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MASSIVE BEST-BUY: The top way to spend at home & abroad
New. Get PAID when you spend, with an unlimited 1% cashback, plus near-perfect exchange rates abroad
The first longer-lasting non-Amex fee-free 1% cashback card launched for three years

Many people think of credit cards as debt cards. That's one of their functions, true. Yet pay the card off IN FULL each month (preferably by Direct Debit) and you neuter its interest-charging ability, and it becomes just 'a way to pay'. The new Lloyds Ultra Visa credit card is a stonking best-buy if you do that, as done right there's no interest and you're paid each time you spend. It's FEE-FREE and available to new & existing Lloyds customers. The link goes via our eligibility calc, so you can see if you're likely to be accepted (protecting your credit score in case it's not worth you bothering). Here are the three reasons it's so strong...

1. Earn 1% cashback on spending for a year. Pay for something on the card and you'll get 1% cashback. Crucially, unlike with most other cards, Lloyds Ultra cashback isn't capped, so use it for all your normal everyday spending and any planned one-offs (it does have the standard exclusions such as gambling, foreign currency and online trading). This is decent extra cash: £1,000/mth of family spending would earn you £120/yr cashback (paid each Jan). Of course, you must pay it off IN FULL each month to avoid the 12.9% rep APR interest.
   
   No other non-Amex cards are close (more on Amex below). The Chase debit card was, but now the cashback's only on UK grocery, transport & fuel spends. And Virgin's credit card offers 1%, but only for 3mths. After a year, Lloyds' cashback falls to 0.25%, so it'll likely be beatable then, so remember to check that.
   
   
2. Earn 1% cashback on overseas spending too, and get near-perfect exchange rates. The card's a specialist overseas card so, unlike most cards, it doesn't add 3% on to the exchange rate, meaning spend on it abroad and you get the same near-perfect rate in every country as the bank does. Quite a few other cards do this too (see top overseas cards), but none gives you such good cashback, so combined it's the new top pick.
   
   The only negative is you're charged interest on ATM withdrawals even if you repay IN FULL (spending abroad is interest-free if fully repaid), so it's far better to spend on the card abroad, not withdraw cash.
   
   
3. It has hugely powerful Section 75 protection. As it's a credit not a debit card, you get valuable Section 75 protection on all spending, again both UK and abroad, on top of the normal chargeback all cards have. This means buy something costing £100 to £30,000 and pay for any of it (even 1p) on the card and the card company is jointly liable with the retailer for the entire amount if anything goes wrong.

Shorter-term bigger American Express (Amex) cashback, if you've a lot of spending coming.
Amex cards tend to pay higher cashback, as they charge retailers more, but for that same reason they're less widely accepted - most big stores take them yet many independents don't. The Amex Cashback Everyday fee-free credit card gives an unbeatable 5% cashback, currently boosted to 5mths, max £125 (usually it's 3mths, max £100). The cashback's paid after a year, but ONLY if you spend £3,000+/yr on it. After the five months, it's a decent 0.5% cashback up to £10,000/yr spending, and 1% above. Do pay it off IN FULL each month or it's 29.7% rep APR interest. See our full Amex Everyday review.

When Martin says pay off IN FULL, he means IN FULL, not nearly in full.
There's a reason it's Martin's catchphrase. With £1,000 spending debt on a credit card, if you clear the whole lot in a month, there's no interest. Yet pay off £999.99, and you'll usually pay interest on the whole £1,000, not just the 1p left.

Are you on minimum wage? Whether paid hourly or on salary, check you're not one of 100,000s being underpaid!

Even big names, eg, Pizza Express, Lidl, British Airways and Halfords, have got it wrong

The minimum wage has increased by 50% for some over the past three years - with a full-time worker on it now typically getting £22,000+/yr. Yet the Low Pay Commission still estimates 370,000+ were underpaid in April 2024 (the most recent figures), so it's crucial to know your rights. Full info in our Minimum wage: Are you being paid enough? guide, but let's briefly run through what you need to know.

How you may've been underpaid on or near minimum wage. Scan through our summary of the major problems here, and if any may apply to you, read the full info in our Minimum wage: Are you being paid enough? guide.

1. Most common breach #1: UNIFORM, TOOLS, SAFETY & CLOTHING. If you must buy them, the cost shouldn't take what you get below the equivalent minimum wage over your pay period (eg, over a month, if paid monthly).
2. Most common breach #2: YOU SHOULD BE PAID FOR ALL WORKING TIME. Eg, overtime, security checks, handover meetings, opening up, being on call & more. If you get less than minimum wage once these are factored in, you're owed.
3. CAN'T 'TOP UP' YOUR INCOME WITH TIPS OR OVERTIME. These must be on top of minimum wage.
4. COMMISSION ONLY? Employers must top up with a salary to meet the minimum wage if you don't earn it.
5. ACCOMMODATION COSTS? Pay can only be reduced by a maximum £74.62/wk below minimum wage if your employer provides accommodation. This includes charges such as rent, gas, electricity, furniture and laundry.
6. NOT A 'REAL' APPRENTICESHIP. 18+ and apprenticeship has no structured training? You may not count as an apprentice therefore it should pay you more - it can't have it both ways. 
7. ENSURE YOU GET THE MINIMUM WAGE RISES. It should increase every April, plus it should increase on your 18th and 21st birthdays, taking effect in your first full pay period after the change.

If you think you aren't (or weren't based on old rates) paid enough under these rules, you've a legal right to be paid more, and to back pay. It can be simple to do - though isn't always - and you can usually remain anonymous when complaining, as explained in how to claim back underpaid minimum wage.

Don't think: 'I work for a big firm, so it must be correct.' More than 500 companies - including big names such as Pizza Express, Lidl, British Airways and Halfords - were recently named by the Government in a 2025 list of firms that failed to correctly pay their employees before 2023. Some explained why and spoke about complexities, but even so, it shows no matter the company or employment agency, don't assume it got it right...

You're also likely entitled to an automatic pension (and your employer must contribute). All employers, big and small, must automatically opt in employees aged 22 to 66 who earn over £10,000/yr to a pension, and the employers must contribute to it - see Martin's don't miss out on a hidden pay rise blog. If you're younger, older or earn less, then as long as you earn over £6,240/yr then you can ask to be opted in, and your employer must still add to it - see Martin's Under 22? How to get a hidden pay rise blog on that.