How to get the most out of a cashback card.

Choose an offer based on your spending and remember that bonuses are not a reason to spend extra.

What is cashback and how is it formed?

Many banks promise to return part of the funds you spent. This is called cashback. Where does this money come from? It's simple: in order to attract new customers and retain old ones, a financial institution shares part of its profits with them.

Here's how it works:

• You pay by card, the amount is debited from your account.
• Your bank, payment system and the seller’s bank come into play. Each of them takes a small percentage for their services. The commission is paid by the final recipient.
• Your bank receives its percentage of the transaction and credits part of it to you in the form of cashback.

As a result, all participants in the transaction benefit, except the seller: nothing has changed for him. Although in some cases, for example, with increased cashback, the bank can promote consumer interest in a particular store.

Example. You have issued a card with a 2% cashback on all purchases and spent 20 thousand rubles in a month. You will be refunded 400 rubles. Doesn't look very profitable. For cashback to be beneficial, you need to choose not the most advertised offer, but the one that suits your spending .

What to look for when choosing a cashback card

Minimum amount spent

Usually banks have a spending limit: if you spend less than a certain amount, you won’t get a cashback. And it is important to understand whether these requirements suit you.

Example. Bank No. 1 offers super favorable cashback conditions, but you need to spend at least 30 thousand rubles. The second has a lower entry threshold, but the minimum amount spent is only 10 thousand. If you spend an average of 15 thousand rubles a month, bank card No. 1 is useless for you, no matter how attractive its conditions may seem.

Real cashback percentage

Read the cashback terms and conditions carefully. It often happens that on the same map they can be different.

Example. The bank promises to return up to 10% of expenses on taxi services, up to 5% on cinema, wine and dominoes, and 1% on all expenses. The minimum amount spent is 10 thousand rubles. Sounds great. But if you read more carefully, it turns out that there is a fork:

• Refund up to 10% of spending on taxi services, up to 5% on movies, wine and dominoes, and 1% on everything with total spending over 40 thousand rubles.
• Refund up to 5% of spending on taxi services, up to 2.5% on movies, wine and dominoes, and 0.5% on everything for total spending over 20 thousand rubles.
• Refund up to 2.5% of spending on taxi services, up to 1.25% on cinema, wine and dominoes, and 0.25% on everything for total spending over 10 thousand rubles.

Doesn't look that amazing. It’s better to discover these nuances before you sign up for a card and are disappointed.

Cashback limit

The bank is not a charitable organization, so there is a maximum cashback payment amount. Somewhere we are talking about several thousand rubles, somewhere about tens of thousands. Pay attention to the limit, but not thoughtlessly: in some cases, conditions simply will not allow you to approach it.

Example. You choose between cards with a 3% cashback on everything and a limit of 3 thousand rubles and a 2% return with a limit of 15 thousand rubles. You spend an average of 50 thousand per month. In the first case, the cashback will be 1.5 thousand rubles, in the second - 1 thousand. There is no point in choosing bank number 2 just because of the limit.

Additional terms

The contract may also stipulate additional conditions for receiving a bonus. For example, a percentage is returned only on purchases not cheaper than a certain amount. This all needs to be taken into account.

Cashback categories

As we have already figured out, a low cashback on everything is not the ultimate dream: if you do not spend huge amounts, you will get back a little. Banks also understand this, so they are introducing increased cashback in some categories. To choose the best offer, you need to analyze your expenses.

Example. You spend 20 thousand rubles a month, of which 6 thousand are on groceries, 4 thousand on lunches in the canteen, 3 thousand on cafes and restaurants, 1.5 thousand on cinema, 3 thousand on gasoline, 2.5 thousand on all the rest.

Bank No. 1 offers cashback of 10% for the purchase of gasoline and 2% for everything; Bank No. 2 - 5% on cafes and restaurants, 5% on groceries and 1% on other expenses; Bank No. 3 - 3% on everything.

Bank No. 2 is more profitable, but this will only work if spending in your dining room is in the “Cafes and Restaurants” category.

Expenses are distributed into categories automatically depending on the settings of the payment terminal. If nothing is specified in the settings, the bank itself will make the decision. It happens that even terminals of points of the same network issue different categories. If the bank offers an increased refund for the entire “Cafes and Restaurants” category, then everything is in order. But if it separates “Restaurants”, “Fast food”, “Food delivery” and offers an increased return on only one of them, this increases the risk that you will receive a smaller amount of cashback.

Please note that some banks allow you to decide for yourself which categories to receive increased cashback, or choose specific places to do so.

Card service

And again you have to do the math: if you pay a little less for servicing the card than you get back, the game is not worth the candle.

Additional bonuses

Sometimes cashback cards have pleasant conditions that are not related to refunds. For example, interest on the balance. By this criterion, it is also better to compare the offers of banks.

Payment term

It’s not the most critical criterion, but it’s still worth knowing about so as not to worry. Usually cashback is returned when the bank is sure that all the money you spent went to the recipient, and you are not going to cancel anything. For some, a few days are enough, others need a month. So check exactly when to expect cashback.

The main rule: before signing an agreement with the bank, read it carefully. It may reveal a lot of interesting things.

How to get more cashback

Logically, the first obvious advice should be “Spend more,” but this is a trap. Cashback is an opportunity to return part of the funds for what has already been spent, but this should not encourage you to spend extra money. It is still more profitable to refuse a purchase.

If spending is unavoidable, you can try to get a little more.

Pay for everyone

If you are going with a large group somewhere where you have an increased cashback, offer to pay for everyone. The bank will give you cashback for the entire amount, and your friends will give back their share of what they spent.

This method is only suitable for disciplined acquaintances, from whom you will not have to collect debts later.

Get several cards

If you spend really a lot or the minimum amount spent to receive cashback is small, it is useful to have several cards from different banks and pay with them where there is an increased percentage of return. With a card from one bank you will pay, for example, for fuel and cinema, another - for cafes and household chemicals.

Plan your purchases

If the bank periodically changes categories with increased cashback or offers additional returns on purchases in some stores, it makes sense to plan expenses in such a way as to participate in the promotion and get more.

Do I need to pay taxes on cashback?

Cashback is not considered income. From a legal point of view, this is a bonus for participating in a loyalty program, to receive which you need to spend money. The Federal Tax Service believes that there is no need to pay taxes for this.