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Tesco current account to launch TODAY – what do we know about Avios earning?

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Tesco Bank is due to launch its current account today.

We don’t know everything about the account yet.  In particular, we don’t know what incentives there will be for signing up.

Marks & Spencer is currently offering a £100 voucher for opening a current account with them.  If Tesco offered the equivalent of 10,000 Clubcard points then it would look very interesting.  However, my understanding is that there will be no major offer at launch.

Tesco current account

This is what we know:

The account will be free if you pay in £750 per month ….

…. and will cost £5 per month if you don’t.

You will earn 3% interest on balances up to £3,000 and nothing above that

You will earn Clubcard points on all of your debit card transactions:

1 point per £4 spent in Tesco

1 point per £8 spent elsewhere (VERY interesting)

Is there going to be ‘small print’ attached to the ‘1 point per £8 spent elsewhere’ rule?


How to earn Avios points from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (December 2021)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways BA Amex American Express card

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending ….. Read our full review

British Airways BA Premium Plus American Express Amex credit card

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points, such as:

Nectar American Express

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

American Express Platinum card Amex

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital On Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios:

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus:

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express card

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.

(Want to earn more Avios?  Click here to visit our home page for our latest articles on earning and spending your Avios points and click here to see how to earn more Avios this month from offers and promotions.)

Comments (57)

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

  • Leo says:

    So far the only benefit seems to be the mobile App, given that it will serve Tesco Credit Card holders as well…

  • Tim says:

    So I went ahead and signed up and my application is approved. (I had applied at about 1am last night, maybe my account number will be 0000001?)

    I was looking to switch bank accounts anyway due to dissatisfaction with my long term bank account. Happy if I can earn an extra £5-£10 of Clubcard points per quarter (2,400 Avios) – every little helps!!

    (I tend not to use credit cards anyway so most of these offers are not suitable).

    • martin says:

      I suspect most HFP readers put all of their spend through a credit card (then pay it off at the end of the month), which is why there’s general dissatisfaction with Tesco’s offer. If you generally spend on a debit card, then I can see why it’s a bit more interesting!

  • Kathryn Dowd says:

    So you won’t earn CC points using a debit card to pay a credit card bill, then?

    • Rob says:

      Seems not

      • SingingDwarf says:

        It may depend upon which card provider you use. I could potentially see a way to earn CC pts on non-Amex spend, if Tesco Bank base their definition of banks and financial services on the same criteria as 3V used to…

    • Polly says:

      I think you will, I hope to…

  • James67 says:

    Big disappointment. I think I’ll opt for the £100 M&S voucher and keep that as a dormant account should tesco offer bonus cc points for switching in the future.

  • Camille says:

    In one respect, we should actually be thanking Tesco! Why?- because they have taken the step to offer a direct mileage earning opportunity for debit card use (which AFAIK has not been possible upto now).

    I agree their offering is not great, but if their account is successful, then hopefully it might encourage others to compete with better offerings of their own, eg. Virgin Money (potential tie-up for VS miles), Lloyds or TSB (Avios), etc,. Wait and watch…

    • Nick says:

      Hopefully. Although the biggest benefit of the Lloyds Duo card was seen to be the pressure it would exert on other card issuers to provide cards that offer zero FX fees and earn avios at the same time… and I’ve not seen any other cards looking to compete yet.

      0.3 Avios per £1 spent is not a great return really. Most people here will put any expenditure that would qualify for the CC points across a credit card that pays a lot more. The sorts of payments we make out of our current accounts (direct debits, paying off credit card bills, mortgage payments, transfers to other banks) do not qualify for clubcard points. With the exception of aldi and lidl, I cannot think of anywhere where I use debit card. If somewhere does not take Amex, I use my tesco CC card which is a lot better than their current account reward.

      • Rob says:

        Inland Revenue is a potential one although only a minority of us pay our own tax. Council Tax is another although my lot let me use a credit card with no surcharge ….

        • Camille says:

          Agree with Nick, this is a hope….so lets see who, if anyone responds. However, at least the principle of miles for debit card use is established, so a step in the ‘right’ direction.

          Raffles, both councils where I pay CT charge a surcharge (1.5% and in Ealing, a whopping 2.5%!!). I can justify using the ex-bmi DC master card at 2.5/£1 for the lower fee, but not the 2.5%….so eyes, CT is one potential use.

          But also those utilities that charge a fee, e.g. BT, Southern Electric, Orange/EE, etc who each charge a lot more than the 50p Sky levy. Another possible use – Ryanair, Easyet, etc so (in)direct way to earn miles for flying LCCs!

          • Dev says:

            My council allow paypoint so I make a monthly pilgrimige to the CO OP and whack it on the Amex Gold card. Counts as a supermarket so I get double points for it.

    • James67 says:

      IIRC Lloyds at one time had an avios current account or at least you got some for opening one. When Virgin opens a current account we might see some flying club miles come our way.

  • Tesco and BA - 2014 master thread - Page 69 - FlyerTalk Forums says:

    […] Post seems to have been updated: https://headforpoints.com/2014/06…ount-features/ […]

  • squills says:

    OK DDs are no good but what if you advance pay for a bill through your debit card? Eg mortgage, gas & elec, water, TV, council tax etc? These companies/ instis are perfectly happy to take advance payment on a debit card and will simply (on request) adjust the DD downwards.

    Needs testing.

    • squills says:

      OK mortgage might be out, but definition of financial insti would no appear to include most of the others…

      Question:What’s not included in the Clubcard Reward scheme?

      Answer:You won’t collect Clubcard points on cash withdrawals and deposits, buying travel money (cash or travellers cheques) or using your card at other banks and building societies.

  • Swiss says:

    Oh well – at least I’ve learnt something today. Seems this hangs on whether you get points for paying off council tax or tax bills…

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.