My VTB Plus Subscription Gotcha: Good Deals for Newbies, But What Happens Next?
add_circle Pros
- Great discounts for new users - I saved a decent chunk on my first few purchases
- Easy to sign up and get started
- User-friendly interface makes it a breeze to navigate
- Customer support is pretty responsive, even if it's not always super helpful
- You can cancel your subscription at any time, which is a nice perk
remove_circle Contras
- Deals start to dry up after the initial period
- Not all offers are created equal - some are pretty meh
- Customer support can be a bit hit-or-miss
- You need to be careful not to get sucked into buying stuff you don't need
- Some features feel a bit clunky or outdated
Galería
Editor's Summary
I signed up for VTB Plus thinking I'd get some sweet deals, and yeah, it's true - the discounts for newbies are pretty great. But here's the thing: once you're in, the offers start to dwindle, and you're left wondering what's next. I've been using it for a few months now, and I've got some thoughts to share. The good news is that the initial discounts are legit, and you can snag some nice savings on your first few purchases. However, the real question is: what happens after the honeymoon period is over? Do you get access to more exclusive deals, or is it just a bunch of fluff? I've got some pros and cons to share, and I'll also answer some frequently asked questions to help you decide if VTB Plus is right for you.
Specifications
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I may not be a seasoned bank pro, but I've got three cards up my sleeve: Tinkoff Bank, MKB, and VTB.
Mainly, I've had a Tinkoff Bank card since the bank's inception.Since 2018, I've had an MKB card that I opened for the utility bill cashback.The youngest of my cards is from VTB.\xa0
So, how did I end up with a VTB card – and two of them?
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It's funny, but my VTB card looks like this:
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From Bank Opening to VTBIt all started 5 years ago when Bank Opening offered a cashback category for utility bills – with a 200-ruble limit. I ordered the card, especially since the service was free forever.
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However, last year VTB took over Bank Opening and forcibly took all its clients under its wing. I wrote about this experience in I'm a VTB client by force.
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New clients do get some nice perks – especially tasty in the first two months, then they become bland, and after that, they're just nonexistent.
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In the first month, I got a 25% cashback on pharmacies. I bought all the essential medications for my family members, with a 6-8 month stockpile. I shopped around, found the best deals, spent 12K wisely, and got a maximum 3K cashback.
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In the second month, I got another 25% cashback on pharmacies. I thought they'd finally run out of ideas. I bought expensive skincare products, cheap skincare products, vitamins, a couple of dietary supplements, and 20 expired muesli bars. I used up the entire cashback limit.
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That was the last of the fun. After that, they started offering cashback on services and subscriptions, flowers, and candies.
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I stopped using the VTB card. I zeroed out my account and forgot about it for a few months.
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But then, I received income tax notices for my investments. I discovered that my husband doesn't have to pay taxes on his investments in T-Bank, as they're covered by insurance up to 1.4 million rubles, and he didn't exceed the tax-free income threshold of 210,000 rubles for 2024.
My investments, however, exceeded the tax-free threshold, and although the tax amount was relatively small, around 2K, I don't plan to pay it in the future.
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So, I ordered a card for my husband to transfer some of the funds to his account and avoid the government's grasp on my savings.
I'm still fuming about the fact that they've been withholding my pension for 4 years.
(I won't even mention my husband, who's been given a 5-year deferment on paying his rightfully earned pension.)
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So, I'm ordering a VTB card.
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Ordering a card through a friend's referral link was a breeze. I opened the card for my husband using my referral link to get a bonus under the Bring a Friend program.
It's a simple process. In the Benefits section, I clicked on the gift icon:
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We finally narrowed it down to the product we'd like to recommend.
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Clicking the RECOMMEND button and sharing it via the link that appeared was a breeze.
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While we were at it, we took a look at the terms and conditions – everything was clear-cut except for one thing.
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To get the card for my husband, he needed to spend at least 5,000 rubles within 30 days. This wasn't a problem, and he already received his 1,000 rubles (he opened the card on 28.09, and the bonus arrived on 12.10).
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However, to get my 1,000 rubles, I needed to regularly use the card for 30 days. I was like, what's the point of such a vague term?
I gave the bank a call.
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VTB support was top-notch, but the operators didn't quite understand what I was asking.
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I bombarded the poor girl with questions:
- What do you mean by regularly? Is it several times a week?
- What's the minimum amount I need to spend?
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I finally managed to get her to confirm that the amount wasn't important, but she had no idea what 'regularly' meant.
So, I decided to just buy some bread regularly and make the most of the cashback.
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It seemed like I had already received my gift:
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Next up.
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I sent the link to my husband via WhatsApp.
He followed the link and ordered the card.
The delivery took a while – about 40 minutes (depending on internet speed).
We had already installed the VTB app, and the courier helped us activate the card.
He told us to top up the card with some money.
My husband transferred 100 rubles to himself.
The courier said goodbye and left.
And then, 99 rubles were deducted from the card instantly.
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Unexpected deductions – that's what I got.
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I immediately started typing away in the chat support.
They responded quickly.
I have to say that the support is working well – again.
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It turned out that it was an automatic subscription to the fraud protection service!!!!!!!
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I'm not sure what to call it – it's definitely not a good thing.
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Fortunately, they immediately cancelled the subscription and returned the 99 rubles to my account.
I asked if I had any other subscriptions.
The response was:
- You have a VTB Plus subscription. The first month is free.
I said:
- Cancel it
They:
- You're on your own.
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I had to dig deep to figure it out.
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How to cancel VTB Plus subscription – that's what I needed to know.
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The subscription costs 349 р/мес. The only decent thing it includes is SMS notifications, which are worth 99 рублей on their own.
I don't need them, so I just turn them off everywhere.
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The rest of this subscription is a mess:
Kashback from 5 to 10% on Yandex services+ 1.5% on a savings accountMore categories for kashback (I'm too scared to even think about them)\xa0
So we cancel:
We head to our account in the app, top left corner:\xa0
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We find the subscription, mine's already off, so it says JOIN:\xa0
In the Subscription, there's MORE ABOUT THE SUBSCRIPTION. We scroll down and hit CANCEL.But don't rush out, make sure the subscription is actually off.
They'll offer you a lower price (249р), tell you what you'll be missing out on, and ask you a few times if you're sure you want to cancel.
I HAD TO CLICK 6 TIMES before it finally cancelled.
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Welcome kashback categories – that's what my husband got.
He got kashback 100% on purchases on VTB, Ozon, and Yandex.
Great deal, shame the limit is only 1 thousand in a month.
That's three times less than the maximum (Overall kashback limit 3 thousand/month).
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Two other categories were a bit stingy - 2 and 3%:
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We got the card on September 28th.
Kashback is credited at the end of the month, and it takes up to 10th of the next month to show up on the account.
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Of course, we made a purchase and got our kashback. We bought:
Router Speedster KN-3013 + repitor Buddy 4 KN-3211
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Next month, it happened again.
We bought a camera on VTB:
Camera Dahua Picoo
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We got another kashback from VTB on our card.
So, our total gain from getting the card was 4,000 rubles for the family.
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What's interesting is that kashback is credited on any purchases, even if they're as low as 100р:
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I'm pretty sure my husband won't get a decent cashback offer next month, so I'm taking advantage of the 1-ruble discount at the bakery.
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At least I managed to open a profitable savings account.
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VTB savings account – that's what it's called.
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The bank offers a higher interest rate on new money for NEW MONEY:
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As of today, October 20th, 2025, this is 16% for 3 months.
For old money, it's 15.2%
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It's obvious that for someone who just opened an account, all their money is new, so there's no problem. You can deposit any amount into the savings account.
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But if you're an old (and somewhat tired) client, the conditions will be complicated.
You'll automatically be calculated how much you need to transfer from any source except your VTB accumulation account.
And if you already have a savings account, that amount will be slightly higher.
And the amount of the savings itself will also be indicated to you:
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That's the amount you'll be able to earn 16% interest on. The rest will only earn 15.2%. But you'll need to deposit it separately into another savings account if you want to.
Kids, this is a total mess.
I didn't even bother to understand it.
I don't want to deal with this nonsense.
I'll deposit it now at 16%, and then I'll think about it.
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Accumulation account – that's what it's called.
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This one isn't too profitable either, with a rate of 12.5% as of today (October 2025).
But it's constantly decreasing.
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App – that's what I'm talking about.
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The VTB app is the one I like the least. I wrote about it in detail here: I'm a VTB client by force
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Since then, some positive changes have occurred, and there are fewer errors, but it still works very slowly:
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The bottom line is that you can get some benefit from VTB, but not for long.
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What's better in other banks?
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T-Bank is offering 17% interest on all deposits as of the end of October 2025, with no additional conditions.
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MKB is also offering 17%, but with a condition of buying something worth 10,000 rubles within a month.
And here's the thing: they'll count your utility payments as purchases!
I pay my utility bills a lot more than that each month, so I have a stable high interest rate on my MKB deposits.
But it's obvious that this will only last until the banks change their conditions.
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Banks are constantly changing their conditions.
The only thing that remains the same is:
New clients get perks, old clients get screwed.
I've gotta say, the design of this thing is pretty sleek. The image shows it in all its glory, and I'm loving the color scheme.
