Tips & tricks

Small habits, bigger eBucks.

Field-tested moves from the community, sense-checked against the current rules.

1. 01

   Stack the free points before buying anything

   Most of Level 5 can be built from points that cost nothing: view Track My Rewards, touch nav» Money (budget + keep credit status green), use nav» Home once a quarter, pay 80%+ on your Virtual Card, link a child's FNBy, and meet your income deposit + 10 debit transactions. Only reach for paid levers (extra savings, TFSA, products) if you're still short.

2. 02

   Aim past the line, not exactly on it

   Point allocations glitch and products occasionally don't register. If Level 5 needs 11,000 (Private) or 9,500 (Premier), aim a thousand or so over it so one missed allocation doesn't drop you a level.

3. 03

   The 10 debit transactions is the silent Level-5 killer

   The big income-deposit points need a qualifying deposit AND at least 10 debit transactions off your account. People who route everything through one card miss it by a few. Card swipes, debit orders, PayShap, eWallet sends and prepaid buys all count, own-account transfers don't. There's no in-app counter, so count manually.

4. 04

   Default to the Virtual Card, keep the physical as backup

   Physical-card spend earns a flat ~0.5% and eats into the 80% Virtual-Card requirement. Add your Virtual Card to Apple/Google/Samsung Wallet or use Scan to Pay. Tip: a POS tap is usually capped near R5,000, split larger amounts or use Scan to Pay.

5. 05

   It's the clearing date that decides the month

   A transaction counts for the month it CLEARS, not the day you swipe. Card and bill payments can take a few days to clear, so do month-end top-ups a day or two early, not on the 31st.

6. 06

   The level you END a month on pays that month's earn

   Your behaviour in a month sets the level calculated at the start of the next month, and that's the rate your partner earn for that month is paid at (around the 15th). Exception: Smart Spend pays at your current level when it runs. So reach Level 5 by month-end to bank that month's earn at L5.

7. 07

   Pay fuel at the Engen forecourt, not the shop

   Only forecourt (pump) payments earn the fuel benefit, QuickShop/Ultra City purchases don't. Load your car on nav» Car → My Garage and pay with your Virtual Card. The base earn scales by level up to R4/litre at L5; the extra +R2 (WesBank finance) and +R2 (FNB car insurance) need those products.

8. 08

   Turn EFT-type bills into earning card spend

   Paying rates, electricity or DStv via an EasyPay/Pay@ number at a Checkers/PnP till or the Clicks app with your Virtual Card converts an EFT-style payment into qualifying card spend, earning Smart Spend (and the partner % within cap). Clicks can take 3–5 days to clear, so mind month-end timing.

9. 09

   Watch refunds, they often land on the physical card

   Merchants frequently refund to the physical card number even when you paid on a Virtual Card, which can claw back earn at the lower rate and dent that month's Smart Spend. Ask for the reversal to the same card, and avoid big returns right at month-end.

10. 10

    A linked spouse does NOT inherit your Level 5

    Linking a spouse earns you the family points and gives them spousal pricing, but they're scored on their OWN behaviour for their OWN level. Only eBucks Travel discounts flow through. (Front-line staff sometimes get this wrong.)

11. 11

    If points go missing, don't panic, check the website, then escalate

    The app's Track My Rewards is known to display wrong totals while the website calculator is correct. Wait for the monthly run, compare against the website, then log a query with proof, members routinely get points back-dated once they escalate.

12. 12

    You don't need a home loan for the quarterly points

    The nav» Home points just need you to manage your property, or use one of the services under the nav» Home tab, once a quarter. No FNB home loan is required. The quarters run Jul–Sep, Oct–Dec, Jan–Mar and Apr–Jun, so do it once in each. The separate, larger home-loan points only apply if you actually hold FNB or Islamic property finance with a debit or stop order in place.

13. 13

    On the Buy tab, spread across three categories

    These points need 3 or more purchases across at least 3 different categories, Electricity, Airtime & Bundles, and Vouchers, with a combined minimum spend (R500 on Private Clients, lower on Premier). Buying a lot of one category doesn't qualify. Two catches: paying with eBucks doesn't count toward the minimum, and retail vouchers are excluded from the Vouchers category.

14. 14

    Offshore: it's the lowest daily balance that counts

    The Global Account (≥2,500 USD/GBP/EUR/AUD/CAD) and Channel Islands (≥25,000) points need that minimum held every single day of the month, it's the lowest daily balance, not an average, so one dip below the line on any day forfeits the month's points. Money only counts once it has cleared, so fund it a few days early and don't draw it down mid-month.