What counts as Tide card spend
The £75 portion of REFER200 needs £100 of Tide card transactions in your first 30 days. Here's what counts, what doesn't, and how to hit it without inflating costs.
What typically counts
- Contactless and chip-and-PIN purchases in shops.
- Online card payments with the Tide card (subscriptions, suppliers, ads).
- Apple Pay / Google Pay tokens of the Tide card.
- Recurring card-on-file charges from genuine merchants.
What typically doesn't count
- ATM cash withdrawals.
- Bank transfers and Faster Payments.
- Transfers between your own Tide accounts.
- Refunded transactions (net spend is what counts).
- Failed or reversed transactions.
Worked examples
- £60 supplier invoice + £45 software subscription = £105 qualifying. You meet the £100 condition.
- £120 Tide ATM withdrawal = £0 qualifying. ATM withdrawals don't count.
- £110 supplier payment that was later refunded £30 = £80 net qualifying. You'd need another £20 of card spend.
Practical ways to hit £100 quickly
- Pay one month of an existing software subscription on the Tide card.
- Use Tide for fuel, parking, or stationery for the first month.
- Switch a small recurring supplier to the Tide card temporarily.
Don't manufacture spend you wouldn't otherwise make — £100 of card use is small enough that real business activity will usually cover it. Use the offer calculator to project your reward.
Last updated 16 June 2026 · Offer last checked 16 June 2026
Frequently asked questions
Does Apple Pay or Google Pay count?+
Yes — they're a token of the underlying Tide card, so the transaction is processed as a Tide card payment.
Do refunds cancel my qualifying spend?+
Yes — net spend is what Tide measures. A refund reduces your qualifying total.
What if I make several small transactions instead of one big one?+
Number of transactions doesn't matter for REFER200 — only total qualifying spend within 30 days.
Independent introducer disclosure: this site is not Tide and is not operated by Tide. If you sign up using our link or the code REFER200, we may receive a referral reward. Tide controls account approval, eligibility and cashback validation. This is not financial advice. Always check the latest Tide terms before applying. Last checked 16 June 2026.