Santander 123 World credit card to pay 3% cashback on train fares

Santander's 123 World cashback credit card will now be paying 3% cashback on all spending on National Rail and Transport for London.

Santander has revamped its 123 World cashback credit card, with cardholders now enjoying a whopping 3% cashback on train fares.

From Monday 24th September, all spending on National Rail and Transport for London travel (which includes bus fares as well as train and tube tickets) will enjoy the 3% cashback rate.

The move will make the card far more attractive to commuters, particularly with train fares set to rise in the new year. For more check out Fury as commuters face train fare rises of up to 11.2%.

How much cashback could I get?

As someone who spends a small fortune on train fares from Hertfordshire into London, this move has made the card look far more attractive to me.

I spend a total of £2,166 on my train ticket a year. If I used the Santander 123 World cashback card for that spending, that’s just shy of £65 in cashback a year (though there is a £24 annual fee for the card).

It’s not just train fares that earn such a great rate either – your spending on petrol also earns 3% cashback, though you can only earn cashback on the first £300 a month you spend on train fare, petrol or a combination of the two.

Cardholders can also enjoy a rate of 2% cashback on spending at department stores and 1% on money spent at supermarkets.

Depending on how much you spend on your credit card - and where you do that spending – the 123 World card could earn you a cracking return.

In my case, while I don’t really shop in department stores, I do spend a small fortune in Tesco. Between that 1% return and the money from the train fares, I’d pocket £77 a year in cashback, after the fee is taken. You can actually avoid the fee altogether by taking out the 123 World current account too, which pays cashback on a range of household direct debits. Read Santander 123 current account pays cashback on your direct debits! for more.

What’s more, the cashback is actually paid on a monthly basis so you don’t have to wait long to enjoy the fruits of your spending!

However, there are a number of other cards which pay cashback which are worth considering.

Sainsbury’s Bank Cashback credit card

The new card on the block, the Sainsbury’s Bank cashback credit card will certainly appeal to regular shoppers at the supermarket.

For the first three months, all spending at Sainsbury’s enjoys a return of 5% cashback (capped at £50 a month). And throughout the year, so long as you spend at least £250 on Sainsbury’s shopping and £250 elsewhere, you’ll enjoy £5 a month in cashback.

And there’s no fee to worry about!

Capital One Aspire World

The Capital One Aspire World card also doesn’t charge a fee, and will appeal to shoppers no matter what their supermarket of choice is.

The Aspire World boasts 5% cashback on all spending in the first three months (capped at £100), with tiered rates after that depending on how much you spend, up to a maximum rate of 1.25%.

American Express Platinum Cashback Card

The American Express Platinum Cashback Card also pays 5% cashback in the first three months (again capped at £100), but offers a flat rate of 1.25% thereafter, no matter what you spend. But should you spend £10,000 over the year, you’ll be rewarded with a 2.5% cashback rate in your anniversary month.

However, there is an annual fee of £25 to consider.

Aqua Reward MasterCard

Generally credit cards that offer a reward on your spending are the exclusive preserve of people with excellent credit ratings. That’s not the case with the Aqua Reward card.

The Aqua Reward pays 3% cashback on all card purchases. However, the cashback you can earn is limited due to the restrictive credit limits – £250 to £1,600 depending on your circumstances. There's also an annual limit of £100 cashback.

That said, this card not only helps you rebuild your credit rating, it also rewards you for doing so in the form of cashback!

Making the most of your cashback

In order to get the maximum return from your cashback credit card, it makes sense to put as much of your monthly spend on your card as possible. However, that’s not an excuse to start spending more than you usually do for the sake of a few extra pennies in cashback!

And make sure you pay your bill off in full each month. Otherwise any cashback you do earn will soon be eaten up by the interest you pay on that debt.

More on credit cards:

The top loyalty schemes for shoppers

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The best 0% balance transfer credit cards