Barclaycard Rewards vs John Lewis Partnership card

safe_hands2

Hi there. Now my Nationwide Select credit card is no longer earning cashback I'm considering applying for the Barclaycard Rewards card as a replacement. I've read quite a few posts from people saying their credit limit with Barclaycard has been reduced to a very low level. Just wondering - anyone applied for this card recently and was the credit limit acceptable? I don't need it to be high - it would be my backup card to Amex, but I've read about limits as low as £250 which would be useless when there's a one off larger purchase where Amex not accepted.

Alternative is John Lewis Pertnership card, which I don't know much about. I know it gives vouchers instead of cashback. Any potential problems with that card?

[Deleted User]

Limits are specific to the individual, so a poll won't do you much good.

Barclaycards tend not to give the lowest limits, but they are inclined to cancel cards shortly after opening, or to reduce limits later on.

With the John Lewis card, you'll need to decide whether the vouchers represent value to you.

daveyjp

Had a JL card for years.  No issues, apart from the recent reduction in the points awarded.
Vouchers can be used online with JL or spent at Waitrose.

ratechaser

Yes, JL for us as well, admittedly Waitrose and JL are the 2 shops closest to our house so vouchers are obviously useful, but they have a good bureau de change rate and you earn vouchers on that too - good for when we can all travel again!

I kept the Nationwide card as well though, as still want one for fee free foreign transactions

jsmith9

I also echo the the praise for the John Lewis card

they pay 1.25% on Waitrose  /John Lewis purchases and 0.25% on everything else

the vouchers are posted out you four times a year in multiples of 500 (£5) so clearly that is a slight restriction in that if you have 495 points you don't get a voucher

jsmith9

The other plus about the John Lewis card is that all transactions are sent to you in real time as a text message

I cannot think of hand of many credit cards that do this nowadays now that tandem has demised

ratechaser

jsmith9 said:

The other plus about the John Lewis card is that all transactions are sent to you in real time as a text message

I cannot think of hand of many credit cards that do this nowadays now that tandem has demised

I get notifications from both Nationwide and Amex as transactions happen. Often with online purchases they come through before I've even got confirmation on the retailers website! 

jsmith9

you dont get notifications with nationwide credit card do you ? i don't but would like it if it were possible.

safe_hands2

Thanks for the comments everyone. Might have to look a bit more closely at the JL card. I live walking distance to a Waitrose and even though it's not my usual place to shop, I could use the vouchers. Do the points expire at all?

I've never had notifications on the Nationwide app of card usage. Only just now able to see pending transactions. The notifications are a feature I like with Amex. Does the Barclaycard app have them too?

dr_adidas01

jsmith9 said:

The other plus about the John Lewis card is that all transactions are sent to you in real time as a text message

I cannot think of hand of many credit cards that do this nowadays now that tandem has demised

Capital One, JaJa, Amex, Tymit all have real time notifications via the app. I’ve found John Lewis and M&S a bit hit and miss with notifications. 

jsmith9

thanks for that info. 

i have had jl card for 2 years and always had instant text notifications with no delay.

no notifications on barclayard app, although transactions appear very quickly (unlike nwide)