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John Lewis: Partnership Card reviews

1.32
Based on 886 reviews, last reviewed 24th Feb 2026
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Latest highest rating:

4

The JLP card offers cashback based upon spending and... The JLP card offers cashback based upon spending and it is possible to generate £100+ cashback per year. Managing the account is straightforward via t... Read more Reviewed on: 22nd January 2026
Mr N's avatar
Mr N

Latest lowest rating:

1

AVOID the JOHN LEWIS CREDIT CARD I have had a JL credit card for over 10 years , paid off in full every month. I returned from holiday having cleared my card to buy a coffee. The card... Read more Reviewed on: 24th February 2026
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Penny T

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 (886)

Shame on you. Loyal customer, perfect pay history, credit limit slashed

1
High earner, long standing customer, regularly spending 10k or more per month on the card and paying off in full. Processed the new application with code provided and got credit limit slashed by 90% to a fraction of typical monthly spend. Pressed cancel and applied online for Amex card. Accepted in seconds with a credit limit more than double the previous JLP limit, plus loads of extra benefits and services besides. Bye, bye JLP & Waitrose. There’s plenty of alternatives out there. Your loss their gain. Shame on you for teaming up with such a low quality company. It’s clear from all these reviews they are not interested in better credit-rated customers who spend a lot of money and pay off their balance, but only those who pay interest, even encouraging payment of the minimum amount which financially costs those customers the most. That will come home to roost when they realise the amount of money spent is a fraction of the amount that HSBC processed (and John Lewis see their sales tumble too) whilst lower credit quality loans are the first to default in a recession- which is looming fast. Reviewed on: 3rd October 2022

This is specifically about the new JL credit card - not JL in general. And it's pants.

1
It's a mess. If you want to keep your rewards going, you have to switch to this card provided by 'New Day'. As many others have remarked, the website is set up to encourage you only to pay a minimum amount, and thus pay interest. Which, of course, is how credit card companies earn their money, but this is pretty blatant. The website is also inaccurate, and frequently impossible to login. I paid the full amount of my first statement balance; three days later I got an email telling me I had to pay £5 within 6 days. No explanation. I wish I had not taken out this new card, and I will stop using it. I'm really surprised and disappointed at John Lewis getting into bed with such an outfit. Reviewed on: 3rd October 2022

Ageism is illegal

1
Ageism is illegal around the modern world. But it seems NewDay and John Lewis will take their chances with the law and the Financial Ombudsman. I've written for clarification of my interpretation of the NewDay approach to "responsible lending". At 60+ and now retired since first having the JLP card for many years I'm now surplus to requirements. I have a 999 credit rating and a good pension. I've been refused the replacement card by NewDay. Whereas my son who's in his first low paid job with no real credit history was successful and had his credit limit tripled without even asking. Actually to a level he could never pay back. NewDay are irresponsible lenders and either by design or stupidity have discriminated against aged JLP customers, who will take it personally and not return. In my written exchanges with John Lewis and NewDay, they have both avoided a response with any reference to Ageism. I've made a formal complaint to the Financial Ombudsman as it is illegal to knowingly or indirectly act in a way that financially discriminates. The outcry on t'internet is palpable. This is John Lewis's "Ratners" moment and they appear to have a new slogan... Never Knowingly Going Under. I feel for the "partners". I would bet that JLP will not recover their current staggering seasonal debt by this Christmas and January sales as normal for the sector. Watch this space. I'd guess Dame Sharon White will be needing to take dramatic action early 2023. Clearly the crucial strategy of customer retention doesn't appeal. Reviewed on: 3rd October 2022

free credit period chopped!

1
The previous HSBC run card wasn't perfect but at least I could get minimum 25 days' free credit. New day only gives 15 days between statement and payment which is a significant reduction in utility and value. Reviewed on: 3rd October 2022

Designed to make you pay the minimum and incur debt

1
The design of this new app clearly encourages users of the JL card to incur debt as it has minimum payment right in the middle and this doesn’t clear even when you have paid off the debt in full for that month. It would also appear that the usual £99 taken to check viability when buying petrol from Tesco is not removed quickly as in the past. Inevitably this may have to be paid for one month before being returned the following month. This is totally unacceptable. I have been a loyal and long standing customer of John Lewis but now I am seeking another card provider. What a pity for me and others caught in this changeover that no-one requested. Maybe that's what they want. I guess there is no profit in those of us who pay up every month. JL will need to consider this move very carefully if they are not to lose many more customers. Reviewed on: 3rd October 2022

Utter Shammbels

1
Have been trying for over a week to register the new John Lewis Partnership Credit Card (NewDay), whenever I attempt to register, I get the message 'system currently unavailable. please try again'. After 10+ attempts, I have better things to do with my time and I won't be trying again. M&S here I come. Reviewed on: 3rd October 2022

I'm off!

1
Over 20 years with my old JL card and used for all my spending. New Day halved my credit limit plus it won't register for contactless payment on my Google Wallet. M&S card application on its way. JL losing its way badly. Reviewed on: 2nd October 2022

confusing

1
i had a text telling me that i had a payment due, no record of what it was for. I had to log on and pay and then had no receipt. this was only 2 weeks after i had cleared the last account. Reviewed on: 2nd October 2022

Bitterly disappointed

1
We were accepted with the same credit limit for the Newday card and I can only sympathise with the loyal customers who are angered by being refused for no good reason. However, we now feel that being rejected would have been preferable. We’ve been stressed and embarrassed by having cards that only work sometimes. We’ve spent ages on the ‘phone to Newday and have been alarmed to receive fraud alerts when we’ve tried to make purchases and been declined. We’ve issued a complaint to Newday. I’ve shopped in JL and Waitrose practically since the last ice age. I opened the JL card as soon as it came out. I echo what everyone else has said about loyalty, anger and disappointment. There’s something else I’ve come to realise- I rely on my credit card, like my bank account, it provides security and confidence as I go about life. That has gone out of the window. We’re researching other credit card choices. Reviewed on: 2nd October 2022

Big Mistake by JL

1
Issuing a card went OK although limit was less than on JL's HSBC backed card. Used for about 3 weeks and then got a text to say balance to be paid in 10 days, a much shorter time than most cards. Also, they had ignored my request for a specific statement date despite asking me for one. On going into my account, I noticed that paper statements were not an option and they only stayed online for 6 months. Had monthly statements from previous card which suits me. Decided to ring them to get statement date changed and get clarification on a few things. None of the options were suitable and there were layers and layers of them. There seemed no way to actually speak to anyone. So, I decided to push the option to cancel my card, thinking that would trigger a response from a human. It didn’t! After telling me all the things I had to do if cancelling my card, it announced it had cancelled it! JL have gone from a flexible card with good customer service to one with a lesser time to pay, no flexibility and as good as no customer service. They will regret this move. Reviewed on: 2nd October 2022

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