UK banking is moving fast. It wasn’t long ago that Lloyds Ultra arrived with 1% on everything. Chase then doubled it to 2% on most categories. And now Santander’s 3% lands and takes some of the shine off Chase’s big moment. But as usual — it’s complicated.
So what do you actually get with the Santander Rewards Credit Card?
Santander Rewards Offer
Cashback
- 3% in year one on everyday travel, eating out and takeaways — including fuel, EV charging, trains, restaurants, cafés and more
- 0.25% on everything else you buy
- After the first year, everything drops to 0.25%
Travel spending
- Travel card, no FX fees when you pay in the local currency abroad
Extra offers
- Sign up to Santander Boosts for additional offers and discounts
Fees
- No monthly fee for the card
Initial thoughts
Santander’s new Rewards card is basically a hybrid of the two main cashback cards already out there. It takes the category boosts from Chase and pairs them with the one-year-then-0.25% structure from Lloyds Ultra. Santander is also simpler upfront, compared to Chase, which involves more steps and conditions to qualify for cashback.
The obvious downside? Groceries are deliberately missing — supermarket spend is where most people put a serious chunk of their budget — so the offer isn’t as complete as Chase’s.
Either way, 3% is hard to ignore.
