Martin Lewis' Money Saving Expert (MSE) team has issued a warning as HSBC customers only have a few hours to bag a free £150.
The MSE team has reminded customers of the high street bank that they can earn 10% cashback - or up to £50 a month - on their food shop, fuel and transport over the next three months. To get the cashback, you will need to have an HSBC Visa credit card, but you only have until 11.59pm on September 30 to check if you're eligible and opt-in.
Customers who are eligible for the offer will have received an email asking if they want to opt in or not. If you didn't receive the email you may have unsubscribed from marketing offers. If you manage your HSBC Visa credit card through HSBC's app, you'll also have received a notification if you're able to apply.
The offer is only available to HSBC customers with a Visa credit card but the banking giant says around 900,000 customers in England, Scotland and Wales are eligible for the offer. Sadly, you can't claim the freebie if you are in Northern Ireland.
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Martin's team says this deal is a "no brainer" if you were planning to make these purchases anyway. However, the team noted that it's only worth it as long as you pay your card off in full so the interest doesn't wipe out your cashback earnings.
The MSE highlighted that HSBC has four Visa credit cards and these are: its Balance Transfer Credit Card, Purchase Plus Credit Card, Classic Credit Card, and Student Credit Card. Once you've opted in you will then be able to earn cash back on your spending over the next three months from October 1 until December 31 - so overall you could earn up to £150.
The MSE team said: "To get ANY cashback, you'll need to make a certain number of grocery, fuel and/or transport purchases each month. This will be either three, five, 10 or 15, depending on how much you typically spend – HSBC says it will tell you your personal threshold before you opt in."
There are some exceptions for the cashback, and according to MSE these are:
- Groceries - Includes online food shopping, corner shops and bakeries, but excluding Amazon Fresh, department stores and takeaways
- Fuel - Includes fuel purchased at UK service stations, electric vehicle charging and fuel dealers selling oil, wood, coal, etc
- Transport - Includes most public transport in the UK but none abroad
Martin's team says you will be sent a full list of qualifying purchases and exclusions when you opt in. Over the next three months, the cashback you've earned on your spending will be calculated at the end of the month and credited to your credit card account on the 15th of the following month. So your October cashback will be paid on November 15.
If you're eligible but miss September's sign-up deadline to begin earning cashback from October, you should get another chance to sign up for the offer later on. However, you only need to opt in once – you won't need to reapply each month. It's important to note that you will not get any cashback if you're over your credit limit or in arrears when the cashback is calculated and you won't get any cashback for refunded transactions.
If you miss the deadline, the MSE team does add: "If you're eligible but miss September's sign-up deadline to begin earning cashback from October, you should get another chance to sign up for the offer later on. However, you only need to opt in once – you won't need to reapply each month."
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