So I signed up for Zilch Plus, and I could get a free Zilch physical card. I call it the Zilch green card. However, now that I’ve had it a couple of weeks, there are setbacks with the card and they shouldn’t have brought out the physical card because it’s not running perfectly. I’ve had it for two or three weeks and have had two declined transactions with the contactless Zilch physical card, to which it then asks you to insert it for chip and PIN. That’s where the problems start.
Earn a Minimum 3% When You Enable Your Card In-Store and Pay Now
If you’re a regular Zilch user, then you will know the ins and outs of the Zilch app. You’ll know how to enable your card online or in-store. I’m sure that Zilch is just trying to make it easier for users when they shop in-store, rather than having to open their wallet to make the contactless payments, but there are problems when the contactless payment declines and you are asked to make payment through your chip and pin.
Zilch Physical Card and Declined Transactions
I’ve had two declined transactions now when using my Zilch physical card, even though it has then gone through on chip and pin. However, you must make sure that you enable your card again through the Zilch app otherwise, you will only earn 0.5% in Zilch rewards. This makes it very offputting, because if you are not at self-checkout, you have the time to find your brand in-store on the Zilch app, and enable your card again just to get your minimum 3% in Zilch rewards. But if you are at the checkout and there are people in the queue, and you get nervous like me, you may feel under pressure and just make payment without enabling your card again in-store.
So to confirm: If you use your Zilch physical card through contactless and it doesn’t go through, but you then make the same payment through chip and pin, the payment will only earn 0.5%. I don’t know why this happens, but it’s obviously a huge problem that Zilch has not fixed before bringing out this physical card.
The cost of Zilch Plus
The monthly cost of Zilch Plus is £3.99, but you can earn up to 6% in Zilch rewards either online or in-store. However, there are problems I have encountered when I have used the green card in-store. It’s super when the card works first time and you get your minimum 3% Zilch rewards, for example at supermarkets. But when payments don’t go through in contactless payment, it automatically turns off the original pay now setting on the Zilch app, and if you make the same payment in-store through chip and pain, you will only earn 0.5% in Zilch rewards. If payments continue to get declined and you are only making £0.30 in Zilch rewards rather than £1.80, it’s not worth the monthly price of Zilch Plus, and Zilch needs to factor this in.
Wrong Zilch Points and Customer Service
When I put a complaint in about my card being declined contactless at a Co-op supermarket after I had enabled my card, and then made chip and pin, I only earned £0.06 in Zilch rewards, rather than the £0.32 I should have received. Customer service only gave me £0.12 points, still not enough. Kind of pisses me off because we are paying for a service that doesn’t even work perfectly.
In Conclusion
Zilch Plus sounds great when you can earn up to 6% on your favourite online and shops in-store, and when it works first time – GREAT, but it doesn’t always work and that’s where the problem starts because you need to be earning the minimum 3% on your purchases whether in-store or online (online has less problems) otherwise it’s not worth the £3.99 monthly fee. The last thing we want to be doing is to be having to put complaints in about receiving the wrong Zilch rewards. It’s not fair to regular users of Zilch, and Zilch needs to fix this immediately so that the Zilch physical card NEVER declines in-store when there is money in the account. This has happened to me twice now, and even today I shopped again at the co-op, enabled my card in-store, spent £1.88 and received absolutely no points at all.
In my opinion, the Zilch physical card needs to be scrapped because it’s more of an inconvenience than a helpful tool. From now on, I’ll be enabling my card for in-store purchases, but using my online wallet and not the Zilch physical card because it’s causing too many inconveniences, and I’m sure it’s not just happening to me.
Find out how to earn a free fiver with Zilch.
What is your experience with the Zilch Plus and the Zilch physical card? Have you had transactions problems and incorrect Zilch rewards? Please comment below.