5% cashback on contactless payments with a TSB Current Plus debit card

[radamfi]

Until now, the cheapest way to pay for train tickets was using a Santander 123 credit card, which gives you 3% cashback on train fares, TfL fares or petrol, up to a combined spend of £300 per month, so a maximum of £9 cashback per month. There is a £24 annual fee for this card.

Now the TSB Classic Plus account gives you up 5% of cashback on contactless payments up to £100 every month, so a maximum of £5 cashback per month. This account has no fee and pays good interest if you pay in £500 per month.

http://www.tsb.co.uk/current-accounts/classic-plus-account/

Plus, until 1 December 2016 you can earn 5% cashback on your first £100 of contactless payments every month.

So for many people, particularly low users, the TSB Current Plus debit card will become the obvious choice for TfL travel for the 15 months. For heavier users, especially those who spend a fair amount on contactless payments, they may be better off with a mix of the TSB and Santander cards.

Which ticket offices offer contactless payment? For train tickets under £30, it might be cheaper to queue at the ticket office than use the machine. Are there any machines that accept contactless payment?

 

[pemma]

Which ticket offices offer contactless payment? For train tickets under £30, it might be cheaper to queue at the ticket office than use the machine. Are there any machines that accept contactless payment?

Northern Rail managed ticket offices accept contactless payment. Although, with passenger numbers growing significantly at most stations and TVMs being installed instead of employing more staff you might have to wait a while to be served at some ticket offices.

Natwest are currently offering 1% cashback on any contactless transactions made on a Visa Debit Card until the end of the year if you register for Cashback Plus.

 

[Merseysider]

Merseyrail also offer contactless payment at their ticket offices. At MtoGO stations one could also get some shopping done in the same transaction as the ticket for extra cashback.

 

[me123]

Natwest are currently offering 1% cashback on any contactless transactions made on a Visa Debit Card until the end of the year if you register for Cashback Plus.

Same deal for RBS of course. The offer keeps getting extended too.

Sadly, not aware of any ticket offices in Scotland that have contactless yet (well, they have terminals capable of contactless, but they're not activated for contactless payment).

 

[Carntyne]

Same deal for RBS of course. The offer keeps getting extended too.

Sadly, not aware of any ticket offices in Scotland that have contactless yet (well, they have terminals capable of contactless, but they're not activated for contactless payment).

ScotRail booking offices are activated for contactless, used one the other day there.

 

[mikeg]

Will definitely be paying contactless as much as possible now, given that I have such a card. For the record, TPE stations accept contactless, at least Thirsk and Northallerton do.

 

[island]

Santander is also hiking the few on the current account by 150%, so definitely worth looking further afield.

 

[pemma]

Santander is also hiking the few on the current account by 150%, so definitely worth looking further afield.

Just seen that in the MSE email. The £5 fee will mean if you have the maximum £20,000 you'll effectively get a 2.7% interest by the time the fee is taken in to account, which means for people with money it'll still be a good account to have with interest rates being low.

 

[radamfi]

To avoid confusion here, the Santander 123 current account doesn't give any cashback on debit card transactions, it gives cashback on certain household bills instead. The 123 credit card is the one you need to get 3% cashback on train fares. The fee will change from £24 per year to £3 per month from 11 January. For new customers after 11 January, cashback on train/TfL fares/petrol will be capped at £3 per month. Existing customers will still be able to get up to £9 per month.

 

[paul1609]

How does the cashback work is it a discount via the train company or a loss leader by the bank? (our preserved railway pays 1.8% merchant charge on credit cards)

 

[radamfi]

How does the cashback work is it a discount via the train company or a loss leader by the bank? (our preserved railway pays 1.8% merchant charge on credit cards)

It is credited to your account the following month.

 

[andrewkeith5]

How does the cashback work is it a discount via the train company or a loss leader by the bank? (our preserved railway pays 1.8% merchant charge on credit cards)

The cost is picked up by the bank, they cannot reasonably expect retailers to pay except with special cashback agreements. Santander base the cashback you get on the standardised categorisation system used by credit cards - for example, if the retailer is classified as a department store by it's credit card handler, you get cashback. If not, you don't. Weirdly, M&S is classified as a supermarket so you only get 1% instead of the 2% you get at department stores.

 

[me123]

ScotRail booking offices are activated for contactless, used one the other day there.

Ooh, must be relatively new. Cheers.

 

[hi2u_uk]

why do they do this ? im not to keen on contactless as anyone with your card can just go about purchasing stuff with a tap

 

[radamfi]

why do they do this ? im not to keen on contactless as anyone with your card can just go about purchasing stuff with a tap

The banks make money whenever you use the card. If it is stolen, the bank has to refund the customer. Because you can only pay for amounts up to £30, and the PIN needs to be entered occasionally, the bank can't lose that much.

 

[ainsworth74]

Middlesbrough has contactless in the booking office so I would suspect other TPE stations would also.

 

[lightbulb]

East Midlands Trains ticket office at St Pancras has contactless. Thameslink machines, despite having the contactless logo on the side, do not.

 

[radamfi]

Are there any machines that do contactless?

 

[Aldaniti]

why do they do this ? im not to keen on contactless as anyone with your card can just go about purchasing stuff with a tap

Neither am I, told my bank I didn't want their contactless debit card and they obliged. Guarantees are all well and good when written on paper (or the internet).....

 

[radamfi]

If fraud became a major issue with contactless cards, you can bet that the banks would take action, by making you enter the PIN more regularly, or reducing the payment limit. Given that they have actually increased the limit, fraud can't be that much. Contactless should reduce queuing time at ticket offices a little bit if fewer people enter the PIN or pay with cash.

 

[island]

Neither am I, told my bank I didn't want their contactless debit card and they obliged. Guarantees are all well and good when written on paper (or the internet).....

That is not going to be an option much longer. A number of banks do not offer non-contactless cards any more and this is going to become more widespread.

 

[radamfi]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-33637492

says contactless fraud is less than 0.01% of total contactless payments and is lower than card fraud as a whole.

 

[Aldaniti]

That is not going to be an option much longer. A number of banks do not offer non-contactless cards any more and this is going to become more widespread.

I bet you're right. Glad I got in now with a new card for three years!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-33637492

says contactless fraud is less than 0.01% of total contactless payments and is lower than card fraud as a whole.

When it comes to newspapers and websites I tend to believe only the date. Sometimes they even get that wrong. But even if you believe the stats, it's still likely to be in the thousands. You know the lunatics are running the asylum when it's suggested that we should wrap our cards in tin foil. You could offer me ten gold sovereigns and an autographed photo of Samantha Fox, I will still not have a contactless debit card.

 

[Hadders]

When it comes to newspapers and websites I tend to believe only the date. Sometimes they even get that wrong. But even if you believe the stats, it's still likely to be in the thousands. You know the lunatics are running the asylum when it's suggested that we should wrap our cards in tin foil. You could offer me ten gold sovereigns and an autographed photo of Samantha Fox, I will still not have a contactless debit card.

Where did you read about wrapping contactless cards in tin foil? The newspapers by any chance....

Where you someone who was against chip and pin when it came in?

Perhaps you'd still rather be writing cheques (and handing over pieces of paper with all you bank details on at the same time!) Of course cheque fraud never happened...

 

[Aldaniti]

Where did you read about wrapping contactless cards in tin foil? The newspapers by any chance....

Where you someone who was against chip and pin when it came in?

Perhaps you'd still rather be writing cheques (and handing over pieces of paper with all you bank details on at the same time!) Of course cheque fraud never happened...

My apologies, I'll try again:

****HUMOUR ALERT HUMOUR ALERT HUMOUR ALERT*****

When it comes to newspapers and websites I tend to believe only the date. Sometimes they even get that wrong. But even if you believe the stats, it's still likely to be in the thousands. You know the lunatics are running the asylum when it's suggested that we should wrap our cards in tin foil. You could offer me ten gold sovereigns and an autographed photo of Samantha Fox, I will still not have a contactless debit card.

 

[JaJaWa]

I always try tapping my card on the screen of the PIN reader, no matter what markings are displayed - you'd be surprised at how many accept contactless with no indication.

 

[34D]

That is not going to be an option much longer. A number of banks do not offer non-contactless cards any more and this is going to become more widespread.

Not saying you're wrong, but don't forget that customers with a bad credit rating don't get contactless cards at all. I believe this is across banks.

 

[island]

This is starting to change too. Contactless cards can now be issued online-only but there are ways and means in place to have exceptions for merchants such as TfL where there is an overarching need for speed.

 

[andrewkeith5]

The banks make money whenever you use the card. If it is stolen, the bank has to refund the customer. Because you can only pay for amounts up to £30, and the PIN needs to be entered occasionally, the bank can't lose that much.

Quite, normally my cards expect a PIN transaction or some sort of online transaction every £100-120 or so, but the limit seems fairly dynamic based on what you use the card for and how frequently you use contactless.

And as usual all unauthorised payments are protected by the bank, so provided you tell them if/when you lose your card then you will be protected.

Also, what theif is going to consider the risk of stealing your card worth it for transactions of up to £30- they need your PIN number or address for anything more, which they won't have if you use contactless, so I would actually put it that it's safer - in the 6 or so years it's been around I still haven't seen the daily mail frolicking around saying how someone stole thousands in contactless payments from a single card....it's too much effort, an organised theif is more likely to spend a teeny bit more time getting the PIN number of a card they can clone and spend thousands on.

It's for this reason that I dislike intently retailers who are equipped to take contactless payments but force you to use your PIN number. Either there is something dodgy going on, or they haven't trained their staff properly, or the cashier doesn't like the idea of contactless so refuses to let people use it, none of which is acceptable! I've only ever seen one contactless terminal actually not work, most of the time the cashier is confused because it once asked someone to enter their PIN number instead and they either weren't trained or weren't listening when they were told that it's perfectly normal! Oh, apart from M&S terminals, which for some reason hate Santander cards, but Apple Pay sorted that...

 

[radamfi]

I know a takeaway that will only accept cards if they are contactless.