Post Office Revolutionary New Credit Card is OK, but not great

MSE_Martin

This Friday's Post Office card'll be much hyped (discussing it is supposedly 'embargoed' for Friday, but as some Post Offices already have leaflets out, I'm ignoring that). Yet the card itself is ok, but easily beatable.

It gives 0% for 6 months on purchases and balance transfers, and after that any single purchases between £500 and £2,500 can be converted into a loan at 6.8%


How can I beat it?

However if you want to make a purchase over a year then Halifax will give you 0% over a year (See Best Cards for Purchases article), so why not use that? Or if you want a structured loan repayment then you can borrow at 5.5% (See Best Personal Loans article)

The Post Office's argument to this is 'yes but if you don't want to keep switching then this is good, and you can't get loans for £500'. However its format is rigid, and both the Capital One No Hassle Platinum card and Barclaycard Simplicity card (see Best Cards for Purchases article) offer flat 6.9% rates on all borrowing, without such rigid terms - and with such a small differential there's no point in tieing yourself in.

Overall it’s not a bad product, it’s just not great - and I always prefer 'great'.


Related Articles: Best Card for Balance Transfers, Best Cards for Purchases, Cheapest Personal Loans


A wee note about 'embargo breaking': Embargos are a method used with journalists which enables us to 'get the story early' in time to write and research it. It means you are not supposed to publish the story until the embargo date. There's nothing legally to stop you - but do it and it means you're likely not to be given stories 'early' again and thus disadvantaged against other journalists.

Normally I follow embargos - however in this case, I already knew about the product from the Post Office branches themselves, thus as I had 'another source' I learned by discovery not by embargo breaking and feel comfortable publishing.

________________________

The following is the press release from the Post Office (reproduced with its permission). Remember this is its view and therefore a 'sell document'; treat it with a pinch of salt

[font=&quot]New “Two in One” credit card from [/font]

[font=&quot]the Post Office®[/font]

[font=&quot]- Unique feature offering market leading rate - [/font]

[font=&quot]The Post Office® today announced the launch of a unique new credit card available, nationwide, from [/font][font=&quot]30th September 2005[/font][font=&quot]. The new “two in one” Post Office® credit card will offer a unique method of borrowing and managing repayments - providing all the benefits of a competitive credit card combined with a fixed rate loan, at a discounted rate, for larger purchases. [/font]


[font=&quot]The Post Office® “two in one” card offers an introductory 0% APR for the first six months on purchases and balance transfers with a competitive rate of 14.9% typical APR thereafter. In addition, the credit card also provides free purchase protection insurance for all goods purchased on the card, is accepted worldwide and carries no annual card fee.[/font]


[font=&quot]The unique part is the loan-like facility. Customers of the “two in one” card will be able to transfer large purchases of between £500 and £2,000 onto this facility, at a discounted interest rate of 6.8%. This allows them to repay the balance at one of the lowest rates on the market over a 12 month period. [/font]


[font=&quot]Claire Oldstein, Head of Product Development at the Post Office® said: [/font]


[font=&quot]“With the ‘two in one’ card the Post Office® is offering a unique and responsible credit card. We wanted to give our customers all[/font][font=&quot] the benefits of a competitive credit card and, through the discounted fixed rate facility, offer them the flexibility of paying for larger purchases, at a market leading rate - something we hope will appeal to our customers and challenge other lenders who impose higher interest rates.
[/font]

[font=&quot] “We found that on average three-quarters of credit card holders make a purchase of between £500 and £2,000 around three times a year. For these customers the new Post Office® credit card offers a way to manage their spending sensibly, and save up to £250 in interest a year by doing so.[/font]

[font=&quot]Claire Oldstein continued: “Offering a credit card was a natural progression for the Post Office® and we’re pleased to be adding it to our portfolio of products. With the new ‘two in one’ deal, customers no longer have to keep switching cards to get a good deal, or face being left with an out of date, uncompetitive rate of interest, once the 0% honeymoon period has ended”.[/font]


[font=&quot]The new “two in one” credit card marks the Post Office®’s commitment to the financial services market 18 months after it first entered into the field. The Post Office® has al[/font][font=&quot]read[/font][font=&quot]y proved itself as a trusted financial services provider offering a range of great value financial services from home and car insurance to savings products. [/font]

[font=&quot]About the Post Office “two in one” credit card[/font]

[font=&quot]The Post Office® “two in one” credit card offers:[/font]

§[font=&quot]0% APR for balance transfers and new purchases for 6 months[/font]

§[font=&quot]14.9% typical APR[/font]

§[font=&quot]Unique loan-like facility for purchases between £500 and £2,000 with a typical APR of 6.8%[/font]

§[font=&quot]No annual fee[/font]

§[font=&quot]Accepted at over 23 million outlets worldwide[/font]

§[font=&quot]Free purchase protection insurance for all goods purchase on the card. [/font]

[font=&quot]To find out more about the Post Office “two in one” credit card log onto www.postoffice.co.uk or call 0800 [/font][font=&quot]169 2000[/font]

[font=&quot]-[/font][font=&quot]Ends –[/font]

[font=&quot]Notes to editors:[/font]

[font=&quot]The Post Office® Credit Card – How it works[/font]

[font=&quot]The Post Office® Credit Card can be used in the usual way to pay for a wide range of goods and services. But it also offers a[/font][font=&quot] flexible way to pay for larger purchases at a discounted rate. This unique mechanism will enable consumers to transfer large purchases between £500 and £2000 into a loan-like facility with a discounted interest rate of 6.8% - [/font]

[font=&quot]o[/font][font=&quot]The purchases can then be repaid over a period of 12 months [/font]

[font=&quot]o[/font][font=&quot]Customers can use the facility for up to two purchases at any one time subject to an aggregate limit of £2,000[/font]

[font=&quot]o[/font][font=&quot]Customers must telephone or visit the website to transfer the purchase to the loan-like facility with the discounted interest rate of 6.8%[/font]

[font=&quot]o[/font][font=&quot]Customers have one month to transfer the purchase to the loan-like facility of the card [/font]

[font=&quot]About the Post Office®[/font]

[font=&quot]With 14,600 branches across the country, the Post Office® is the [/font][font=&quot]UK[/font][font=&quot]’s largest retail and financial services chain in the [/font][font=&quot]UK[/font][font=&quot]. Its network is larger than all of the [/font][font=&quot]UK[/font][font=&quot]’s banks and building societies put together. Around 94 per cent of the [/font][font=&quot]UK[/font][font=&quot] population lives within a mile of a Post Office® branch and 28 million customers visit every week.[/font]


[font=&quot]In conjunction with its partners, the Post Office® offers over 170 products and services including travel and financial services (including personal loans, car, home and travel insurance), banking services, bill payments, HomePhone (its home telephone service), lottery products, licence applications, phonecards and mobile phone top-ups, and postal services. It is the largest supplier of foreign currency in the [/font][font=&quot]UK[/font][font=&quot] and is a leading provider of travel insurance.[/font]


[font=&quot]The Post Office® is also the biggest cash handler in the country – with more than £92 billion passing through its hands each year. 17p in every £1 in circulation goes through a Post Office® branch and around 400 million household bills are paid at Post Office® branches each year. [/font]


[font=&quot]In the year ending March 2005, the Post Office Ltd total turnover was £1,287 million. Post Office Ltd is a separate limited company within the Royal Mail Group.[/font]

[font=&quot]To find out where your nearest Post Office® branch is call 08457 223 344.[/font]

[font=&quot]www.postoffice.co.uk[/font]

rchddap1

Saw the leaflets and posters myself in a local post office yesterday.

juno

Wow! I took part in a market research survey about it! *feels special*

Twmble

[Out-of-date ramblings about apostrophes]

:silenced:

:whistle:

wildchild

Got the leaflet and tried to apply online but there isn't a link through anywhere. Phoned up but can't apply on the phone either, they just send you an info pack which will arrive "in 2-3 days". Until I see a form I can't really judge more.

They didn't bother asking for the reference No on the leaflet, but took it when I offered - it's important, especially for smaller post offices, that this number is registered as it's the only way they get paid. I've been told that my local PO is being threatened with having all their DVLA work removed because they haven't sold enough motor insurance, yet they know of people who have tried to get some and give the reference number and the company has refused to take the reference No. No wonder our little POs are struggling.

urbanfrit

Your first link is broken.
Comes up as https://www.thepoostoffice.co.uk

thedean

Forget the Embargo guilt
Leaflets should have been available from all PO from 26th. certainly were at my local one.

James

Does anyone know if the new card is PIN operated only (as is the PO Basic Card Account)? OR

Does the new card offer a Chip & Signature option? If so is this information readily available?

Thanks in advance

iceburn

thedean wrote:

Forget the Embargo guilt
Leaflets should have been available from all PO from 26th. certainly were at my local one.

leaflets yes, but some offices have got the application forms which most offices do not have :-(

DAVE_DEE

Did you know that the post office do not except credit cards for counter sale, not even there own.

iceburn

they accept credit card for paying postage stamps and flowers. I think (not down in office now, but I think E-Top up soon) But POL HQ made a complete mess up on it acceptance. Cause instead of sending on the intrustions "you can only accept for postage and flowers." They said what you can't accept it it for. Which became over 3 pages long!! cause much confusion and also at the end which is where you might experience problem. IF an office accept take your credit card as payment for say BT BILL guess what will happen? Your card will be debited (it does not stop them doing it the horizon.) So you think you have paid. But than a month or two later they send the sub post office an error notice for the CARD PAYMENT AMOUNT! And they have to make good that error from their own money. So POL get the money twice, once from customer, and than from the postmaster. The system does not even say if it is a credit or debit card. Cause with debit card when first started was like this system but has since been expanded to include most things now like bills, E-Topups, etc.. So anyway some offices are now got policy of not accepting cards or maybe only one person on office does it until the issue is sorted out. Which I can't blame them cause the rate of pay they get for transcations a £100 error notice will take a long time to recover! So Dave Dee if you want to use your credit card to pay for say your ebay postage at your local post office, if you go there and do the postage seperate from bills and ask to pay for it by card they should do it. Or you can ask them to call the Business support who will confirm they can do it.