John Lewis Partnership Card

seniorspender

I’ve had a JL Partnership card for 50 years +  and the associated credit card since it started. I was invited to apply for the new card and was horrified to find I’ve been rejected! Has this happened to anyone else?

[Deleted User]

Yes, it has happened to others, as the acceptance criteria differ between the two lenders.

WillPS

seniorspender said:

I’ve had a JL Partnership card for 50 years +  and the associated credit card since it started. I was invited to apply for the new card and was horrified to find I’ve been rejected! Has this happened to anyone else?

The reality is that the Store/Account Card product you'd had for decades closed in the 00s, and now the Credit Card replacement for that card is also closing.

The new Credit Card provider is under no obligation to offer credit to any of John Lewis' clientele past, present or future but it might be worth writing to NewDay appealing the decision, pointing out that you've held a John Lewis credit product since 19xx. Don't get your hopes up, but it has worked when some long-standing Virgin Atlantic cardholders were declined for the new Virgin Atlantic cards.

The good news is that there are other far better rewards products available, and you can use a tool like MSE's Credit Eligibility checker to determine which providers may be willing to offer credit to you, before honing that in by using individual card company eligibility checkers and then finally making a full application.

TheWoodler

My OH was also 'invited to apply' for his new JL card. His experience has been exactly as others above have said: intrusive questioning (they wanted to know *my* salary details as well as his) and a lower credit limit, despite being a long-standing cardholder in his sole name. 

It seems to me that this is a surefire way to lose goodwill and hence customer base. Goodwill no longer matters to financial institutions, if it ever did, but it still matters to the customer. They must have weighed up how much loss of goodwill would cost them as it does mean that we are less likely to consider JL for major purchases in the future. 

WillPS

TheWoodler said:

My OH was also 'invited to apply' for his new JL card. His experience has been exactly as others above have said: intrusive questioning (they wanted to know *my* salary details as well as his) and a lower credit limit, despite being a long-standing cardholder in his sole name. 

I don't agree that asking credit applicants for household income details is intrusive.

enthusiasticsaver

I have applied and been accepted for the new partnership card but limit is much lower than existing limit on the JL card run by HSBC. Still ok for my purposes though. 

mgfvvc

TheWoodler said:

My OH was also 'invited to apply' for his new JL card. His experience has been exactly as others above have said: intrusive questioning (they wanted to know *my* salary details as well as his) and a lower credit limit, despite being a long-standing cardholder in his sole name. 

It seems to me that this is a surefire way to lose goodwill and hence customer base. Goodwill no longer matters to financial institutions, if it ever did, but it still matters to the customer. They must have weighed up how much loss of goodwill would cost them as it does mean that we are less likely to consider JL for major purchases in the future. 

I would expect them to ask for salary details for a spouse/partner.

Given that HSBC ended  the previous arrangement John Lewis had to find a new partner or not have an affiliated store card. Newday control the credit limits, not John Lewis. It's not ideal, but that's the reality.

WillPS

mgfvvc said:

TheWoodler said:

My OH was also 'invited to apply' for his new JL card. His experience has been exactly as others above have said: intrusive questioning (they wanted to know *my* salary details as well as his) and a lower credit limit, despite being a long-standing cardholder in his sole name. 

It seems to me that this is a surefire way to lose goodwill and hence customer base. Goodwill no longer matters to financial institutions, if it ever did, but it still matters to the customer. They must have weighed up how much loss of goodwill would cost them as it does mean that we are less likely to consider JL for major purchases in the future. 

I would expect them to ask for salary details for a spouse/partner.

Given that HSBC ended  the previous arrangement John Lewis had to find a new partner or not have an affiliated store card. Newday control the credit limits, not John Lewis. It's not ideal, but that's the reality.

I think it was John Lewis who pulled out, rather than HSBC.

ab101

I've been invited to apply for the new card, but always get a "temporarily unavoidable error" page suggesting I try later. Anybody else?

I'm a bit annoyed by the whole thing too, looking at the MSE comparison there aren't really any great deals on credit cards at the moment unless you want an Amex.

WillPS

ab101 said:

I've been invited to apply for the new card, but always get a "temporarily unavoidable error" page suggesting I try later. Anybody else?

I'm a bit annoyed by the whole thing too, looking at the MSE comparison there aren't really any great deals on credit cards at the moment unless you want an Amex.

Barclaycard Avios is the one to beat currently. Even if you don't fly, the points are transferable to Nectar so it's efffectively a 0.8% return in Sainsburys/Argos/Ebay credit.