Is it worth paying with FNB for groceries for e-bucks?

[futureman29]

My husband has an FNB account and I have Nedbank, he gets his salary and im pretty much a SAHM with a very minimal side job. So the way we split finances is he transfers me the full amount for groceries and baby budget and I pay for it all with Nedbank, I earn a little bit of greenbacks rewards but I can't really notice much of a difference with savings (I probably get like 50 rand a month). We mostly shop at Spar - I saw something about getting 15 percent back in e-bucks with FNB? Would it be worth me just using his card to pay for all the groceries? I have no idea how e-bucks works. We spend about 6-7 k on food every month - would that mean that he would get 900 rand back on e-bucks?? (I like the way we do the finances currently coz then I dont go wild with the spending)

 

[quietbeauty]

@futureman29 You need to be willing to play the ebucks game and jump through the hoops to get to level 5 for it to make sense.

Check the track my rewards tab in the FNB app to see a check list of thinhs you need to do to get there.

FNB is making it more difficult to maintain level 5 and earn ebucks but there are simple things to make sure you keep earning - eg, always pay with your virtual card and not your physical card (R4/L back vs R0.10c per litre).

A neat trick is to also pay your rates bill through the clicks app with your virtual card - 15% back on level 5 - to a max of R300 back. For me checkers also caps at 15% of R2000 = R300

All in all on a good month I can get R1000-R1500 from checkers, engen, clicks, smart spend bonuses back in ebucks a month but it requires a bit of faffing to check the boxes. Whether that amount of money is worth the hassle is up to you.

There are other small benefits to being level 5 - R120/month kauia voucher, 1 Starbucks coffee a week, discounts of flights.

 

[chapstevesock]

@quietbeauty FNB Short term insurance was the cheapest for my thatch house. The contents and car insurance was also super competitive (if not the cheapest). Combined with my bond, and level 5, I get about R1200 plus another R750 through “smart spend” (not sure what that is, tbh) every month.

With the exception of funeral cover, I don’t have anything with them that I wouldn’t ordinarily have.

It’s an absolute no-brainer. And when they sort out a priority queue at the airport…

 

[quos]

@chapstevesock Hey, I’ve just purchased a thatch house now. What does your insurance cost? Also why short term insurance, wouldn’t it be household insurance? Thanks

 

[chapstevesock]

@quos Household insurance is still short term. “Long term” is stuff like life insurance. Building insurance might be long term, I’m not sure though.

Drop me a PM, happy to chat.

 

[quietbeauty]

@chapstevesock Out of interest, have you had to claim from FNB yet?

 

[chapstevesock]

@quietbeauty On a previous policy, yes. When they launched their short term insurance, I insured my bicycle with them. Frame cracked, and they asked Dunked Cycles for a value estimate, and paid out. Very little fuss, iirc.

 

[quietbeauty]

@chapstevesock Wow, that's good to hear

 

[chapstevesock]

@quietbeauty As with all things banking and insurance, I’m sure anybody’s experience with this will very often come down to the person you end up dealing with. But for now, I’m very happy. And that was before the free money.

 

[phytoscience1]

@quietbeauty This - to make EBucks really work you have to be “all in”. I have (nearly) everything with FNB - cheque account, credit card, bond, some insurance, my wife has a linked account (which gets a discounted fee), I pay for everything with Vcards and try to shop only at partners (mostly Checkers and Clicks). As a family we get a lot of money back - R2,500 to R4,000 most months. You also have to do some silly stuff like use their “tools” (like the dumb budgeting thing on the app) but level 5 is worth it. When we travelled a couple of years ago we go 40% off the flights. Thats an incredible saving. For me it’s worth it because I like gaming the system but I can see why it isn’t worth it for many people.

 

[quietbeauty]

@phytoscience1 You like jumping through hoops as much as i do Remember the game Circus Charlie

 

[quietbeauty]

@phytoscience1 Out of interest, have you ever had to claim from FNB insurance? Wondering how their claims handling process is.

 

[phytoscience1]

@quietbeauty Yes, have claimed. It’s fine - not bad at all.

 

[jconelea]

@quietbeauty I don't think you earn ebucks on 3rd party payments on the Clicks app.

You do earn 20 clicks points though.

 

[promise1]

@jconelea You do.. I only pay electricity and rates there and get R300 back monthly

 

[jconelea]

@promise1 You are earning ebucks for other purchases/activities too.

 

[promise1]

@jconelea I don't do other purchases at clicks

 

[jconelea]

@promise1 I'm referring to other non-Clicks purchases and activities. You earn ebucks every time you make a purchase with your credit and virtual card for example.

Also for filling up at Engen, shopping at Checkers, Cape union mart etc.

EDIT: I've just checked my ebucks profile and I stand to be corrected - I am definitely earning ebucks on electricity purchases.

 

[promise1]

@jconelea I know.. My clicks portion is R300.

I get about R1000 in total per month

 

[quietbeauty]

@jconelea What do you mean by 3rd party payments? I can confirm i have been receiving R300 worth of ebucks from paying my rates bill through the clicks app with my virtual card. I don't even shop at clicks.