M&S credit card vs Tesco Foundation vs Barclays forward?

gionnetto

Hello everybody,

My situation:

1. moved to the UK 4+ years ago
2. rent being reported to both Experian and Equifax
3. got 2 credit cards (Vanquis was my first one, then Virgin Money) - never missed a payment, always paid in full, overall availability 3500 (1700 + 1800)
4. atm I use Vanquis for apple store subscriptions and groceries, and Virgin Money for leisure
5. at the same address for 4 years, same job for 2.5+ years

I've wanted to get a reward CC for a while now. Atm, I am not pre-approved for any, but am ranked as 95% eligibility with Tesco (their own calculator) and 90% with M&S (according to both Experian, Credit Carma). I shop at both stores, slightly more at Tesco. Experian ranks my eligibility for Barclays forward at 90%.

So my questions for you are:

• which one is the most convenient rewardwise?
• do you think I'd be better off taking a lower risk decisiong and getting a low APR lloyd CC I'm pre-approved for instead?

I need to take a decision soon because Tesco's asks how long you've been in your present job, and I'm shopping for a better paying one (other than being trained as a therapist and funding the training myself).

Thank you!

[Deleted User]

Reward wise depends on what you want to use the rewards for - if you mostly shop at Tesco then look at the Tesco Benefits  else look at the M&S benefits. There is little point asking us simply because we don't know what you want to achieve and how you want to use the points.

The APR is irrelevant as I assume you are paying off in full every month so don't pay any interest 

PRAISETHESUN

It all depends on where you'd normally shop and what rewards you value the most. The Tesco clubcard CC is equivalent to a 0.25% cashback (or up to 0.75% on some rewards depending on what rewards you redeem your points on) on top of the points you'd normally gain by spending at Tesco anyway. Outside of Tesco, it's 0.125% cashback (up to 0.375%). Not sure the value of the M&S card, but would assume it's similar. Other cards to look at would be Amex (flat cashback spending on your yearly spend and the type of card you have) and the NatWest Reward CC (1% cashback on supermarket spend, 0.25% elsewhere). The APR doesn't matter if you pay the card off in full every month (and if you aren't then don't bother with a rewards card as the reward cashback will be eaten up several times over by the interest).

gionnetto

PRAISETHESUN said:

Other cards to look at would be Amex (flat cashback spending on your yearly spend and the type of card you have) and the NatWest Reward CC (1% cashback on supermarket spend, 0.25% elsewhere). 

My eligibility for Amex is still to low to give it a try IMHO. But if I were to use it for all my spending (which is usually 300+/mo) I'd qualify for their 3000+ threshold.
I wasn't aware of the NatWest card - thank you for pointing it out to me.

gionnetto

Deleted_User said:

The APR is irrelevant as I assume you are paying off in full every month so don't pay any interest 

No need to assume, as I wrote I always pay in full.

My point about the low APR was more like having a good backup in the very unlikely case I couldn't pay in full due to unforeseen circumstances.

[Deleted User]

Choose the issuer that has both the prime and sub-prime card that suits you best then apply for the prime version. 

e.g. Tesco or Barclaycard

You may get the prime card with a modest credit limit, sub-prime with a modest credit limit or rejection. 

Brie

It seems to me that Tesco is improving it's rewards while M&S is doing the opposite.  I've been considering applying to Tesco as we do shop there frequently but currently only have their Clubcard.  My understanding is that if you combine that with their card the rewards are much better.  Or maybe I'm a sucker for TV ads.