The three components of almost any offer
First, a trigger event: usually account approval, though sometimes first card use or first deposit. Second, a qualifying window: a fixed number of days from the trigger during which you must hit a spend or deposit target. Third, a payment schedule: a further delay, often measured in weeks, before the reward actually lands, sometimes with a holding requirement in between.
Qualifying card spend, explained
Card spend requirements usually mean genuine card purchase transactions processed through the network — point of sale, online checkout, in-app payments — within the stated window and above the stated cumulative total. They typically exclude transfers, standing orders, cash withdrawals and, in many cases, refunded transactions netted back out. Read the definition on the specific campaign's terms rather than assuming it matches a different provider's rules.
Holding requirements on savings-linked stages
Where part of a reward is tied to a savings product, the provider is asking you to deposit a set amount within a window and then leave it in place for a further period — commonly around 30 days — before that stage is confirmed. Withdrawing early, even partially, usually breaks the condition regardless of your reason for doing so.
Why payment comes later than qualification
Providers generally validate that conditions were met before releasing a reward, which takes processing time on top of the qualifying window itself. A realistic expectation is weeks rather than days between meeting a condition and being paid, and campaigns are entitled to run standard fraud and eligibility checks in that period.
The exclusions that cause the most missed offers
- Applying through the wrong link or channel, so the referral never tracked in the first place.
- Being classed as an existing or returning customer under the provider's own definition.
- Card spend that technically happened but doesn't count under the campaign's definition of qualifying transactions.
- Meeting a deposit target in instalments rather than within the stated window.
- Closing or downgrading the account before a holding period completes.
A sane way to track your own progress
Write down the date you were approved, the exact wording of the qualifying condition, the deadline it implies, and the amount you still need to spend or deposit. Check it against your actual transactions rather than trusting your memory of what you've spent. Our REFER200-specific tools do this calculation for Tide's campaign if that's the offer you're working through.
A worked-through decision checklist for tracking any offer
- Note the exact trigger date (usually account approval, not application submission).
- Note the qualifying window length and calculate the actual deadline date.
- Note the precise definition of qualifying spend or deposit used by that specific campaign.
- Note any holding period required after the qualifying window closes.
- Note the stated payment timeline, and treat it as an estimate rather than a guarantee.
Comparison: card-spend stage versus savings-deposit stage
As a rough comparison: a card-spend stage usually asks for a modest, achievable total (in REFER200's case, £100) within a short window, and suits almost any active business, since it can be met through routine purchases. A savings-deposit stage asks for a larger sum (£5,000 in REFER200's case) to be parked and left untouched for a holding period, which suits a business with genuine spare cash far more than one relying on every pound of working capital. Neither stage is inherently better; which one is realistic depends entirely on your own cash position.
Honest caveat on timing expectations
Providers are entitled to run standard verification and anti-fraud checks before releasing any reward, and these do not run to a fixed public schedule. If a stated payment window has passed, that is worth raising with the provider directly rather than assuming it against this site's description of how such mechanics generally work.