Cashback cards. Choosing the best one

How cashback cards work

When offering a banking product to a client, a credit institution may invite them to take part in a loyalty program called Cashback. This means that the cardholder, when making retail transactions in certain partner stores of the issuing bank, receives a guaranteed bonus. The bank may, at its discretion, set the deduction percentage using the following scheme:

• A uniform interest rate scale is established for all store categories. Most often, 1% is taken as the baseline.
• Cashback accruals based on monthly categories or a permanent category. The bank provides for categories that will be used to accrue increased cashback. Most often, the range of cashback percentage deductions for this item is from 2% to 10%.
• · Increased cashback. With certain stores and for certain product groups, the issuing bank accrues special cashback, which has a fairly high percentage. This part includes cashback with a deduction percentage from 10% to 30%, and 40% cashback offers are sometimes found.

In addition, the bank provides for the billing period principle for calculating cashback. For example, Alfa-Bank cashback cards have this accrual principle. All accrued interest is summed up during the calendar month, and 20% of the next month is credited to the cardholder's account. For example, you accumulated cashback in April 2022 (from the 1st to the 31st), and the points will be credited on May 20, 2022. There is no single cashback crediting date for any bank; some guarantee that points will be credited immediately on the first day of the following month, while other banks use a specific date of the calendar month.

In addition, there are special offers that include not only participation in bonus promos, but also the accrual of mandatory interest on the balance available in the account (mainly for debit cards). Thus, banking offers — Sberbank cards with cashback have a similar principle of operation, where you can not-only receive points in the form of "Спасибо" bonuses, but also get a guaranteed interest rate on the balance available on a specific date, for example, for the "Pensionny" debit card, you can guaranteed get up to 3.5% on the balance.

Some banks use specific terminology for crediting cashback. Thus, points for purchases imply the crediting of an equivalent amount in rubles to the card account. Some banks use the term "miles," which means the same thing, but these miles can only be spent on purchasing tickets, paying for a hotel, parking, etc. Conversion takes place on the principle of 1 point = 1 RUB, although some banks may apply the rule that for every 30 spent rubles, 1 cashback point is credited.

 What you can spend cashback on

As a rule, no banking organization has a single scheme for where accumulated cashback in the form of points or miles can be spent. For example, a number of banks have both a credit card and a debit card with the "Aeroflot" brand, where miles are awarded for purchases made. According to the marketing policy of the issuing bank and Aeroflot's requirements, the miles received can only be spent on purchasing tickets, and sometimes can be used to pay for additional services – car rental, hotel room payment, etc. That is, the very principle of "miles" implies that the cashback received can be spent on purchasing certain categories of transport documents and other services associated with a specific airline brand. Similarly, there are cards associated with Russian Railways (RZD) and other transport organizations.

A number of banking organizations may credit cashback in the form of real money. This means that points will be converted into RUB to your account. You can spend the income received in monetary equivalent at your discretion.

The most popular group of loyalty program accruals is associated with motorists who refuel cars at gas stations. Currently, there is a fairly large group of cards that include a gas station category; among debit cards, the popular ones are:

1. Credit Europe Bank, Card Plus card — up to 5%.
2. Credit Europe Bank, "Bazovaya Avtokarta" card — bonuses up to 2%.
3. Raiffeisenbank, Gold Package card, gas station category — 5% in bonuses.
4. Rosbank, "Avtokarta" debit card — 5% cashback.
5. MKB Bank, "Debetovaya" card, gas station category — 10% cashback.
6. Alfa Bank, Cash Back card — points up to 10%.
7. VTB Bank, "Multikarta" card — cashback from 2% to 10% depending on conditions.

It is also necessary to pay close attention to this factor when applying for a cashback card. The financial institution will award bonuses only under certain conditions. One bank may require a minimum card turnover of 3,000 RUB per month, while another bank may establish a refund if there was a card turnover for a certain period amounting to 300,000 RUB.

Ranking of cashback cards – trusting proven banking products

The credit card and loan selection service invites you to apply for cashback cards from Russia's leading credit and financial institutions. The current ranking of cashback cards is compiled based on data analysis and reviews from debit and credit card holders. The list is compiled based on data from banking organizations, taking into account only "general" cashback indicators, without tying it to a specific partner store. Please note that there are currently cards with 10% cashback on the market, as well as other loyalty programs where it is possible to get a refund of up to 30% cashback on certain product groups and partner stores.

We recommend checking out the following ranking of cashback cards

The benefit of each cashback card depends on the additional terms offered by the issuing bank for a specific banking product. Thus, a number of banks set a high annual card maintenance fee, but at the same time, it is possible to compensate for all expenses by receiving additional cashback into the account. These include all cards featuring Gold, Platinum, or Premium standards.