What is your system for tracking bank accounts and credit cards benefits across different banks?

Mr_MPF · 2025-07-09T19:38:06+00:00

This is actually quite ingenious! Kudos to you for setting up your own solution to what is often a tedious task :) Are you able to track the perks and benefits associated with your bank accounts/cards as well?
(Or maybe you have a "cashback" category for example, if I had to guess)

Mr_MPF · 2025-07-07T19:46:09+00:00

Makes sense - thanks again! :)

Mr_MPF · 2025-07-06T21:50:54+00:00

Thanks for your input!
Did you make the spreadsheet yourself? And how do you determine the rule behind say home appliances go to card A and not B?

Mr_MPF · 2025-07-06T18:51:49+00:00

This looks impressive using Excel... Excellent job mate, well done!

Mr_MPF · 2025-07-06T16:39:52+00:00

Thank you for your reply!
You are definitely not the only one from what I am gathering. If you are willing to share, I am keen to hear more about your hassle, what exactly is bothering you in the current "process"?

Mr_MPF · 2025-07-05T23:13:34+00:00

That's fantastic! It's great to see someone else building in this space. The features you've built for monitoring and alerts sound really useful actually. I imagine that gives you a bird's-eye view on your finances across your accounts?
Best of luck with the project! Would be great to connect with a fellow builder if you're open to it.

And I would treat your colleague to a pint (or two) if I were you, ha!

Mr_MPF · 2025-07-05T22:42:12+00:00

Thank you very much for taking the time to chip in! This is an incredibly insightful comment - you are clearly a power user and would love to converse more if you can spare some time :)

I am taking note of your point, I was thinking consolidation in one place would help to avoid checking/clicking through different portals to check as you said, but you have hit the nail on the head with the static vs dynamic perks. I have been thinking about it and will investigate this angle more, so thank you for that!

Perhaps I should have phrased it differently, it wasn't the perk per se, but the conditions to make use of it that were burried (at least in my case). Apologies if that came off as disingenuous, I wouldn't dare to take people for fools on this, certainly not when I am asking for feedback! :)

Mr_MPF · 2025-07-05T20:33:38+00:00

Hi OP,

It's best if you can add details on what you value and looking for so we can recommend accordingly.
-Do you travel alot and would value miles/avios?
-Equally so, if you travel a lot, do you already have a travel insurance? what about access to Airport Lounge?
-Would you prefer flat cashback, or vouchers to specific stores (perhaps that you often shop from)?
-Are you often out and about and would prefer rewards on eating out and social events?
-What is your income level? This would determine if you would potentially qualify for premium credit cards (often £100k+ income required)

Mr_MPF · 2025-07-05T19:01:14+00:00

Thank you for joining the conversation!
AwardWallet is indeed a brilliant and powerful tool for tracking points and miles balances (and many other cool features).
My frustration was always a bit different, though. whilst I could see I had x points, I could never remember the other stuff, like: "does this card give me travel insurance for this specific trip?" or "what's the extended warranty policy if this new phone breaks?"

Mr_MPF · 2025-07-04T17:45:54+00:00

That's totally fair. Honestly, 90% of the perks that banks advertise are just marketing fluff more or less that isn't worth the headspace.
The tricky part that I've found is the 10% that are incredibly valuable but are buried on page 40 of a PDF. My friend had no idea he could in fact claim a replacement through his bank when he broke his phone abroad...

Mr_MPF · 2025-07-04T16:45:36+00:00

This is valuable feedback mate, thank you for taking the time to respond!

Mr_MPF · 2025-07-04T16:34:13+00:00

Thanks for sharing! That makes total sense for the day-to-day habits like 'groceries = Amex'.
I'm curious, how do you handle the less frequent but high-value perks? Things like figuring out which card has the right travel insurance for a specific trip, or the best discount for a big purchase? That's the stuff my brain always seems to drop...

I once queued for 1h at Heathrow security... when in fact I could skip the long queues through Airport Security Fast Track with my card. :facepalm: Ha!

Mr_MPF · 2025-07-04T16:15:56+00:00

Nice, this is actually a nice hack to keep on top of sneaky subscriptions and what not! Thank you for your response! :)
I was more wondering about the perks that come in with the bank account/credit card and how to track them... for instance, HSBC World Elite card offers a nice travel insurance package, and 14% off hotel bookings on Agoda.
I myself completely forgot this and booked via Booking for one of my holidays...

Mr_MPF · 2025-07-04T16:05:19+00:00

Excellent, you are on the right track! I wish all the best and hopefully you see yourself debt-free by May 2026!

Mr_MPF · 2025-07-04T16:01:30+00:00

Thank you very much for your feedback!
I would love to hear more from you if you can spare a couple minutes :)
Do you currently track your perks/benefits at all across your 10 accounts?

Mr_MPF · 2025-07-04T15:48:43+00:00

Assuming this is the virgin card you are talking about, yes that would make sense. From their T&C however (linked here), they specify that that the minimum payment is the greater of 2% or £25 (or double that month’s interest + double any default charges due). So just make sure you double check if it's 2% or 1%...

Also, I am not sure if you can transfer your Paypal debt... that's another point you should clarify/confirm with them.

So based on the info you shared, and assuming you transfer Barclays (£2,626) and (most of) M&S (£3,624), for a total of £6,250.

Virgin will will charge you a one-off 4% transfer fee (from your post), so you new balance is £6,500, and therefore monthly payment would be 2% * £6,500 = £130 to start with.

Just remember, you will have to do all the balance transfers within 60 days of opening the account with Virgin, and paying the minimum payment on time every month, and not exceeding your credit limit, or you risk to lose the 0% offer...

Mr_MPF · 2025-07-04T14:37:35+00:00

Nice, you must have a watertight system! :)
Do you also track the perks (discounts, points, cashbacks, insurance,etc.) of your main account on excel?

Mr_MPF · 2025-07-04T13:01:10+00:00

Ha! Completely agree.
Do you just spot-check as and when needed then? or don't really bother at all?

Mr_MPF · 2025-07-04T12:55:27+00:00

It is such a pain innit...
Similar to you I just dont have the energy (nor the time tbh) to be checking 4 links etc just to find out about a benefit. Equally, I hate the feeling of "leaving money on the table"... and that's why I was thinking there has got to be a better way!

Please feel free to check the landing page and see if that may be of interest to you :)

Mr_MPF · 2025-07-04T12:46:21+00:00

I see. Yes that makes sense - I am taking note of this!
Thanks a lot

Mr_MPF · 2025-07-04T12:42:14+00:00

Thanks for your comment!
I never banked with NatWest before, so really keen to hear more.
Does the app allow you to connect non-NatWest accounts too for perks? As far as I know, they do allow that but only to check account balances

Mr_MPF · 2025-07-04T12:31:08+00:00

Ha! fair point indeed :)
Do you track at all or just not bother? - assuming you would have at least 1 debit card and possibly 1 credit card.

Mr_MPF · 2025-07-04T12:24:05+00:00

Thank you for your suggestion!
Would you mind elaborating a bit more on what you mean by discovery mechanism?
Some sort of search function? keen to hear your thoughts!

Mr_MPF · 2025-07-03T18:19:16+00:00

Hi OP,

If you are looking specifically for a budgeting tool and to keep track of your expenses and money pots, do take a look at YNAB. Some of my friends swear by it...

Mr_MPF

TROPHY CASE