Plutus Gift Cards September 2026: £61.87 Saved on £445

My Plutus card still isn’t here. My gift cards are.

In September I used 17 gift cards through Plutus. I spent £445 in total. I saved £61.87. Most cards were 3% off, and four were 10% off. On top of that I got 10% bonus credit.

My PLU is worth £1,172. Lifetime cashback on the board sits at £240.

Here’s how I got from February to here.

February to April: the Credits rebuild

My last Plutus Updates Hub stop was the migration update in February 2026.

After the February migration update, the practical change was the April 2026 Spring app release that introduced Plutus Credits, prepaid balances for gift cards and utilities that no longer relied on the old card partner. That Credits path is what I used in September.

May and June: gold in the river

May was the first discounted gift card, and the first time Plutus was useful again after the downtime. It was not working fine. Plenty of issues, UI changes, failed buys, constant friction. Gift cards turned up about as often as gold in the river.

I stayed on it anyway and tried to pull some benefit out of what still ran. Stubborn, patient, or angry, depending on the month.

On 21 May a mail from Plutus support, subject line “we doubled what you voted for,” said 100 PGBP had already been added to my Credits balance. A thank-you for staying. It said credits apply automatically on gift cards, max 10 a day, across 1,500+ brands. The mail listed 20% at Starbucks, Swarovski and Xbox, 10% at H&M, Nando’s and Mango, 5% at Tesco and Uber, 3% at IKEA, Rewe and Amazon. It also pushed a £1,000 rewards cap and up to 20% off.

June stayed thin.

July: the Metal mails

A Plutus mail from Erik on 26 July, headed “A thank you for your Metal Card.” It said I had signed up for a full year of Metal rewards, then an unexpected migration, blamed on the old card issuer Modulr, meant those benefits could not run as they should. It said utilities had been rebuilt in H1 2026, and a new card programme was coming in H2 2026.

Two options. Claim 2,000 PGBP in bonus credits now, loaded instantly, one claim per member. Or ignore the mail and wait for the new card programme.

Claiming settled the Metal benefits as those credits. The mail said bonus credits give up to 10% off everyday spending, 10 PGBP covered free on every 100 PGBP spent, capped at 10 PGBP a day. I took the claim without much thinking. That covered the last Metal year.

Same day, a second Erik mail offered 63.99 Plutus credits for pending card cashback, matched one to one, also via a claim link. That was the return: Metal parked, credits offered instead.

The 31 July plan update later set Travel, Miles, Credits and payments terms from 30 August, and prices from 14 September, and pointed at a new FX card.

September: gift cards back

On 11 September 2026, a Plutus mail said favourite gift cards were back after limited availability since July during a security upgrade. It showed my balance that day: purchased credits 81.30, bonus credits 2,166.84. So somewhere along the way 2,000 became 2,166.84. Don’t ask me how.

September is when gift cards became something I could use often.

Gift cards used: 17
Total spent: £445
Combined September save: £61.87
Discount pattern: thirteen at 3%, four at 10%, plus 10% bonus credit on top
Merchants: Sainsbury’s, Lifestyle, Amazon, Tesco, Asda

Plutus app on 25 September showing available credits, bonus credits and recent gift card buys

Plutus Vault screen showing gift card savings this year and cards ready to use

Plutus September 2026 in-app notice: gift cards rebuilt

Miles and Travel, not used here

Miles and Travel are in the app. I collect the daily miles (16,598 so far) but have not spent them. Other users have posted about the miles streaks and booking hotels through Plutus Travel under the Booking.com price.

Plutus September 2026 in-app notice listing what is new, including cards back in 2026

Plutus September 2026 in-app notice: Lite plan at £1.99 and cards returning in 2026

Now: the card still isn’t here

I ordered the new card. Plutus mailed that it’s on the way, with an estimated delivery of three months.

Three months to print a card? Monzo’s own help page says UK cards go Royal Mail 1st Class, 90% next day if you order before 3pm on a weekday, and 2–5 working days if the post is busy. After 5 working days they tell you to chase it.

Three months is not that. Unless they hired someone to pick the plastic out of the ocean by hand, ship it to China or India to be made, then ship the card back. Even a parcel from China gets here faster now.

Feels like a delay to buy time, not a delivery date.

For now I use gift cards only.

The September discounts are the part that worked. Four cards at 10% off, thirteen at 3%, and 10% bonus credit on top of both. £61.87 back on £445 spent.

At least for this, no card is needed.

If you want to try Plutus, here’s my referral link.