The best UK bank accounts for cashback
Want to earn cashback through your current account? We reveal what you need to know about the top UK cashback current accounts on the market.
There are many benefits to using cashback credit cards wisely but not everyone likes using a credit card to pay for their spending.
If you prefer to manage your money with a debit card, you can still earn some extra cash by moving to the right current account.
We'll reveal the top cashback current accounts available next but, if it’s upfront cash you’re after, it might be worth checking out our guide to the best switching bonuses instead.
Santander Edge Up - up to £25 a month
The Santander Edge Up current account pays 1% cashback on specific household bills (up to £15 per month). Eligible bills include mobile phones, landlines, TV subscriptions, council tax, broadband, gas and electricity.
You'll also earn 1% cashback at supermarkets and on travel costs (again capped at £15 per month).
Be aware, there is a £5 monthly fee so the most you can earn in cashback is actually £25 per month.
It's also worth noting that the account may be best suited to high spenders. During the course of a month, you would need to put £1,500 in both essential spending and household bills (a total of £3,000) on the card to qualify for the full cashback amount.
If you're a frequent traveller, you may be pleased to learn that the account comes with fee-free debit card spending and ATM withdrawals abroad.
By signing up for the Santander Boosts service, you'll also receive personalised rewards including vouchers, cashback and entry into prize draws.
If you want to open an account, you must pay in at least £1,500 a month and set up at least two Direct Debits to qualify for the cashback and interest.
The account pays 3% AER on savings of up to £25,000 held in the account, which might appeal to some.
At the time of writing, the bank is also offering a £150 welcome bonus to open a new account.
Santander Edge - up to £20 a month
Like Santander's Edge Up account, this account pays 1% cashback on certain household bills when you pay by Direct Debit, as well as supermarket and travel costs. With the Edge account, the maximum you can earn in both these categories is capped at £10 per month.
This means if you max out both offers you can bag up to £20 a month.
Note, the account has a £3 monthly fee.
As with the Edge Up account, you can sign up to the Santander Boosts service, which offers personalised rewards including vouchers, cashback and entry into prize draws.
You can also apply for a linked savings account that offers 6% AER on balances of up to £4,000, which includes a 1.5% variable bonus for the first 12 months of account opening. Note, you can't sign up for this savings account if you open an Edge Up current account.
If you do want to open a Santander Edge account, you’ll have to pay in at least £500 every month and have a minimum of two active Direct Debits.
You can check out loveMONEY's review of the Santander Edge account here.
Again, a £150 welcome bonus is available.
Chase - up to £15 a month
JP Morgan offers a bank account via its digital bank, Chase.
Account holders can get 1% cashback on almost all spending on their debit card for the first 12 months, capped at £15 a month.
You'll earn cashback when you spend in-store, online and on spending in both the UK and internationally.
With the Chase account, you can round your purchases up to the nearest £1 and deposit the change into a round-up pot with a 5% rate, plus there are no fees when you use your card abroad.
The bank also pays 3.5% AER on its linked easy-access savings account.
TSB - £5 a month
With TSB's free Spend & Save account, you can earn £5 cashback a month, provided you make at least 20 payments with the card each month.
Sadly, the cashback offer expires after six months, so that's a maximum of £30 you can pocket.
Alternatively, the bank's Spend and Save Plus current account has no end date for the cashback offer, but it comes with a £3 monthly charge. That means you can effectively only earn a maximum of £2 a month, or £24 a year.
There are no charges for using your debit card abroad if you have the Spend and Save Plus account.
On top of this, account holders with either account can access the bank's Monthly Saver, which pays 6% on deposits of between £25 and £250 per month for 12 months.
You'll also receive discounts on takeaways, holidays and cinema tickets through the My TSB Rewards scheme.
Halifax - £5 a month + cashback at certain retailers
If you open a Halifax Reward Current Account, you can choose from the following perks every month:
- £5 cashback;
- three digital magazines;
- one Vue cinema ticket.
To qualify, you’ll need to pay in at least £1,500 a month, stay in credit and either maintain a balance of above £5,000 or make payments worth £500 a month with your debit card.
That first requirement to pay in £1,500 is the most important one, as failure to do so will not only cost you a reward but you’ll also be hit with a £3 monthly fee.
It’s worth stressing that once you choose a monthly reward, this will be set for 12 months. So, you can’t alternate between cashback and free movies, for example.
You can get the same cashback rate (as well as additional rewards) with the Halifax Ultimate Reward account but this costs £19 a month. You can find out more about what's included in this account here.
Halifax also offers access to a scheme called Cashback Extras (available with other accounts), allowing you to earn up to 15% cashback when you shop at certain retailers using your debit or credit card, in-store or online.
NatWest/RBS Reward - up to £3 a month
NatWest and RBS operate several accounts which hand customers back some money and offer access to the Digital Regular Saver, which pays 6.17% interest on balances of up to £5,000 and 1.6% interest for balances over this amount.
With the Reward account, you’ll get £4 a month back if you have two or more Direct Debits, with a further £1 back so long as you log into the mobile app at least once a month.
This account costs £2 a month, so the maximum you can earn back on the Reward account is £3 a month.
To be eligible for a NatWest/RBS Reward account, you’ll need to pay £1,250 into your account every month.
Once you’ve earned £5 in rewards, you can redeem it as cashback or trade for gift cards or e-codes with a retail partner, or even donate it to charity. You can also earn a further 1% back when you spend with certain partner retailers.
At present, the bank is also offering a £180 bonus to those who open a Reward account.
After that, there’s the Reward Silver account (available to existing current account customers only), which costs £10 a month.
You can earn the same £5 a month in cashback, but there are other benefits included with the account like mobile phone insurance, European travel insurance, cinema discounts and fee-free purchases overseas.
And there’s also the Reward Platinum account (available to existing current account customers only), which includes all of the above, plus worldwide family travel insurance and UK breakdown cover. It will cost you £22 a month.
At the time of writing, the bank is also offering a £180 incentive to open a new account.
Lloyds Bank - up to 15% cashback at certain retailers
Lloyds Bank offers customers with a Club Lloyds, Club Lloyds Platinum, Silver, Club Lloyds Silver, Platinum, Classic, Student or Basic account access to the Everyday Offers cashback scheme.
Some of the above accounts come with extra benefits and a monthly fee, so it's worth choosing the account that is right for your needs.
It allows users to earn up to 15% cashback when they shop at certain retailers using a debit or credit card, in-store or online.
Club Lloyds offers 1.5% interest on balances of up to £3,999.99 and 3% interest on balances between £4,000 and £5,000.
The account also offers the choice of either 12 months of Disney+, six cinema tickets, an annual magazine subscription, an annual Gourmet Society subscription or Coffee Club membership.
You’ll face a £3 monthly fee if you pay in less than £2,000 a month into your account.
Club Lloyds accounts also offer access to a Monthly Saver that pays 6.25% AER on deposits of between £25 and £400 per month.
At the time of writing, the bank is also offering a £200 switching bonus for new customers.
Monzo - up to 10% at certain retailers
Challenger bank Monzo will pay between 2% and 10% cashback on purchases from certain big-name retailers.
At the time of writing, eligible retailers include Gousto, eBay and Asda. However, you will receive new offers every month so it's worth keeping an eye out for any updates.
In order to receive your cashback, you'll need to use your Monzo card in-store or online when you make a purchase.
Once you begin earning cashback, you can view your balance in real time through the Monzo app. You'll then be able to access your cash within three to four days.
Although Monzo doesn't place a limit on the amount of cashback, individual retailers may place a cap on how much you can earn.
Virgin Money - cashback at certain retailers
Virgin Money's cashback scheme allows account holders to earn cashback when they spend with their debit card at specific retailers.
At the time of writing, this includes LNER, Sunglass Hut and Virgin Voyages.
Cashback is paid directly into your Virgin Money current account or can be swapped for an e-gift card to use at participating stores.
The best bank accounts for switching bonuses
More on earning a little bit extra:
How to sell successfully on eBay
Comments
Be the first to comment
Do you want to comment on this article? You need to be signed in for this feature