Will these be sufficient to get a Nationwide Debit Card?

firsttimestudent

Hello,

I currently have a Nationwide Flexaccount (Cashcard only, without chequebook), opened in Feb 08. I am aiming to get a Full Debit Card version (for holidays) by Feb 09.

For the past 5 months, I haven't been really using the account at all, except for transferring monies in when I need to withdraw funds overseas. With just a Cashcard, there really isn't much I can use the account for (plus they still use the old BACS cycle!)

Currently (starting this month actually), I've started paying £100 monthly into the account (I know, very little - but without a Debit card I'm not willing to commit too much funds into it), and moved 2 of my direct debits to Nationwide - also use it for bill payments (e.g. paying credit card), and also used it for cash withdrawals.

Was wondering, come February, will I be in a good stead to either upgrade or to reapply for a Full Flexaccount with them? Or anything else you'd suggest I do?

(Other than Nationwide, I have 3 more current accounts and 2 more credit cards, all excellently managed).

Thanks!

gt94sss2

Have you seen this from the Nationwide website?

You may be eligible to upgrade to a debit card if you have handled your account well. However, there are also circumstances where we would not be able to consider upgrading, which include if:

• you are under age 18;
• your existing account has been open for less than seven months;
• you have applied for an upgrade within the last four months;
• your account has recently been overdrawn without our authorisation;
• you have missed payments for other Nationwide products you hold;
• your account has not been used in the last three months;
• you have missed loan, mortgage, or credit-card payments with other providers; or
• you are currently bankrupt or have an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) with your creditors.

Regards
Sunil

firsttimestudent

Hi Gt94sss2,

Yes I had. I do not have any of those mentioned above.

I was just wondering - what do they mean by 'handled my account well'?

ShelfStacker_3

You'd be best off waiting and applying and seeing what they say. Nationwide's criteria are known only to themselves, and they don't seem to apply them consistently if at all.

Example: I've had lots of debit cards with lots of banks, usually approved for one straight away, have been with every bank I've been with. At the time I applied I had a couple of credit cards and a current account, all with perfect payment history. Applied to Nationwide, was only offered a cash card. Meanwhile, my ex got a debit card straight away despite having no credit history or indeed any income whatsoever.

rb10

From what other people on here say, Nationwide's issuing of Visa debit cards seems fairly random. So just try, and see what happens! In the meantime, manage your account well, making regular credits.

I got one as soon as I was 18 with no problem, but I had a history of 10+ years with a fair amount of money with savings (about £5k, I think), and a cashcard only for about 9 months.

ShelfStacker_3

rb10 wrote: »

From what other people on here say, Nationwide's issuing of Visa debit cards seems fairly random. So just try, and see what happens! In the meantime, manage your account well, making regular credits.

Bit of a pain though, surely, seeing as many, many other banks will give out an equivalent card without much hesitation? Barclays, Halifax and Lloyds are the ones that spring to mind, leaving the Maestro ones out of it. Is Nationwide really so good, foreign exchange thing excepted, that it's worth fannying around for like this?

rb10

ShelfStacker wrote: »

Bit of a pain though, surely, seeing as many, many other banks will give out an equivalent card without much hesitation? Barclays, Halifax and Lloyds are the ones that spring to mind, leaving the Maestro ones out of it. Is Nationwide really so good, foreign exchange thing excepted, that it's worth fannying around for like this?

Very good point, but firsttimestudent did say in their first post that they wanted it for a holiday in Feb '09, so if that's abroad it would be very useful to have the Nationwide one.

firsttimestudent

Yeah it's about holidays abroad mainly. Last time I used it, the exchange rates were far more superior than any other ways I can get it (high street, Post Office etc.)

Also, I recall Nationwide's e-Savings rates are quite good too - for an instant access account. I know Natwest's current bonus on e-Savings makes it far superior to the Nationwide's - but hey, I'm sure you get my point

rb10

firsttimestudent wrote: »

Yeah it's about holidays abroad mainly. Last time I used it, the exchange rates were far more superior than any other ways I can get it (high street, Post Office etc.)

Also, I recall Nationwide's e-Savings rates are quite good too - for an instant access account. I know Natwest's current bonus on e-Savings makes it far superior to the Nationwide's - but hey, I'm sure you get my point

Bank of Scotland do an account that's basically identical to Nationwide's e-savings, but the interest rate is generally 0.05% lower (not going to make much difference on most balances!) but allows transfers to and from other accounts directly, unlike Nationwide where you have to go through the flexaccount. http://www.bankofscotlandhalifax.co.uk/savings/directsavingsIASA.asp

c8ndice

I have two Nationwide accounts that I opened about 3 years ago. At the time my credit rating was awful so only got offered the cash cards.

This year all old defaults were removed and my credit file was finally in good order, so 3 months ago I applied in branch to have my accounts upgraded... Got a straight off "no" for both accounts.

Last week I decided to try again, this time online, and applied for a new flex account. I was accepted for the full debit card and cheque book.

Tonight I decided to try for another flex account with an overdraft as none of my other accounts will let me upgrade either, and was accepted with an overdraft of £750!

I'm not sure how or why, as my credit report is in a worse state than when I applied for an upgrade 3 months ago, due to the amount of searches I made for a 0% credit card.

I don't know if making a new application made the difference, but they definitely wouldn't even consider me for an upgrade even without an overdraft a couple of months back