Loyalty points and other usage incentives

when telling people about Monzo this is the biggest push back i get. why would i stop using my cards that give me points for spending and use this to give me better transparency.

its a tough question.

What i would ask @tom or any Monzo employee is if your vision is to become the best current account in the world. What plans do you have to offer incentives to use my Monzo card over my BA card? is a partnership with Avios a possibility? or is it impossible for a current account to offer such expensive rewards.

J

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It would be great to hear some feedback specifically about this issue but just in case Tom decide’s not to address this directly right now…

this is good feedback in answer to his question

https://community.monzo.com/t/what-about-credit-cards/5373/4?u=alexs

which, as far as I’m aware, is the last that we’ve heard from :mondo: on this topic.

Tom has also mentioned that he’s working on a blog post which will hopefully give some sense of how this issue (which is the biggest challenge, when it comes to attracting new users, that I can see for :mondo: too), will be addressed either directly or indirectly…

I know the original poster was thinking about more high value loyalty schemes but there are a lot of chains that I regularly visit that offer free goods after a certain number of transactions, it would be interesting to know whether the card could tie in with those loyalty schemes. I know I’d appreciate not having to carry around a card or get stamps every time I go to certain chains.

Example:
Caffe Nero = Free coffee on 10th transaction
I know Leon and Nandos do something similar and I’m sure there are many more

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On iOS (Don’t know about Android) Nero has an app now that you can register a card with (or just use a Apple Wallet loyalty card) that records your transactions and 10th coffee is free.

Bink is also trying something similar with other loyalty schemes.

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It’s largely the loyalty points that keep me using credit cards.

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Assuming you use the Targets (or perhaps, even if you don’t), I’d be interested to hear how much more you save from the loyalty points vs being able to track your spending & save using Monzo -

https://community.monzo.com/t/what-about-credit-cards/5373/118?u=alexs

Though to be fair, I’m not sure Monzo can compete with Amex or Amex x airmiles.

I use monzo because I like the features, but I don’t put even a small fraction of my spend through it because I get such good points from amex.

A 241 voucher on amex is worth up to 10k if used on a first class long haul flight with BA.

I get up to 3% cash back on a different amex card.

Monzo fills in the non amex accepting gaps for me and also for little contactless purchases cos I like seeing it get categorised in the app.

I wouldn’t notice saving £13 a month, but I’m not in that demographic.

Links to a good reward scheme would make me reconsider.

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Do you know of any that could compete with what you earn from Amex?

The amex is valuable to me because I travel a lot for work and so build up a significant avios balance which the 241 doubles for me.

Once I cut down on my travel, I’d be much more interested in a cashback reward scheme that pays back immediately rather than making me wait for the anniversary of the card.

I suspect that the 0.3% cap on merchant fees will eventually kill all reward schemes - when that happens, I’ll use my monzo card more!

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This is precisely where I am. I buy almost everything on my Amex and get
one 2-4-1 voucher a year, which I use for an essentially free long-haul,
business class return flight. I use Monzo abroad (cheap forex rates + lower
risk of card fraud), but in the UK it gets used only when they don’t accept
Amex.

Really I will put up with a LOT of bad UX for a free flight once a year.

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This was the biggest blocker to me adopting Monzo. I decided to trial it for a while mostly because I’m curious whether it could save me more just from the budgeting, but once it’s helped me track spending for a while I imagine the cards with rewards will start getting more use again. I get 1% as points with AmEx (plus the lounge passes, 241, etc) and 0.5% cash with Visa.

But if it just becomes a hidden cost, then I would prefer the transparency…

I think it’s not just the big ticket things, like Santander does offers you can select that are valid for maybe a month or a week, and on your next purchase you get 20% off at a certain restaurant on that card or at New Look etc. It doesn’t have to be a long term partnership, or something placed online, even little things like “if you pay using monzo at ____ you get free soup!”/ a small discount!

Many stores in shopping malls (in Singapore) do this so I think it could be feasible doing a partnership in London (where most monzo cards are) at a small cafe, or with Pret.?

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Interesting thread. I am in the same boat and utilise credit cards for everything I can. BA Amex first to hit the 2-4-1 and an IHG MasterCard for anywhere that does not accept Ame, along with various other cards hat are rotated for sign up bonuses. I literally do not use my debit card. I have a Monzo card but it sits in the drawer unused so am interested to see what the thinking is to entice me - or am I simply not the type of person they are trying to attract?

With the reduction in interchange fees I think we are more likely to see an increase in the number of chards that have a yearly fee - which if the reward is great enough I would be happy to pay - I already pay £195 for the Amex and £99 for the IHG as I know the benefit far outweighs the cost.

Another one in the AMEX club here. I may be able to be tempted to bring my current account over to Monzo when they launch. Monzo’s UX > than that of First Direct and fee free cash overseas is great, but I would be forgoing a fee free interest free overdraft, so it’s a bit of a wash at the moment. I’d love to see Monzo offering a way to hold Euros and Dollars similar to Revolut, that would definitely make for a hugely compelling offering.

However in terms of a card for day-to-day spending, as a relatively economically rational individual, why wouldn’t I do that on a card which offers rewards? AMEX rewards can be pretty significant depending on annual spend levels.

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I’m in the same category as well. I’ve a cashback Barclaycard (from the Egg Money days) and collect 0.5-1% on all my purchases. It adds up! So primarily I use my Monzo card for contactless payments around my office so it’s easy to see what I spend on lunch and coffee separate from my big spending, but realistically it’s unlikely to become my main credit card. I do see it becoming my main current account, but that’s hardly something for a bank to write home about, my current account has half a dozen transactions each month.

That’s the kind of saving that I think Monzo can compete with, even without offering cashback -

Click the :arrow_down_small: on this quote to see the full post.

Another points hoarder here. My debit card is used for cash withdrawals only, and that’s something I try and avoid if at all possible.

I have an airline Amex/Visa dual account, higher points rate with the Amex but a backup Visa for anywhere that doesn’t accept Amex.

I imagine there’s a correlation here, those who were interested in being early adopters with a bank are already pretty organised and relatively good at money management. I enjoyed Monzo as a technology demo, but it’s not successfully become my day-to-day card because I don’t need the budgeting help or awareness, and there are incentives elsewhere.

What would make me replace my current account with Monzo? I already get free FX withdrawals and I pay a pretty low fee (£10) for a lot of extras which I use (Nationwide FlexPlus). Given that things like current account spending notifications are irrelevant due to using a credit card, and I don’t feel like I need budgeting help… I’m really not sure :confused:

I don’t know about everyone on here I’m not lucky enough to have a credit card with such attractive rates but if other banks offer such good incentives surely they do this because they make more money from it. One thing I’ve learned working in banking and retail sector is they don’t offer you something unless it makes the company money. I’m happy how I can talk to someone real who does not read from a script. I like how I don’t get charged for using my card abroad. Why ask for something for spending their money why not have a system like some supermarkets run where the amount is always rounded up to the nearest pound 5 pound etc helping save and I can adjust that request. Or if people want incentives borrowing money why not have more money you set aside the more you can borrow for instance have money in a locked savings account and allowed to borrow money on a certain multiplication on understanding you repay each month your interest rate is offset by securities in the savings abbot like credit union. I do earn a fair amount but I would like to see more facilities for if I save money regularly or percentage of income not because I believe I’m winning one over on the bank by using my credit card for everything and paying it off. As I’m just spending my money in another way. I think it’s time to think outside the box more facilities to help me save money a bank that helps me manage my money better by making sure I save. But that’s just one persons opinion

I want discounts on Pret, Slug & Lettuce, Just Eat and Dominos

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Personally I find the idea that targets are equivalent to cashback is a bit weird. I appreciate that knowing how much I spend can help me spend less, but that’s a question of self-discipline and I don’t think I have a problem with uncontrolled or ill-considered spending.

Credit card cash-back is me getting what I want at the best possible price (and in my case adds up to about £150 / year) and for me falls in to the same category as shopping around and using cashback websites for purchases. My point really is that they’re not mutually exclusive and they don’t address the same ‘problem’.

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