How to hit eBucks Reward Level 5 under new rules — without spending an extra cent

With the recent changes to FNB’s eBucks rules, it is possible to reach the rewards programme’s highest earning level without spending an extra cent on FNB or third-party products.

FNB revises its eBucks programme’s earn rules and rewards on an annual basis.

The latest amendments to the programme kick in from 1 August 2023 and will be valid until 31 July 2024.

eBucks’ long list of well-known partners has made it one of the most sought-after and highly-used banking rewards programmes.

eBucks CEO Johan Moolman recently told MyBroadband that 90–95% of eBucks was spent within a month of being allocated to FNB clients.

In the 23 years since launching, eBucks has allocated over R20 billion in rewards, around a fifth of which was paid out in the last two years.

eBucks can be spent at over 32 physical and online stores — including FNB’s own eBucks and Travel shops, and third-party grocery stores, clothing outlets, and other

These include Shoprite Checkers, Clicks, iStore, Takealot, Superbalist, Cape Union Mart, Old Khaki, Mr D, Netflorist, and OneDayOnly.

The eBucks earn rate is determined by a user’s Reward Level, which tops out at Level 5.

For Premier customers, Reward Level 5 includes the following:

• 15% back on Shoprite Checkers spend (including Sixty60)
• R4.00 per litre back on Engen fuel purchases (R8.00 per litre with Wesbank car financing and insurance)
• 15% back on Clicks spend
• 15% back on iStore spend
• 2% back on in-store and online purchases from other eBucks partners
• 40% back on Netflix and Spotify subscriptions (with family account with at least two members)
• 100% back on GuardMe subscription
• 15% back on Arc Store
• Up to R600 per month back for all online and in-store spending using a virtual card
• 15% back on FNB short-term comprehensive insurance
• Up to 40% back on FNB Life Insurance products
• 50% on FNB Foreign Exchange fees

The good news for eBucks users in the new rules is a decrease in the points needed to qualify for each Reward Level.

For example, on Premier accounts. Reward Level 1 is the default and applies to customers with 0-3,999 points.

Moving up to Reward Level 2 now requires 4,000 points, 1,500 fewer than before.

Reward Level 3 needs 7,000 points, 3,000 fewer than before, and Reward Level 4 requires 10,000 points, 2,500 fewer than before.

The minimum points for the maximum Reward Level 5 have also been reduced by 3,000 — dropping from 14,000 to 11,000.

However, although the thresholds for each level have gone down, the qualifying criteria have also changed.

That means that some actions which previously contributed several thousand ranking points have been scrapped or had their points significantly lowered.

The table below shows how a customer who was on eBucks Reward Level 5 with the existing rules will be affected by only these changes.

From the above, it would appear that FNB had made it more difficult for this particular customer to reach the highest reward level.

However, further scrutiny of the new criteria showed that it was actually easier to reach Level 5 than before.

That is because there are many new criteria to help the same customer get to Level 5 again, while spending less than he previously did.

FNB will give customers 1,000 Reward Level points for simply logging into or using two partner platforms.

Two of these — eBucks Games and BiB — don’t require the user to pay anything, either, while using Entertainer once a month will give users a discount on food or drinks at a restaurant, or an entertainment experience.

The table below summarises the Reward Level criteria that we believe are the easiest for a Premier customer to achieve without incurring additional monthly costs.

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