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John Lewis: Partnership Card reviews

Name: Partnership Card
Rating: 1.33 (876 reviews)

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1.33

Based on 876 reviews, last reviewed 25th Sep 2025

100% decrease in 5 star reviews

in the past 90 days

25% increase in 1 star reviews

in the past 90 days

88%

Latest highest rating:

5

had a partnership card for years now. had a partnership card for years now. love the rewards vouchers on spends and the points you are awarded for using their credit card which i normally ... Read more Reviewed on: 12th June 2025

Latest lowest rating:

1

If your phone is stolen, you cannot verify anything. I had my phone and card stolen, to cancel your card you need your phone... to do anything, you need your phone. So then decided to used the chat servi... Read more Reviewed on: 25th September 2025

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About this product

Read our John Lewis Finance Partnership Card reviews to help you to find out about the pros and cons of taking out the Partnership credit card. What kind of features does the John Lewis Partnership card have? What do people think of John Lewis' customer service? Does the card have great benefits?

Find out more about the Partnership card by reading our reviews from the Smart Money People community - people like you. You can also write your own John Lewis Partnership Card review to share your own experiences.

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John Lewis Partnership Card reviews (876)

Review of the John Lewis, Partnership Card:

JLP and Newday in cahoots.

Told I'm ineligible - despite >50 years loyal JLP customer, 5 figure credit limit and score excellent - I have after communications with JLP managers concluded that this oust has been orchestrated by JLP. From sources including JLP and Newday websites,, I speculate: JL stores are in financial difficulty, currently supported by Waitrose itself on the brink. It’s not that JLP doesn't want higher spending loyal customers, it sure does; but what it wants is custom that doesn’t sap profits.    With the HBSC JL Partnership card, each £1 spent qualifies for a point, whose number depends upon whether spent at JL and/or W or elsewhere. The more elsewhere the less JLP gets the more it costs JLP. I think it used to be one point for every £1 spent in JLP, two for every £1 elsewhere. Nowadays for some eligible purchases at JL and W 5 points for every £4 spent; and for other eligible purchases at JL and W 1 point for every £4; 1 point for every £4 spent elsewhere. Fewer vouchers for spending elsewhere is not a deterrent. For example, if a card-holder with £5,000 credit limit spends £4000 a month elsewhere then JLP issues vouchers. Vouchers can only be used in JL or W but it doesn't follow the purchase price has to exceed the vouchers value. A cardholder could amass a substantial sum in vouchers without having spent a penny at JL or W. When using vouchers to buy in JL or W not have to buy anything involving any extra payment for the difference between the vouchers and price. JLP would make a loss. JLP says that over the last five years £230m has been issued in vouchers. How much of approximately £126,000 a day average has gone to customers that haven't paid JLP anything. By enlisting Newday to either render higher credit limit existing Partnership cardholders ineligible or where the applicant is eligible a substantially lower limit JLP is reducing the value of vouchers issued. JLP is probably getting a share of any interest paid by new card-holders and paying a lower commission on receivables (transaction sales). JLP I suspect envisages that where an existing Partnership cardholder is rejected that person would obtain a desired credit limit from another card provider and continue to buy from JL/W whenever. Whether enough existing Partnership cardholders would want to continue loyal to JLP is a separate issue. A JLP partner qualifying for discount told me that for most goods and services there are cheaper deals elsewhere. Not a deposit-taker Newday hasn't any revenue beyond credit cards. It borrows to re-lend, loan note interest between 2% and 6+% a year - with interest rates rising costs will go up: for how much longer its business is sustainable is anyone's guess. To finance JLP's transaction, Newday has taken out a loan of £650M. Any cardholder paying the whole balance monthly is getting an interest-free loan from the date of purchase to balance payment date - if you time it carefully then up to 45 days - so for that reason alone an existing JL Partnership cardholder is ineligible. Newday plans to float shares on the stock market next year so boosting the number of cardholders is to impress shareholders. A £5000 credit limit to one card holder (unlikely to pay interest) is akin to £500 limit to 10 card holders (likely to pay some interest). The net proceeds of a stock market float (rumoured capitalisation £2.5Bn) would provide a injection of interest-free cash. The sad part is that JLP could increase its profit margin and number of loyal customers without having to resort to destroying long-term customer relationships with JLP. Instead of the vouchers issued regardless of where a JL Partnership cardholder spends, the vouchers should be linked to the myJohnLewis and myWaitrose cards. Show or scan a my-card before paying and have the voucher value credited to the my-card - and since printing on paper is costly to administer, to issue every JL and W customer a my-card which can be produced by the customer at the check-out for credit and debit with the points/voucher value. Reviewed on: 5th September 2022

Disappointed

I am really cross by the fact that I have been charged a balance handling fee for transferring my balance over from my partnership card to the new JL card. Also, the number they supplied to enable customers to ring is also not recognised. What a shambles! Reviewed on: 10th November 2022

Rubbish customer service

Payments using bank transfer not showing on my account ! What is going on with this provider? Reviewed on: 10th November 2022

Such a shame :(

I've had my JL Partnership Card for over 20 years and it has never failed me. Customer services has always been easy to get hold of, you speak to someone straight away and it's been brilliant in keeping a watchful eye on my card. Since it's moved to New Day my card has been declined over 8 times for no particular reason - and now I can't even use it to renew online payments. I had to wait 5 mins to go through numerous and confusing voice options when i called the customer helpline only to be told that "there had been a few issues with some customers around payments - and perhaps you could use another card while these are sorted out". Hmmmm! I have long admired the partnership of JL - and have felt proud of it as a UK brand that stands for trust and simplicity in an ever changing and confused world. It seems that it's not just the card that is experiencing issues but the store itself as it certainly has not felt the same over the past 18 months. I will be letting this lapse. Reviewed on: 9th November 2022

Ripped me off!

After being advised that my JLPC would cease to work after 31st October and being moved to New Day, I did not expect the Customer Service to fail. What happened was that given very few options I applied for a balance transfer onto the new card only to find that I paid a whopping amount of transfer charge to NewDay. Absolutely livid that JL can rip off custyomerts like this for their gain. Whikst I accept I had a decent amount owing though well within 30 % of my balance, I nevertheless naively expected JL to waive the transfer fee for existing customers in good will. I have been a JL customer for over 50 years and this was a real kick in the teeth. I won't be staying with them longer than it takes to find a new provider! Reviewed on: 9th November 2022

Very disappointing...

After 15 years as a happy cardholder, I'll be moving elsewhere. 4 occasions now and the card hasn't worked. Why on earth did JLP move from a recognised bank to a mickey mouse fintech? Reviewed on: 8th November 2022

Why change to New Day and lose credibility?

Had a partnership card for over 30 years, always smoothly. Now New Day are involved and I get a letter telling me my emails are not reaching me. Given log in puts me on a black screen with JOHNLEEISCREITCARD.COM in blood letters with links to credit cards that have nothing at all to do with John Lewis cards. Spelling wrong and looks like it’d been done by a hacker or a child. Lost all confidence cut up my card and rang New Day they are hopeless Reviewed on: 8th November 2022

Not worth having

As others have pointed out, reducing the time between the statement being produced and payment due date from 25 days with the old partnership card to 16 days has made the new card practically unusable. I’ll be switching to another provider after many, many years as a partnership card user. John Lewis is no longer putting its customers first Reviewed on: 7th November 2022

Fine until it. Changed provider to New Day

With the new provider New Day , it has become very badly run: payments are declined as the provided sort code and account number do not work! My card has been refused several times in different shops and on line. When I rang to ask why, no explanation given and offered a new card! You wait at least 15 minutes for a phone response, go elsewhere for a card . Reviewed on: 7th November 2022

M & S is your new friend

NewDay gave me an indicative credit limit which was only 20% of my existing Partnership limit, so I have let the card lapse. I applied instead for an M & S credit card and they gave me my old Partnership credit limit, without being asked. I hope this post helps. Reviewed on: 7th November 2022

John Lewis - changes for the worse

John Lewis moving their credit card partnership to New Day from HSBC is turning into an unmitigated disaster. Unlike the experience of so many reviewers, our transfer to the New Day card was reasonably smooth apart from the avalanche of, mainly meaningless, emails accompanying the event. Then the real problems started. Firstly the reduction in time between the statement date and the due date for payment from 25 days with HSBC to 16 days with New Day which is unreasonable for cashflow planning in this current cost of living crisis. This only serves to damage the John Lewis brand image of a caring, customer focussed organisation. Secondly, the New Day statement says that the payment of the balance can be made by bank transfer. This is currently not possible. I spoke to my bank at the end of September 2022 who advised that they have not been given the necessary details to effect such transfers to the New Day Santander bank account. I then contacted John Lewis customer services about this bank transfer issue and an extremely unhelpful individual stated they said were unaware of a problem and should contact New Day. I spoke to New Day (eventually, after a 40 minute wait) and they blithely stated that they were aware of the issue and were "working with Santander to fix it". As of today they still have not fixed anything which makes me question the competence of New Day as a provider of financial services. I would not risk using their mobile app or setting up a direct debit because of their obvious lack of control. Perhaps it is time for the FCA to review their authorisation. At the same time this also brings into question the competence of John Lewis in moving their card provider from HSBC to New Day to the detriment of so many formerly loyal customers. It feels like part of a deliberate cost cutting policy by Sharon White and her lieutenants which will only serve to wreck the brand. She should either sort out this mess or get out. Reviewed on: 7th November 2022

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