M&S or Natwest vs egg limits

[Deleted User]

I already have an egg card and am looking at applying for Natwest or M&S credit card to try and continue my 0%. Have ruled out other cards for various reasons.

I know limits vary a lot and the limit is key to the amount saved!! I also realise that there are lots of other factors but for those of you with egg cards and either M&S or Natwest or all 3, could you pls tell me if the limits are higher/lower than your egg limit and by roughly what proportion? Very many thanks.

Moggles_2

I ... am looking at applying for Natwest or M&S credit card

Slightly off topic I know, but why consider Natwest, which charges a handling fee for balance transfers, when Marks & Spencer offers 0% BTs which are fee-free?

Could you pls tell me if the limits are higher/lower than your egg limit?

Egg credit limit (December 2001) generous
M & S credit limit (July 2005) comparable
Natwest. Sorry, I've never applied for a Natwest card.

[Deleted User]

Moggles wrote:

Slightly off topic I know, but why consider Natwest, which charges a handling fee for balance transfers, when Marks & Spencer offers 0% BTs which are fee-free?

Natwest is 9 months whereas M&S is 6 months and credit limits may not be comparable.

eg say limit on M&S is 6k and Natwest is also 6k and cost interest at 5% (say in a mortgage offset account):

saving on M&S = 0.05 * 6/12 * 6000 = 150
saving on natwest = 0.05 * 9/12 * 6000 - 49 = 176

I know you won't get the full 6/9 months, but you get the idea. Clearly any difference in limits will have a big effect.... hence my question.

Thanks for reading!

Moggles_2

Admittedly, I signed up with M&S before the 0% introductory period was reduced to six months.

All the same, faced with this choice, I'd plump for 6 months fee-free. That way you need not concern yourself unduly with the credit limit, which is not easy to forecast.

Btw, have you considered Bank of Scotland's union card (0% on balance transfers and purchases with no handling charges for 9 months)?

[Deleted User]

Moggles wrote:

Btw, have you considered Bank of Scotland's union card (0% on balance transfers and purchases with no handling charges for 9 months)?

Already got guide dogs version - but thanks anyway.

Astaroth

Egg - limit £6,500
Natwest - limit £9,500

Natwest is the newer of the 2 cards so they knew of the egg credit before giving me their limit. Never had an M&S card

[Deleted User]

Astaroth wrote:

Egg - limit £6,500
Natwest - limit £9,500

Natwest is the newer of the 2 cards so they knew of the egg credit before giving me their limit. Never had an M&S card

So maybe I'll get a better limit with natwest then (based on a very small sample!). Do you bank with natwest by the way as that would probably have helped?

sloth

i bank with natwest (15 years) and the limit on the natwest credit card i rec'd a year ago was 50% of my egg card. i think you will find generally egg offer better limits than natwest.

incidentally the m&s card i received 2 weeks ago had a limit about 30% of my egg card

i have since put my egg limit down to 1k but kept it just in case they scrape the bt fees!!

merulok

I agree with sloth. I have banked with NatWest for over 10 years but was given less than half my Egg limit (and was only given a small increase on appeal).
They are not known for their generosity - experience suggests egg, mbna and capital one tend to give better limits than the "big" banks

Moggles_2

If anecdotal evidence is any guide, Natwest may turn out to be less generous than Egg and M&S.

Perhaps, more MSEs with NatWest cards will come along and enlighten us.

Meanwhile, if push came to shove, I'd play safe and go for M&S. What have you to lose? The credit card market is extremely competitive. You never know what might be on offer by the time the M&S deal expires in 6 months time!

Astaroth

anactuary wrote:

So maybe I'll get a better limit with natwest then (based on a very small sample!). Do you bank with natwest by the way as that would probably have helped?

I only have a current account with them - my savings are with a non-RBS company