Egg launches new rewards credit card and cash back superstore

Typical 10%* cash back available at over 1,500 retailers

Purchase protection and internet delivery guarantee cover as standard

Egg today launches a new rewards credit card which gives consumers a typical 10% cash back on purchases from over 1,500 retailers via the new Egg Cash Back Superstore, which is powered by the online business Quidco. 

The Egg Visa Card provides offers at top online merchants including supermarkets, high street retailers, specialist retailers, hotels and travel agents for both new and existing customers, with no annual fee. New customers can also benefit from 0% interest on new purchases until 1 September 2010.

Harald Schneider, Head of Egg Cards said: “Egg has always had the internet in its DNA and we wanted to create a card that is relevant, rewarding and reassuring to everyone that shops online.  

“With people increasingly tightening their belts and looking for the best deals, we believe the Egg Visa Card provides unbeatable offers; and as the reward is cash not points it means customers can clearly see what they are saving whilst they spend.”

The card also provides reassurance to customers when shopping online with purchase protection and internet delivery guarantee insurances as standard.  There is also 0% on balance transfers until 1 August 2011.

Mr Schneider said: “The Egg Visa Card is not just about rewards, with 67% of the population now shopping online the comprehensive protection will give customers peace of mind.  Plus Egg is known for its usability so everything is easy to find in one place."

“This is a great time for Egg.  With both our new rewards card and our current top three savings rate in the market we are constantly exploring ways we can benefit and reward customers looking to make good financial decisions.”

All information regarding the card and links to the benefits available is accessible via the Egg website at www.egg.com.   Egg Visa will give you access to Egg Money Manager, Egg’s account aggregator service which allows customers to access all of their online accounts in one place.

For more information on Egg or its products please visit www.egg.com

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For further information please contact:

Vanessa Wood                                    Teresa Broughton                  

020 7508 8664                                    020 7508 7355

Vanessa.lucy.wood@citi.com                        teresa.broughton@citi.com

Chantal Heckford                               Livia Murphy

020 7294 3630                                    020 7294 3693

chantalh@lansons.com                      liviam@lansons.com

Quidco

Nicola Frame

020 7928 4640 x227

n.frame@quidco.com

Notes to editors:

The new Egg Visa Card offers:

·         Egg Cash Back Store – offers at over 1,500 online retailers

·         17.9% APR typical variable

• Insurances:
  •  Purchase Protection protects customers goods for 90 days from the date of purchase against theft or accidental damage
  • Internet Delivery Guarantee covers items purchased online against theft or loss prior to receiving them
  • *Typical 10% is the mean of all the currently available discounts at Quidco divided by 1,500.

·         0% interest on balance transfers – on transfers until 1 August 2011 (conditions and 3% fee apply)

·         0% interest on new purchases until 1 September 2010

How does The Egg Cash Back Store work?

Only Egg Card customers can access the Egg Cash Back Store. Customers can browse over 1,500 different retailer offers using a variety of search tools. Once they see an offer that fits with their purchase needs they simply select the retailer, review the offer details and click the link to the retailers website. Once in the retailers site the customer browses as they would do normally, and if they subsequently make a purchase, cash back is accrued at the rate detailed in the offer. Customers can check the progress of their cash back earnings via the Egg Cash Back Store website. Each month, cash back that has been paid by the retailer is credited to a bank account of the customer’s choice

About Egg

Egg is a UK online bank providing banking, credit cards and insurance through its internet site and other distribution channels. To find out more visit www.egg.com

About Citi

Citi, the leading global financial services company, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 140 countries. Through Citicorp and Citi Holdings, Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com. 

About Quidco

Quidco was founded in 2005 with a mission to help people save money and is the UK’s leading cashback and voucher website. The site has more than 840,000 members who will save a total of £35m this year.

The Consumer Money Awards, which are organised by The Daily Mirror and financial data experts Moneyfacts, were introduced to let consumers "reward the good guys". Over 40,000 people voted in the online poll held in September. Ordinary consumers were asked to vote for the banks and building societies that they thought were doing a good job, despite the current economic climate.

In the "Best Online Savings" category, customers were asked to vote for the best all-round online account based on product value and charging structures that were fair and transparent. The criteria considered included account availability, ease of use, additional terms and services and applicable introductory offers.

Sharon Maguire, Head of Egg’s Retail Banking and Wealth Management says: "We're thrilled with this award which is a reflection of all the hard work that we've been putting in to our savings products this year.”

Egg has been a leader in the online banking field, from borrowing and saving to insurance, because we proudly offer value for money and great service, which has made us popular with savers, particularly for our savings accounts and Fixed Rate Bonds. This success has come about through helping customers to understand and manage their money more effectively.

Mums come out top in kids’ saving survey

Over half of UK kids (51%) think they’ll be a millionaire one day according to a survey of 3,000 six to ten-year-olds by Tesco Savings.

The recession has clearly not put a damper on children’s optimism about their financial futures.  Boys remain the more confident: while millionaires account for only for 0.5% of the UK adult population*, 57% of boys aged six to ten expect to reach millionaire status one day.

This same financial optimism among UK kids stretches into other areas, with 46% thinking they can do a better job at managing the family finances than their parents. They also proved to have a good grasp of their parents’ savings habits.

The kids were almost spot-on in guessing that 40% of adults are currently saving for their holiday, 20% are saving to make home improvements and 17% for a new car. However, 5% will certainly be disappointed to hear that their parents aren’t putting their hard earned cash aside for their children’s inheritance and a further 8% that their parents aren’t saving for computer games.

When asked about their parents financial habits, mums come out top, with only a third rating dad as better at managing money. The majority would also opt for their mum to save their money on their behalf, while only a third would trust dad to look after their money for them.

Asked what their thought their parents would do with a £1,000 windfall, over a third believe they’d spend it on a holiday – by far the most popular response. However, the recession has clearly had a greater impact on adults, with over half saying that they’d save it or use it to pay off debts.

Jeremy Sutton, Head of Tesco Savings, says, “Our kids are certainly confident about their future and in their own understanding of family finances. Good financial habits are important to learn at a young age and, while their future ambitions may seem unrealistic,  it is impressive to see how well even very young children understand what their parents are saving for. In fact, it was the older age groups which over-estimated how much their parents were saving for their future inheritance and education.”

The Tesco Internet Saver account lets customers manage their account online and benefit from our highest savings rate of up to 3.00% Gross AER (variable), which includes a 1.75% bonus interest for 12 months on balances up to £100,000. Tesco Instant Access Savings customers can manage their savings online, by phone and can make deposits and withdrawals as they shop at over 550 Tesco stores, taking advantage of free parking and long opening hours. Both accounts offer instant access with no restrictions on the number of withdrawals.

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*242,000 in May 2009, according to The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR).
For further information, please contact:
Matthew Dransfield, Tesco Bank, Tel: 0131 479 1346
Victoria Lomax, Tesco Bank, Tel: 0131 479 1345


Tesco Bank

• Tesco Bank is the UK's largest supermarket bank. Since our launch in 1997, we have grown to have six million customer accounts across 28 financial products and services.
• Our principal activities are: general insurance - motor, home, pet and travel; credit cards and personal loans; personal savings; Tesco Compare and a network of cash machines (ATMs).
• We sell our products through multiple channels including in-store, by telephone and online.
• Tesco Bank is fully-owned by Tesco plc.
• Tesco Bank is the trading name of Tesco Personal Finance plc, Registered in Scotland No. 173199.

Registered Address: Interpoint Building, 22 Haymarket Yards, Edinburgh, EH12 5BH

Tesco Internet Saver

• Competitive rate of interest – up to 3.00% Gross / AER (variable) (includes fixed 1.75% bonus interest on balances up to £100,000 for 12 months. Balances above £100,000 earn the standard underlying rate of 1.25% Gross / AER (variable)).
• Following the end of the bonus period the rate reverts to the standard underlying rate, currently 1.25% Gross / AER (variable).
• The bonus rate is limited to one account per customer.
• Instant access to funds (Please Note: for security reasons there are daily limits on the amounts that can be withdrawn from your savings account.)
• Minimum opening balance of just £1
• Online Banking - Once customers have registered for Online Banking, they can check their account balance 24 hours a day 7 days a week online.

Tesco Instant Access Savings

• Tiered rates of interest up to 1.25% Gross/AER (variable).
• Instant access to your funds (Please Note: for security reasons there are daily limits on the amounts that can be withdrawn.)
• Customers can deposit cash at their local Tesco and pay in cheques at over 550 Tesco stores to top up their savings (excluding Tesco Express and petrol filling stations)
• Customers can take money out at their local Tesco store (except Tesco Express and petrol filling stations) and free at a Tesco ATM or LINK cash machine.
• Telephone Banking - Once customers have registered for Telephone Banking, they are able to check their balance 24 hours a day 7 days a week by calling 0800 7838001, and make payments or change their details by calling 08457 104010 between 8am and 10pm Monday - Friday, and 9am - 5pm on weekends
• Online Banking - Once they have registered for Online Banking, customers can check their account balance 24 hours a day 7 days a week online.