Money saving expert Martin Lewis has issued an unwelcome message to customers of a major bank as he revealed its cashback offering is “getting worse” from April.

Martin Lewis returned to The Martin Lewis Money Show Live on Tuesday, March 11 despite battling problems with his voice. 

He revealed that a hugely popular bank offer from Chase is set to be downgraded from April 7. Chase Bank currently gives cashback up to £15 a month to people using its debit card but from April it will massively narrow the kind of shopping which is eligible for cashback, as well as cutting cashback abroad. Martin said: “Chase rewards are getting worse from the 7th of April. The 1% UK cashback is on most things right now, it’s only going to be on groceries, transport and fuel from the 7th of April.”

He added that you won’t earn cashback abroad, either, and instead a Barclays Reward credit card would be a better bet. He continued: “You will no longer earn cashback on spending overseas, you can still do that on the Barclaycard Reward credit card, which is the same near perfect exchange rates abroad as Chase, no ATM fee and no interest as long as you pay off the card IN FULL.”

Martin promised that on next week’s ITV show, Tuesday, March 18, he would run through the best savings rates currently available after Chase also cut its rates to 3%. Martin added: “Savings rates from Chase have already dropped to 3% apart from for newbies at 4.5%, I haven’t got time to run through the best alternatives there but next week is all about what’s happening in April including the ISA allowance ending so I’ll probably do savings rates there.”

Chase confirmed in a message to customers what it will do to cashback. It said:

*Customers will be able to earn cashback on:

· Groceries – e.g. at grocery stores, supermarkets, miscellaneous food stores, convenience stores and specialty markets

· Everyday transport – e.g. local and suburban commuter passenger transportation (including ferries), bus lines (including charter/tour buses), railroads and passenger rail (trains)

· Fuel – e.g. service stations (with or without ancillary services), automated fuel dispensers and electric vehicle charging points

Mark Powys, Managing Director for Daily Banking at Chase, commented: “Chase’s cashback offer is one of the most competitive on the market, enabling customers to earn a little extra on many of the essential things they already buy daily.”

“As well as our cashback offer, Chase’s current account offers a range of money management features, interest on small change round ups through Chase’s round up account, and a competitive-rate easy access saver account.”