MARKS and Spencer is making a huge change to credit card rewards.

The retailer is axing several lucrative benefits next month, The Sun can reveal.

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The M&S Club Rewards scheme is offered to M&S credit card holders, for a £10 a month fee.

Members can earn extra reward points on their credit card purchases and free M&S vouchers for clothing, home, food and drink.

Club Rewards members also enjoy free next-day delivery, worth £5.99, on every order.

However, M&S will be discontinuing this perk from November 13.

The shake-up will also see customers earn less extra reward points when using their credit cards abroad.

Instead, customers will be issued more M&S vouchers as a replacement.

In an email sent to members today, M&S said: “We’re always listening to our customers and looking for ways to give you more of the things you love at M&S.

“So, from November 13, we’re making a few changes to the benefits you get throughout the year to give you more of what our customers value most.”

“Customers have told us they want more vouchers, so we’re increasing your M&S vouchers from £65 to £120 per year.

“You’ll still earn an extra two rewards points for every £1 spent at M&S on top of any Rewards points you earn on your M&S credit card. You’ll also get 32 hot drink vouchers and a treat for your birthday.”

Currently, customers receive three £15 vouchers and one £20 voucher, totalling £65, to spend in the clothing or home departments, either in-store or online.

However, starting November 13, Club Rewards members will receive £120 worth of M&S vouchers annually.

This includes four £25 vouchers for clothing, home, and beauty, plus two £10 vouchers for use at M&S food halls.

M&S is also ditching the fixed £12 food hall vouchers offered to members on their birthday.

Instead, these shoppers will receive an unspecified gift, which could be a voucher or reward points boost.

An M&S Club Rewards spokesperson told The Sun: “We’re in the process of contacting our existing M&S Club Rewards customers, to give them advance notice that some of their benefits will be changing.”

Is membership still worth it?

Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown, suggests that now is the perfect time to reassess whether these changes will still work for you.

She said: “M&S has ditched free next day delivery for its club rewards customers.

“For online shoppers this will have been a big part of the attraction, because it saved £5.99 on each next day delivery – going a long way to justifying the £10 a month charge.

“You’ll also lose the extra points on spending overseas, although the difference that makes to you will depend on how often you travel and how much you spend.”

The membership fee may still be worthwhile for those who primarily shop at M&S, as members will now receive £120 in M&S vouchers each year. 

However, Sarah added: “You need to be certain you’ll spend these vouchers and that you would have spent this money in M&S anyway.

“You’re effectively swapping £120 to spend anywhere for £120 to spend in specific ways at M&S.

“If you don’t get any other value from the club, you might decide this isn’t a decent trade.”

While shoppers will continue to earn additional reward points for spending on their credit card, it’s vital to consider whether this is the right choice for you.

Sarah said: “It’s only worth it if you have the discipline to take advantage of the benefits and repay on time and in full every month.

“For many people, the potential benefit won’t be worth the risk.”

What are the alternatives?

If you don’t primarily shop at M&S but still wish to earn everyday rewards on your spending, there are plenty of credit and debit card options available.

Many of these specialist reward cards are also fee-free.

Chase’s fee-free current account offers a debit card, which allows for 1% cashback on most spending, and shoppers can earn a maximum of £15 each month.

American Express (Amex) offers two cashback credit cards.

The fee-free Amex Cashback Everyday Credit Card pays newbies 5% cashback on all spending up to £125 during the first five months of card membership.

After this period customers will continue to earn 0.5% on all spending up to £10,000 and then 1% on all spend above this.

However, to take advantage of any of these cashback offers, you’ll need to spend at least £3,000 on the card each year.

The Amex Cashback credit card, which costs £25 a year, offers similar perks but without the minimum annual spend.

Customers are rewarded with 5% back on purchases within the first three months, then 0.75% on the first £10,000 spent and 1.25% on all spending above this.

Existing Santander customers can get ongoing 2% cashback on their spending with the Santander Edge credit card.

This comes with a £3 a month fee but gives customers 2% back on most purchases in the first 12 months and then 1% cashback thereafter up to a maximum of £15 a month.

What is Statutory sick pay? 

Statutory sick pay (SSP) is a legal requirement in the UK which employers must adhere to, it provides financial support to employees when they are unable to work due to illness. If employees are off work for 4 consecutive days, employers must comply with SSP. 

What is the purpose of SSP? 

SSP is crucial to employees as it provides financial security and prevents job loss during illness. Employees will still receive the minimum level of income available whilst they are away sick, meaning they won’t have to worry about their finances or force themselves into the workforce.  

Complying with SSP also creates a healthier workplace for staff where they can reduce the spread of illness and be assured, they have the freedom to recover. This contributes to a more productive and longer-lasting workforce in the long term.  

How much is SSP? 

You will be paid for all the working days you are off sick, except the first 3 working days which are counted as the waiting period. 

If you are eligible, you can be paid £166.75 a week SSP for up to 28 weeks of the year. 

You will be paid by your employer through the same system as your normal weekly or monthly pay. If you have multiple jobs, you may get SSP from each one.  

SSP eligibility  

SSP is available to those working in the UK under a signed contract. Employees are eligible for 28 weeks of SSP, if you have used this amount already, you will not be provided extra.  

You must be ill for at least 3 days or more, this does include non-working days.  

You must inform your employer within their set time or within 7 days if there is no set regulation on this.  

You could be asked to provide an appropriate fit note to show proof of illness. This can include a printed or digital note from the GP, registered nurse, physiotherapist, occupational therapist or pharmacists.  

What if my employer is not providing SSP? 

As an employee, you are protected by law and employers who fail to meet SSP obligations could face penalties. If your employer is not providing Statutory Sick Pay and you believe you are entitled to it, then there are steps you can take.  

First, take a look at the criteria again to confirm you are eligible for SSP, then raise the issue with your employer to ask for an explanation. If they do not resolve this themselves then you can contact HMRC for assisstance. They will investigate the situation and if your employer is in breach of their legal obligations HMRC will help you get the SSP you are owed. 

SSP VS. Company sick pay 

While SSP can provide the minimum level of financial support for those unable to work due to illness, some employers will offer a more generous alternative, company sick pay.  

SSP is regulated by the government and there is a set amount which has to be paid to the employee if the criteria is met. However, company sick pay is a benefit offered by the individual business. This will usually cover the employee’s full salary or a higher percentage of their wages for a longer period than the SSP. The employee could receive their full salary for the first 2 weeks of illness, followed by a reduced percentage for any weeks after. 

This should be outlined in your work contract as company sick pay is an optional scheme set up by the employee.  

Recent updates to SSP 

The BBC have reported that stronger protection for employees surrounding sick pay will be coming into action. There have been calls over the past year to increase the current SSP rate as costs of living increase. This would better support those workers living in periods of sickness without financial support. This would also include those working on a zero-hour contract as the criteria stipulates you must earn at least £123 per week.  

The government is working to improve standards including workers being entitled to SSP from their first day of sickness rather than waiting until the 4th. Additionally, they are aiming to increase the SSP rate dependent on salary. 

Ministers have said this would benefit some nine million workers who have been with their current employer for less than two years.  

Good morning and welcome to US Election Countdown. Today let’s talk about:

• The fight for Latino voters

• Google’s future under a Trump presidency

• Inflation hanging over Harris in Michigan

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are racing to shore up support among Latino voters, a key constituency in the swing states of Arizona and Nevada.

Both candidates will visit the two states — where Latinos make up more than 20 per cent of the population — in the coming days. Harris will take part in a Latino-focused town hall tonight on Univision, while Trump will do the same next week. Latinos make up 15 per cent of the US electorate — double their share in 2000.

The US’s growing Latino demographic was once reliably Democratic, but it has drifted right in recent years. Pollsters say this is a result of voters’ economic concerns and growing disillusionment with the Democratic party’s leadership and policies.

Mark Jones, chair in Latin American studies at Rice University, said Harris was walking a tightrope as she wooed voters in the Midwest and Latino voters in the south-west, especially on immigration, a topic on which she has taken a stance to the right of Biden.

“The difficulty for Harris is she has to avoid any sort of messaging to the Latino community that could be counterproductive among white working-class voters and in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin,” he said.

Earlier this week, the Harris campaign launched an “Hombres for Harris” initiative to court Latino men, who have been attracted to Trump’s strongman rhetoric and economic ideas.

Latino support for the vice-president currently lags Biden’s figure from four years ago: an NBC News/Telemundo poll last month found 54 per cent of Latinos backed Harris, while Biden took 59 per cent of the bloc’s vote in 2020.

Campaign clips: the latest election headlines

Behind the scenes

The US Department of Justice said on Tuesday that it might seek the break-up of Google to end its monopoly on search engines, a move that is unprecedented in modern US corporate history.

The US government tried to break up Microsoft in 2000, but that ruling was ultimately overturned on appeal and the tech giant settled with the business-friendly George W Bush administration.

This Google antitrust saga will be long and filled with appeals, meaning the election could impact the final outcome.

John Kwoka, an economics professor at Northeastern University, told the FT’s Stefania Palma that DoJ officials could “go soft” in a potential appeals process, since Trump was unpredictable and Harris seemed open to a milder antitrust policy than her boss. But, he added:

Big Tech doesn’t have the deference it did five years ago from either party, so . . . some version of this will probably go ahead.

A second Trump administration might not want to undermine the Google case since it originated during the Republican’s first term. Overall, Trump might not threaten Biden’s tough antitrust policy since a new generation of populist conservatives such as his running mate JD Vance have praised Washington’s aggressive stance. Big Tech has also drawn bipartisan anger in Congress.

On Capitol Hill, progressive Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez yesterday promised an “out and out brawl” should Harris axe Federal Trade Commission chair Lina Khan at the behest of Democratic donors, who has spearheaded the Biden administration’s antitrust fight.

Datapoints

Harris has a slim lead in Michigan. But she continues to be dogged by inflation, which has left its mark on voters in the crucial battleground state [free to read].

Michigan is part of the so-called blue wall that was key to Biden’s 2020 victory. He won the state by 154,188 votes, or 2.8 percentage points. And Trump has further fed the economic discontent among the electorate while campaigning in Michigan.

Bill DeJong, owner of Alger Hardware and Rental outside of Grand Rapids, told the FT’s Colby Smith that he was “not 100 per cent there” on voting for Trump again. He didn’t like the former president’s personality or plans to deport immigrants.

But in 20 years running his store, he’d never seen prices rise the way they had in recent years, and blamed some of that on Biden’s stimulus spending:

Prior to Covid, if I had 10 items in a week’s order that I would have to raise the price for, that was a lot. During Covid, it went to three or four pages with 50 items on each. Things aren’t going up as fast any more, but I don’t think anything is coming down.”

Nelson Sanchez, chief executive of RoMan Manufacturing, said his business was also feeling the pinch, which he blamed on slow consumer demand and less business from the automotive industry.

“We were firing on all cylinders, and then in January, it’s like somebody flipped a switch,” said Sanchez. It forced him to cut his workforce.

The vice-president leads Trump by 1.2 percentage points in Michigan, according to the FT’s poll tracker.

Viewpoints

• Economist Burton Malkiel thinks tax proposals coming from both Republicans and Democrats “make little sense and would upend the principles of a fair and efficient tax system”. 

• Screenwriter and journalist Gabriel Sherman shares the wild inside story of the Trump biopic The Apprentice.

• We’re moving away from democracy and towards “emocracy”, in which policy debates are driven by emotions rather than evidence, writes political scientist Catherine De Vries.

• Volatile foreign policy is undermining the US as world leaders wait out the current president until another comes along that’s more to their liking, argues Janan Ganesh. 

• Martin Wolf explains why he thinks Trump’s trade policies would hurt the world.

FIVE major banking changes are coming before the end of the year including account fee increases and savings rates dropping.

Lloyds is pulling its £200 free cash switching offer in December and M&S is making some big credit card changes next month.

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Meanwhile, Nationwide is lowering interest rates on a number of its savings accounts while upping the fee for one of its packaged bank accounts.

Here are all the key changes you need to know about, and what they mean for you.

Lloyds free £200 cash switch offer ending

Lloyds launched its latest switching offer last month, offering new and existing customers up to £200 free cash.

You just have to open a Club Lloyds account and the money will be paid within three days of completing the switch.

There is a £3 monthly fee to maintain the account, however this is waived if you pay in £2,000 or more each month.

The Club Lloyds account also opens up a host of other perks, including a 12-month Disney+ subscription, Odeon or Vue tickets and a magazine subscription.

Anyone looking to snap up the cash bonus will have to act soon though – Lloyds said customers have to switch between October 2 and December 10.

Nationwide Flex Plus account charge

Nationwide is hiking the fee on its popular FlexPlus packaged bank account from December.

The account comes with a number of perks including worldwide travel insurance, breakdown cover and preferential rates on loans and overdrafts.

It also comes with mobile phone insurance and account holders can use their debit card abroad without having to pay non-sterling transaction fees.

Currently, FlexPlus customers pay £13 a month or £156 a year for the benefits.

However, from December 1, the FlexPlus monthly fee will rise by £5 a month to £18 a month – or £216 a year.

This represents a £60 a year increase compared to the current fee charged for the product.

Nationwide cutting savings rates

Nationwide is cutting interest rates on a host of its savings account from next month.

The building society is slashing rates across the board after the Bank of England dropped the base rate from 5.25% to 5% in August.

The base rate is the rate charged to high street banks which is then reflected in mortgage and savings rates.

Nationwide has said it will cut rates on 24 of its savings accounts by up to 0.20 percentage points.

Tom Riley, Nationwide’s director of retail products, said the building society had “worked hard to limit the impact of the recent rate cut on our savers”.

Base rate (predicted) to fall

Economists are predicting the BoE will cut the base rate at its next meeting in November.

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which sets the base rate, will also meet in December.

The BoE cut interest rates to 5% in August for the first time since 2020 but has held them steady since.

However, with inflation being held in check, Governor of the BoE Andrew Bailey has hinted it could be “more aggressive” in cutting rates.

Any drop in the base rate spells good news for mortgage holders who will see home loan rates fall.

However, it also leads to interest rates on savings accounts falling.

M&S credit card changes

M&S Bank is shaking up its Club Rewards scheme for credit card holders within weeks.

The scheme charges customers £10 a month and opens up a host of perks including free next-day delivery and rewards points earned when using your credit card abroad.

But from November 13 these perks will be ditched and instead customers will be issued more M&S vouchers.

In an email sent to customers on October 10, M&S said it was increasing the amount of vouchers shoppers get from £65 to £120 a year following customer feedback.

Customers will also continue to earn two rewards points for every £1 spent, it said.

How do I switch bank accounts?

SWITCHING bank accounts is a simple process and can usually be done through the Current Account Switch Service (CASS).

Dozens of high street banks and building societies are signed up – there’s a full list on CASS’ website.

Under the switching service, swapping banks should take seven working days.

You don’t have to remember to move direct debits across when moving, as this is done for you.

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All you have to do is apply for the new account you want, and the new bank will tell your existing one you’re moving.

There are a few things you can do before switching though, including choosing your switch date and transferring any old bank statements to your new account.

You should get in touch with your existing bank for any old statements.

When switching current accounts, consider what other perks might come with joining a specific bank or building society.

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Some banks offer 0% overdrafts up to a certain limit, and others might offer better rates on savings accounts.

And some banks offer free travel or mobile phone insurance with their current accounts – but these accounts might come with a monthly fee.

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.

Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories