Credit card within a week?

car_compare_plus

Have you applied for and received a credit card within a week? If so, with which bank?

Reason for asking: to rent a car, inexpensively, on an imminent holiday, overseas.

DullGreyGuy

Can't say I've ever timed it. 

For lost cards AmEx have always been the quickest at getting the replacement out however seem to recall the original card was slower but then it came in a whole presentation case etc. Lloyds were also fairly quick recently. NatWest were very slow.

martinbainbridge1975

yes, HSBC, applied on a friday night, got the card on the following Tuesday and the pin day after

CliveOfIndia

It can be quite variable though.  Most banks outsource the physical production and distribution of cards to a third party, so there can be delays even once your application is approved.  Then you've got to factor in any potential delays with Royal Mail or whichever carrier they're using.  If you don't need the actual physical card in order to hire the car, it may not be such an issue.

But if you're looking for overseas spending, you're better off going for one of the "travel cards" which don't charge a foreign-exchange fee on non-sterling transactions.

Brie

You might be able to get a card from the bank branch assuming they have a branch near you with card production equipment.  That might shave a couple of days off.

WillPS

Brie said:

You might be able to get a card from the bank branch assuming they have a branch near you with card production equipment.  That might shave a couple of days off.

I know Barclays and Metro Bank do this for current accounts (although only re-issues in the case of Barclays AFAIK, not new accounts), but I don't know of anywhere doing this for credit cards.

NewDay are able to issue a card very quickly via their Bip brand - the caveat is that it'll only be a virtual card.

NoodleDoodleMan

car_compare_plus said:

Have you applied for and received a credit card within a week? If so, with which bank?

Reason for asking: to rent a car, inexpensively, on an imminent holiday, overseas.

As mentioned above, Metro Bank say that can issue a credit card on the day of a personal visit, assuming you satisfy their application criteria - needs an appointment with ID paperwork.

Not convenient unless you live near a branch of course.

Also - although their cards are fee free in "Europe" (SEPA area) they incur a commission outwith these countries - details on their website.

For example Turkey is not in SEPA.