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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

20% decrease 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

John Lewis - Sort this out

New partnership card needs sorting asap. Banks don`t recognise the account you need to pay . New Day clearly can`t cope with the volume of phone calls. No other way of contacting them. How did John Lewis choose New Day ? We expect better from John Lewis. Reviewed on: 22nd October 2022

Poor service on all fronts

I like to pay my cc direct from my online bank (1st Direct), but the details in the paper statement don't explain who to pay and the details I put in didn't match anything. I phoned First Direct who were prompt to answer (as always) and said that apparently the payee is Debenhams! Now who would have thought a defunct department store would be involved... Also, 1st D said they'd been told to use the cc number as ref, while the statement says to use the a/c number, which is different. I tried to phone New Day/JL to check which number to use, but gave up after dire warnings of long waits and the most unhelpful, useless options menu I have ever come across. We deserve better service! Reviewed on: 22nd October 2022

Sharon White needs to listen to her Customers

Just received my new JL credit card. Credit limit was £15k; now £5k. Nigh on impossible to talk to a real person, advised a 25 minute queue if I want to wait (you always got through in less than a minute and got good service with HSBC). Card will be shredded and find another with better service. Used to rate JL but no longer - think again Sharon! Reviewed on: 22nd October 2022

Where do I start?

£25,000 limit on the old card, £5,000 on the new card. Payment details nowhere to be found if I want to pay direct from my bank account. Reviewed on: 21st October 2022

Two cards on same account

Switched to the new credit card and received first statement without designating which of he two cards linked to the account an expenditure is attributed to (as was the case with the old card). Chat line stated this wasn’t available so they are about to lose a customer. Reviewed on: 21st October 2022

Sadly I can't rate JL new card with zero stars!

I like to pay with a Direct Payment from my bank account so I have control over when it is paid. When I came to pay my balance the first month (September 22) I tried to add the new JL Partnership card but it does not exist in the bank's list of Credit Card Companies (worrying!). After a long conversation with a lady who was based overseas, and did not really understand UK banking systems, I finished up having to pay via the app. Came to pay again this month and the same happened again. The card is just not listed! If I then try to pay by entering John Lewis Credit Card with the sort code and account number they quote on their statement, of course it cannot find a match. So I contacted them via the app this time and still no joy. I did a screen shot of the long conversation and they said "As JL Partnership Card is a new tie-up with NewDay, payee name might not be available with banks yet under their payee name option, however you can contact your bank and your bank will be able to set up the bank details with payee name" NO THANKS!! I'm just going to stop using my card from now. I've had so many problems with everything to do with it, that I'm no longer going to use it. Reviewed on: 21st October 2022

impossible to activate new card.

have tried to follow "register for online services - impossible to log in. Always says it is wrong but have spent hours trying to fit ina/cnumber etc etc. years with the Partnership card. never a problem Reviewed on: 21st October 2022

Activating new card

I have been trying to activate my new card for several days. The 'easy' activate does not work and the OTP never arrives no matter how often I request it. Now resorted to trying to speak to an Associate have hung on hopefully for over an hour 3 days running. There appears to be no access to customer services. I agree with the other reviewers, I may have to abandon the JL card altogether...a shame after so many years of holding it. Reviewed on: 21st October 2022

Another lost customer

Like so many others, my "easy to apply" application was rejected despite having a high credit limit and paying off my card every month. Another bad decision, John Lewis, going downhill fast. Reviewed on: 20th October 2022

Absolute Rubbish

Had other JL card since launch, never increased limit and paid off every month. Got new card, asked for increased limit for a particular purchase. Online decline without asking any questions. Complained and still declined. Applied to a completely different provider and offered a limit 2.5 times higher. Card cut up and account closed. Good bye JL from a long standing, loyal customer! Reviewed on: 19th October 2022

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