Chase Bank introduces cashback cap – how to avoid it

The digital bank Chase announced in February that it is extending its 12-month cashback offer for existing customers. The offer rewards existing customers with 1% cashback for an additional 12 months after the current reward period ends. Additionally, in April 2023, Chase announced that it will pay 1% interest on current account balances, with no minimum monthly deposits or limits to how much money you can deposit into the account.

Shaun Port, Managing Director for Everyday Banking at Chase, said: “We’re expanding our rewards programme so our customers can continue to enjoy cashback on their everyday debit card spending. At a time when everyone wants their money to work harder, the introduction of 1% interest on current accounts adds another way in which customers can be rewarded for banking with Chase.”

In this article, we look at who can benefit from Chase Rewards and how Chase Bank compares to its competitors. For more information on Chase Bank, read our independent 'Chase Bank review'.

What is Chase's cashback offer?

At present, Chase Bank offers 1% cashback on a number of everyday purchases including groceries, holidays, entertainment and travel for 12 months for new customers. Existing customers were set to lose cashback benefits after the initial 12 month period had expired, however, from 1st April 2023, existing customers will have the cashback offer extended meaning that continue to benefit from 1% cashback on everyday spending for an additional 12 months.

The new cashback offer from Chase does come with some caveats, however, with existing customers having to meet set criteria to qualify for the cashback each month. In order to continue to receive the 1% cashback on everyday spending, existing customers will need to deposit a minimum of £500 a month (excluding internal transfers) and the monthly cashback amount will also be capped at £15 a month. Therefore, the maximum amount of cashback that existing customers can earn over the extended 12-month period is £180. Currently, the Chase cashback offer has no cashback limits and there are no minimum monthly deposits.

There is no minimum monthly deposit for new customers (for the first 12 months) and those that join Chase before 9th May 2023 will not be subject to a monthly cap of £15. New customers that join Chase Bank after 9th May will, however, be subject to a £15 monthly cap on cashback earnings.

Chase 1% cashback for new and existing customers

In the below table, we summarise how the Chase cashback offer works for new and existing Chase customers.

	Cashback offer	Monthly cap	Minimum monthly deposit
Existing customers	1% for additional 12 months after the current offer expires	£15	£500 to qualify for cashback the following month (excludes internal transfers)
New customers that join between 16th February - 1st May	1% cashback for 12 months from account opening	No cap	No minimum
New customers that join after 1st May	1% cashback for 12 months from account opening	£15	No minimum

 

Chase can change its cashback offer at any time but will give you 30 days notice prior to making any changes.

What purchases are excluded from Chase's cashback offer?

You can earn 1% cashback on a number of everyday purchases with Chase Bank including grocery shopping, meals, flights and spending when abroad, however, there are some restrictions on the purchases that qualify for cashback. In the below table, we list the transactions excluded from the Chase cashback offer.

Account and prepaid card funding	Intra-government purchases
Antique shops, including repairs and restoration	Money orders
Art dealers and galleries	Money transfers
Bail and bond payments	MoneySend transactions
Bank fees such as product fees, promotional merchandise, financial consultations and loan fees	Motor home, camper and trailer dealers
Boat dealers	Motorcycle shops and dealers
Car and van dealers - new and used sales, services, repairs, parts and leasing	Nursing and personal care facilities
Cash withdrawals	Pawnbrokers
Cheques	Precious metals
College and university fees	Professional and financial services
Cryptocurrencies	Real estate agent and management fees
Debt repayments	Savings bonds
Deposits	Securities — stocks, bonds, commodities and mutual funds
Gambling transactions	Stamp and coin stores
Government services not classified elsewhere	Tax payments
Hospital fees	Timeshares
Insurance sales, underwriting and premiums	Traveller's Cheques and foreign currency

How to earn interest on your Chase current account balance

Chase announced in April 2023 that it will pay 1% AER interest on current account balances for new and existing customers. There is no monthly minimum deposit amount required to receive interest on your current account balance and you do not need to set up any active direct debits. The interest can be accrued on any current account balance amount and is calculated daily and paid on the first day of each month.

If you would like to maximise the interest that you earn on your money, you can also earn up to 3.10% AER on a Chase Saver account and 5% interest on round-up savings. More information can be found in our 'Chase Bank review'.

How does Chase cashback compare to other bank accounts?

Chase Bank customers can earn 1% cashback on a number of everyday purchases for 12 months, but how does the cashback offer compare to other cashback-earning current accounts? We compare Chase to alternative cashback current accounts in the below table but additional information can be found in our article, 'Best bank account switching offers, cashback and incentive'.

	Chase Bank	Halifax Reward Account	Santander Edge	Nationwide Flex Direct	NatWest Reward Account
Cashback	1% on everyday spending	Up to £5	1% on household bills 1% on essential spending	5% on supermarket shopping until 30/04/23	Up to £5
Monthly cashback cap	£15*	£5	£20	£10	£5
Monthly account fee	£0	£3 (not payable if minimum monthly deposit requirement is met)	£3	£0	£2
Minimum monthly pay in	No minimum	£1,500	Deposit a minimum of £500 per month and have 2 active direct debits	No minimum	Deposit a minimum of £1,250 per month and have 2 active direct debits
Current account balance interest	1% on all current account balances with no limits	N/A	N/A	5% interest on balances up to £1,500 for 12 months reduces to 0.25% thereafter	N/A
Extras	5.00% interest on round-up savings 3.10% interest on Chase Saver	Must spend either £500 a month or keep a minimum of £5,000 in your account each day of the month Up to 15% cashback with selected retailers	Optional savings account with 4.00% interest up to £4,000	Access to FlexSaver with 2.25% AER interest	£200 for switching to the current account using CASS 1% in rewards when you spend at set retail partners e.g Caffe Nero or Europcar

*The monthly cap applies to existing customers with an extended cashback offer and new customers from 9th May 2023.