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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?

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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

Unfit to be providing financial services.

Paid off last month’s statement in full but asking me to pay again on website. Still waiting for next payment details. Can’t fault when services were provided by HSBC. A Monopoly money outfit which needs investigating by FCA. Sharon White needs to be fired Reviewed on: 4th November 2022

John Lewis should be embarrassed to be associated with newday

The worst most stressful and worst company to date I have dealt with I feel sorry for the staff having to deal with frustrated /angry customers Newday systems are frankly pathetic and cont complete a simple transaction for the second month . To date over a two months period I am on my fourth direct debit set up interest and late payment fees added and refunded several times. Beware Newday actions may effect your credit score, Interestingly I can’t even close the account until new statements are generated. Good luck to anyone joining Reviewed on: 4th November 2022

What a cock up

Transactions which were displayed one day have disappeared the next. Do I have to transfer direct debits myself? Level of security is less with no password. Why have they done this? Old card was great and worked well. Aside from above problems, the site is distinctly user unfriendly. I hate it hate it hate it Reviewed on: 4th November 2022

Useless

repeatedly says payment declined and then when the purchase is made on a different card it shows that the original payment on the partnership card as pending . whenever I phone customer services to complain they just say take it up with the retailer. Reviewed on: 4th November 2022

Appalling customer service

New day are a rubbish company, with no customer service,the new JL credit card only seems to work in the UK ,the card gets continuously blocked, therefore you have to wait an age on the phone to get it unblocked. I was given a pathetic excuse that it was for my own benefit for fraud prevention, by one representative it's excellent fraud prevention if you can't use your card ??? When you phone customer service and eventually get through, you're given various excuses as to why the problem has occurred,but nothing is solved. The absolute embarrassment of your card being refused is completely lost on them . I'm sorry John Lewis, I loved your old card and I had nothing but happy experiences with it. Don't get the new card avoid these people they're hideous,they don't deserve anyone's business Reviewed on: 4th November 2022

Shame on you John Lewis

Appalling choice of new service provider by John Lewis. Don’t touch New Day with a barge pole if you are a creditworthy customer who clears their balance in full. I held a John Lewis Partnership Card for more than 10 years, clear my balance in full each month, have an unblemished credit history & a healthy income and have been rejected by New Day. I appealed the decision but to no avail as ‘I don’t meet their criteria’. Somewhat ironically I also held two other cards with New Day ( not through active choice but because they took over servicing the Debenhams card & Laura Ashley cards. I don’t use those cards and am so incensed at being declined for the new John Lewis Card, the one I used regularly for day to day expenses, I’ve cancelled them. Having read the other negative reviews about New Day I am now relieved that I was rejected and won’t have the hassle that so many are experiencing. My anger was never about access to credit - I have other cards with ample limits - it was about being treated appallingly by a John Lewis, a company with whom I had a long standing relationship. The John Lewis leadership team failed to ensure that their loyal customers were protected. New Day has effectively ‘bought’ an existing ‘book’ and could have migrated JL customers to their database without any need for them to re-apply. John Lewis has failed to acknowledge that our relationship is with them, the retailer, not with New Day. For customers the ‘back end’ process should be invisible but this hasn’t been the case and as a result John Lewis brand reputation has taken a massive hit. I am just one of many who will now take my spend elsewhere. Shame on Dame Sharon White and the Executive Leadership Team for plunging John Lewis deeper into the mire. Reviewed on: 4th November 2022

So sad

Where do I begin? Drowned in introductory emails Very confusing info. regarding statements Slightly threatening emails Lack of info. about payment Attempt to pay over the phone failed No info. on account details for setting up a direct debit. Worried about how to pay How could one of the icons of British retail businesses fail so badly? Once payment has been achieved it is bye bye John Lewis after many years of receiving an quality service and being a loyal customer Reviewed on: 3rd November 2022

Their site is now 'unavailable'!

I have never dealt with a more useless company. Having failed miserably to download their app (they're asking for the expiry date of my card which I STILL haven't received and the temporary details do not include the expiry date). I tried to contact them and now the site is unavailable. All evening it has been saying 'System currently unavailable, please try again'. If my card ever does arrive I shall probably send it back. I don't choose to deal with inadequate companies. Reviewed on: 3rd November 2022

Shocked and disappointed

Been loyal with JL for over 30 years. ALL my house items from small to large are from their store at Milton Keynes I food shop at Waitrose online for 10 years so my monthly credit cards average was £2000 which was always paid in time. Saved the vouchers to spend in the store which we always top up. My last purchase was a £2000 TV. We were then offered a credit of £500 per month which would not even pay for our monthly food bill at Waitrose. My wife and I feel very let down so we phoned new card supplier and a very stern man said. He was sorry but his company could not increase our credit until we have proved we are a good payer. So after a few comments and what we thought he said we could always find a new card supplier, which we did and now have a credit of £5000. We will now always shop in other stores for food and house items first before looking at JL. What a shame that JL partners are dumping all their loyal customers. I have since wrote to JL and they sent me a reply saying that they have no control over what has happened and I need to contact the new suppler. I am disappointed but my new online food supplier are great and slightly cheaper and is local to me. So thank you JL for making me change.. Reviewed on: 3rd November 2022

What have you done?

John Lewis what are you thinking? We have been loyal customers for many years and were very happy your partnership card. Why the change? And why New Day? After reading the reviews for John Lewis' new credit card provider - New Day - which were generally awful, we sought an alternative option. M & S came out top in independent reviews and have a loyalty scheme we'll use. Consequently no more John Lewis. (It is interesting to note that the M&S card is issued by HSBC who were John Lewis former card issuers.) It was a simple online application and we were offered an comparable first credit limit. Reviewed on: 3rd November 2022

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