John Lewis Partnership Card

Leysdown

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?

Yes - I now suspect rejection is based on having to enter the word 'Retired' as occupation, rather than one's income.

MollyR

I am retired, but I was allotted the identical credit limit to my old John Lewis Partnership card.

WillPS

Leysdown said:

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?

Yes - I now suspect rejection is based on having to enter the word 'Retired' as occupation, rather than one's income.

What evidence do you have to support that supposition?

It's a common mistake to assume having a good income makes you attractive to all lenders.

wendineill

Hi, I’d really like help with this one too - my mum received her letter advising her of the card closure - though it is reassuring they do not expect her to clear or transfer the balance once closed (she can continue to make payments) she is unsure how best to apply for another credit card as she is 74! She has a large credit availability but rarely uses it, but she now needs to apply for a card as a retiree. Is it a case of applying as normal and stating her pension incomes, or is she now at high risk of being rejected. She is furious at her treatment from JL as they aren’t even transferring her account to their new provider.  An you help?

MollyR

As I said above, I applied for the new card and being retired made no difference at all.  I was issued a card with the same credit limit as my previous card.  However, while there is an interest-free balance transfer option to the new card, a percentage fee is payable.

Marmaduke123

I'm 79 and got a new credit card with the Halifax quite recently. Admittedly, I had a secondary card on my husband's account before he died, but I'm not sure that made any difference. I haven't done anything about my JLP card yet, I don't see any attractive alternatives. I will need a second credit card though, for the usual reasons. 

Wendineill, your mother could use the eligibility checker on MSE. She may find alternatives to Newday which would suit her better, although you can't see credit limits before you apply.  

Chino

WillPS said:

What evidence do you have to support that supposition?

Probably about the same level of evidence as prompted this supposition:

WillPS said:

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

WillPS

Chino said:

WillPS said:

What evidence do you have to support that supposition?

Probably about the same level of evidence as prompted this supposition:

WillPS said:

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

If you read the PRs from the launch announcement they suggest that John Lewis were shopping around for a new partner:
NewDay and John Lewis join forces in financial services partnership | NewDay
John Lewis Partnership - John Lewis Finance to relaunch Partnership Rewards Credit Card

It seems that my interpretation of that was shared elsewhere by the media:
John Lewis ends credit card partnership with HSBC - FStech Financial Sector Technology
John Lewis bins HSBC for NewDay to relaunch consumer credit card - AltFi

Of course, that doesn't exclude the possibility that they were only shopping around because HSBC dumped them; hence "I think". Any other contributions you'd like me to clarify further, sir?

older_wiser

my hunch is that JL decided to part company with HSBC

JL probably gets a commission of some kind for each owner of the partnership card. HSBC can be very stringent when it comes to CC so an increase in volume was never going to happen.

Newday has less stringent requirements when it comes CC and they probably offered JL a better deal in both commission and volume. Its a PR success to get such a high profile business to partner with Newday and it probably offsets the loss of the amazon card later this year. 

just my two penn'orth

Cardea

WillPS said:

Cardea said:

I liked the vouchers to spend at John Lewis or Waitrose  but I feel that this shouldn't be at the expense of security.  I'd like to know what others think.   I'm seriously thinking of cancelling this card but will it affect my (so far excellent) rating on Experian (etc). ? 

The previous JLFS platform was based on HSBC's full banking platform, which is more secure by design as there is far greater damage one can do with access to somebody's savings, investments, current accounts etc. A credit card portal is of far less use to a hacker or scammer because you need the actual card to do anything other than basic admin, and presumably NewDay will alert you if an address change or new card request was put in. Ultimately if NewDay's security measures fail then that's their problem, so long as it's not as a result of negligence on your part.

You can do much better than the Partnership Card in terms of rewards; even if you're extremely loyal to John Lewis and spend a lot in John Lewis/Waitrose. That should be your reason for telling them to do one, if you do.

Don't be too guided by arbitrary numbers offered by LastPass and Experian.

This is very helpful information WillPS.   Thank you.    I am still going to investigate alternatives, however.  I don't feel that I have any strong allegiance to JLP these days.   I might have done pre-Brexit/Covid/War but I need the best value for money now. 

But - could you please give me justification for your allegations that LastPass and Experian are offering "arbitrary" numbers?   I would have thought that this would have got them into deep doo-doo?