then you can pick up a decent Freeview recording box for around £125. This should last you at least two years (ours is still going strong in its fifth year) – which means it’s the equivalent of £5.21 a month for 24 months – and then nothing after. Add that on to the NOW TV pass and you’re still saving decent cash.

Stay with Sky – Haggle for more savings

Ok, so if you want to stay with Sky, then don’t accept the first offer. Even if you are offered a discount to swap over, you might be able to negotiate further savings.

Try to get them on the phone or via live chat and politely tell them you think it’s too much money and ask them to see what they can do.

While you’re at it, if you also pay for movies or sports channels, or get internet too, see if Sky will also offer you a saving on these as well. 

If you’re out of contract with Sky then you can help to push your case by saying you’re thinking of leaving. Ask to speak to the retentions department. It’s worth doing five minutes of research to see what other companies are charging.

You will probably have to agree to a new 18-month contract, so do check over the total prices before saying yes. There’s no point accepting free extras if you’re not going to watch those channels or use those services.

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July 16, 2020   |   Review

Monzo Plus review

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After a failed attempt to offer a premium account last year, Monzo has brought back a new look Plus version of the smartphone bank account.

I really like Monzo, especially the way it can help you budget and track your spending. If I used a bank account in that way then I would probably use Monzo.

It’s done really well too. From the early days with evangelical and mainly millennial customers, there are now more than 4 million users. However, they’re not all using it as their main account – which means Monzo doesn’t make much money (if any).

So to get some cash through the doors, it’s offering a premium Monzo Plus account. This is the second try after users rejected a version in 2019, which was axed after five months.

This version of Monzo Plus comes from a different approach. Instead of free insurances, there are improved versions of the already popular features. Here’s what you’ll get and what I think of it.

Rather watch than read? Here’s my review from my YouTube channel.

Found the video useful? Please click through and “like” the video.

How much is Monzo Plus

You’ll pay £5 a month for Monzo Plus, so £60 a year. You can change your mind in the first 14-days, but after that there’s a three-month minimum before you can trade back to the standard account.

The standard Monzo remains free to use (here’s my review).

What you get with Monzo Plus

Here’s what your extra payment will get you and my thoughts on each one.

1% Interest on savings

This is a variable rate on your saving so it could drop at any time. It’s also only on the first £2,000 you have in your account, though it will count across your pots and main balance.

This isn’t great. While you can beat this rate elsewhere you may as well put your money in one of those accounts.

Virtual debit cards

You can have up to five virtual cards on top of your physical debit card. These will have unique details to use online.

This is a great idea in terms of helping stay safe online. If your details are hacked you can quickly close down that card, and not have to change details at every site you use.

Similarly if you lose your physical card you won’t have to amend payments for subscriptions. It’d handy too if you’re paying for something on a site which you’re not 100% sure about.

Of course, you can just get a separate card to use online if you want. And Monese will give free customers one additional virtual card. But it’s a nice idea.

Improved budgeting features

You can already track spending in the standard Monzo account, but with Plus you have the ability to create custom categories and split single transactions into more than one group.

This is a nice to have feature, as is the ability to export all your transactions to Google Sheets. Though I’m not sure many will actually do this!

Boosted auto-savings

You’ll also be able to increase how much spare change goes into your savings pot with the roundup feature.  So if you spent £2.80 with a normal Monzo account you could activate a feature where 20p was automatically saved. With Plus you can increase that by a multiple of two, five or ten. So more money is saved.

But there are other smart fintech apps out there which help you automate your savings more aggressively – and importantly they’ll do that when you aren’t spending too.

View non-Monzo banks

As you can with a number of banks now, Monzo Plus customers will be able to add other current accounts and credit cards to their Monzo dashboard.

The difference is some banks will let you move money between accounts within the Monzo app.

This feature will be common in Fintech thanks to Open Banking, so again, I don’t think it’s worth paying £5 a month for. And it’s not that hard to do it yourself between different banking apps either.

Increased overseas cash withdrawals

The normal Monzo account lets you take £200 out of cash machines abroad with no fees. With Plus you can take out £400.

That’s probably more than enough than you need, but it’s not a reason to get Monzo Plus. You can get unlimited withdrawals with Starling and Virgin Money for a start.

Track your credit report

You’ll be able to see your  TransUnion/Credit Kharma report within the app. Which is nice. 

But you can see this for free already, and it’s important to check your Experian and Equifax reports too (which you can also do for free).

A holographic card

As with other fintech brands, premium users will get a fancy card. For Monzo it’s “Holographic”. Personally I prefer the free “hot coral pink” that’s synonymous with Monzo. 

I really think anyone willing to pay £60 or more just to get a metal or different coloured card while also advocating a bank because it helps them budget is missing the point.

Pay cash in for free

You might think this is a weird one, but you actually have to pay a fee to deposit cash into a Monzo account. Well with Monzo Plus you can make one free deposit each month.

Of course, you can do that at most high street banks – and I think it’s always worth having one of these even if it’s not your main account.

Discounts

The special offers listed at launch are all ones you’ll get elsewhere, such as money off Hello Fresh or Naked Wines when you first sign up. A really pointless thing to promote.

Is Monzo Plus worth it?

No. It’s really not. Even if you already love Monzo, you won’t get anything here that’s worth the £60 annual fee.

Though everything is a nice extra, I wouldn’t pay for any of them. Especially when you can get most of these perks and features elsewhere for free.

Nothing stands out as that special.

But if you do want to get one you can upgrade in your app or via the Monzo website.

Alternatives to Monzo Plus

Here’s a quick list of guides and apps where I’d go to beat some of the Monzo Plus features

Monzo vs Starling vs Revolut

The free version of Monzo is great – but it might not be the best option for you from the different digital banks.

Here’s my comparison of the leaders in the online bank world – Monzo, Starling, Revolut and Monese.