
☰What’s in this guide10 sectionsShowHide
- 1Best Way to Earn Cashback Towards Your Mortgage
- 2How Sprive Mortgage Cashback Works
- 3Can You Get Cashback Directly on Your Mortgage Payment?
- 4What About Making Mortgage Overpayments With a Cashback Card?
- 5Could Zilch Earn Cashback on a Mortgage Payment?
- 6The Better Strategy: Earn Cashback Elsewhere and Put It Towards Your Mortgage
- 7Other Ways to Earn Money Towards Your Mortgage
- 8Example: £25 a Month Towards Your Mortgage
- 9Is Sprive Worth Using?
- 10Start Earning Cashback Towards Your Mortgage
Your mortgage is probably one of your biggest monthly expenses, so is there any way to earn cashback from it?
Yes — but not usually by earning cashback directly on the mortgage payment itself.
Most UK mortgage payments are collected by Direct Debit, and lenders generally don't let you simply pay your monthly mortgage using a cashback debit or credit card.
However, there are still ways to effectively earn cashback towards your mortgage. Our favourite option is Sprive, which lets you earn cashback on everyday spending and automatically put those rewards towards your mortgage.
Best Way to Earn Cashback Towards Your Mortgage
SpriveBest OverallHow Sprive Mortgage Cashback Works
Sprive connects to your mortgage and gives you additional ways to put money towards it.
One of the easiest is shopping cashback.
You'll find cashback offers and discounted gift cards for retailers inside the Sprive app. If you're going to spend with one of those retailers anyway, you can go through Sprive and earn a reward.
That cashback can then be put towards your mortgage.
For example, if you were going to spend £100 with a retailer and Sprive was offering 4% cashback, you'd earn £4 towards your mortgage.
Do this regularly across groceries, shopping and other everyday spending and the cashback can start adding up.
Get an extra £5 to start
New users can currently get a £5 Sprive reward through My Side Gig.
- Join Sprive here and use code SIDEGIG.
- Download the Sprive app and complete the setup process.
- Browse the cashback offers and gift cards available in the app.
- Make your first qualifying shop through Sprive.
- Your £5 reward will be added once you've completed the qualifying purchase.
Can You Get Cashback Directly on Your Mortgage Payment?
This is where things get more difficult.
Mortgage payments are normally taken by Direct Debit from your bank account, rather than processed as ordinary debit-card purchases.
That means you generally can't just put your £800, £1,000 or £1,500 monthly mortgage payment onto a cashback card and collect the usual card cashback.
Some lenders allow debit-card payments or mortgage overpayments, but that doesn't automatically mean cashback will be paid by your card provider.
Financial transactions, debt repayments and similar payments are commonly excluded from cashback programmes, so you should never assume you'll earn cashback simply because your lender accepts a debit card.
What About Making Mortgage Overpayments With a Cashback Card?
This is an interesting potential route, but we'd treat it as a bonus rather than a reliable cashback strategy.
Some mortgage lenders allow you to make one-off overpayments using a debit card.
If yours does, you might wonder whether you could use something like a cashback debit card to make the payment and earn cashback.
The problem is that cashback depends on how the transaction is classified by the card provider.
Mortgage and financial-service payments may be excluded from cashback, even where the payment itself successfully goes through.
So before making a large overpayment purely for cashback, check:
- whether your mortgage lender accepts debit-card overpayments;
- whether your cashback provider excludes mortgage, loan or financial-service payments;
- whether there are any fees involved; and
- your mortgage's overpayment allowance.
Don't make an unnecessary mortgage overpayment purely to test a cashback card unless you're happy for that money to remain against your mortgage.
Could Zilch Earn Cashback on a Mortgage Payment?
Zilch can be useful for earning cashback on normal spending, but we wouldn't rely on it for mortgage repayments.
Even if you can find a way of making a mortgage payment or overpayment by card, that doesn't necessarily make the transaction eligible for Zilch cashback.
Eligibility ultimately depends on the transaction and Zilch's current cashback exclusions.
It's therefore much safer to use Zilch for eligible everyday purchases and treat the cashback as money you've effectively saved, rather than trying to route your mortgage payment itself through Zilch.
The Better Strategy: Earn Cashback Elsewhere and Put It Towards Your Mortgage
This is why we think Sprive is the better approach.
Instead of trying to force a mortgage payment through a cashback card, earn cashback from purchases you're already making.
Suppose you earn:
£10 per month → £120 per year
£25 per month → £300 per year
£50 per month → £600 per year
Put those rewards towards your mortgage and you're effectively turning normal household spending into mortgage overpayments.
And because mortgage interest is calculated on what you owe, reducing the balance earlier can potentially save additional interest over the remaining mortgage term.
Other Ways to Earn Money Towards Your Mortgage
Sprive doesn't have to be the only strategy.
You could combine it with cashback and rewards earned elsewhere, then use the money saved to make additional mortgage overpayments.
For example, you could use:
Cashback cards — earn cashback on normal card spending.
Cashback sites — go through sites such as TopCashback or Quidco before shopping online.
Bank rewards — some current accounts offer monthly rewards or cashback.
Gift card cashback — buy discounted or cashback-earning gift cards before making purchases you'd have made anyway.
Bank switching bonuses — occasional switching offers can pay £100–£200+ at a time, which could be put towards your mortgage.
The important distinction is that you're earning cashback from your other spending and using it against your mortgage, rather than necessarily earning cashback on the mortgage transaction itself.
Example: £25 a Month Towards Your Mortgage
Imagine your normal shopping generates an average of £25 per month in cashback.
That's:
£300 per year
Over five years, that's:
£1,500
And that's before considering the mortgage interest you could potentially avoid by reducing your balance earlier.
You haven't had to find another £1,500 from your salary — you've redirected rewards generated from spending you were already doing.
Is Sprive Worth Using?
If you have a mortgage, we think Sprive is one of the more interesting cashback apps because the reward has a clear purpose.
You're not going to pay off your mortgage with cashback alone, but even relatively small amounts can add up over several years.
The biggest advantage is that you can earn rewards from spending you were going to do anyway and put them towards reducing your mortgage.
New users can also currently get £5 through My Side Gig after completing their first qualifying Sprive shop.
Start Earning Cashback Towards Your Mortgage
If you're looking for the simplest place to start, we'd go with Sprive.
It doesn't require you to change how your lender collects your normal mortgage payment. Instead, you earn cashback through everyday spending and use those rewards to help reduce your mortgage.
New users joining through My Side Gig can currently get an additional £5 reward after their first qualifying shop.
Cashback rates, retailer offers and eligibility can change. Check the latest terms in the relevant app before making a purchase. Mortgage overpayments may also be subject to limits or early repayment charges depending on your mortgage.
Frequently asked questions
Can I earn cashback on my mortgage payments?
Usually not directly. Mortgage payments are generally collected by Direct Debit and don't qualify as normal cashback card purchases. The easier option is to earn cashback elsewhere and put those rewards towards your mortgage.
What's the best cashback app for mortgage holders?
Our top pick is Sprive because it's specifically designed around mortgages and allows cashback earned through shopping to be put towards your mortgage.
Can I pay my mortgage with a cashback debit card?
It depends on your lender, but most regular mortgage payments are made by Direct Debit. Even where debit-card payments or overpayments are available, your card provider may exclude mortgage or financial transactions from cashback.
Can I make mortgage overpayments by debit card?
Some lenders allow debit-card overpayments. Check directly with your lender, including any annual overpayment limits that apply to your mortgage.
Can I use Zilch to earn cashback on my mortgage?
We wouldn't rely on it. Mortgage and financial transactions may not qualify for cashback. Zilch is better used for eligible everyday purchases, with the resulting savings then put towards your mortgage if you wish.
Does mortgage cashback really make a difference?
Small amounts can add up. £25 per month is £300 per year and £1,500 over five years, before considering any mortgage interest potentially saved by reducing your outstanding balance sooner.