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John Lewis: Partnership Card reviews

Name: Partnership Card
Rating: 1.33 (871 reviews)

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1.35

Based on 871 reviews, last reviewed 12th Jun 2025

100% increase in 5 star reviews

in the past 90 days

400% 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

Unable to contact to unblock card outside office hours I have had 2 vital payments blocked on a Sunday due to the algorithm thinking it was fraudulent activity. But Anyday is NoT open before 10am and after... Read more Reviewed on: 9th June 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 (871)

Rejected without explanation

Apparently 40 years of shopping with John Lewis a good pension and an excellent credit record are not enough for my partnership card to be renewed. Applied for a different card and was given a significantly increased credit limit without asking. I also replaced an existing new day card with the same result. Just need to find somewhere else to shop. Reviewed on: 31st August 2022

refused new credit card

I worked for Waitrose for 17 years, have had the existing card since inception and pay off every month without fail. Staggering treatment of loyal customers. Reviewed on: 31st August 2022

Another very credit worthy customer cast away by John Lewis - what price loyalty?

Retired and with very secure income and faultless credit rating. Now dumped by John Lewis. As others have said truly a Ratner moment in JL PR history. Reviewed on: 31st August 2022

In store sit-in - protest the new card

With so many people appearing to be annoyed by the rejection of partnership card or having credit reduced to a useless level, thinking about having a sit in - in store. Get enough people in each store showing how many loyal customers they’re alienating Reviewed on: 30th August 2022

Reasons for ineligible or derisory credit limit?

Told ineligible for the newday JL Partnership card - despite >40 years loyal JL/W customer, credit score excellent, £12,000 credit limit and superb payment record - I have commented on Trustpilot and Linked-in and direct to upper echelons of JL. I was upset and livid to begin with. Composure regained - withdrawn my application - I have been thinking about why ineligible and why paltry credit limits. Newday is akin to a parasite, not a lender in its own right, it has to borrow to lend. It pays interest between 2% and 6%+ on its borrowings - source: loan notes listed on London Stock Exchange - so cannot afford to subsidise cardholders that do not pay interest. Newday is a puppet, its strings pulled by funds advised by Cinven and CVC Capital Partners. With plans to float on the stock market, newday wants to increase the number of cardholders to boost its standing in the minds of investors. One cardholder with for example £5000 credit limit and paying the whole of the balance monthly (no profit for newday) equates to 10 cardholders each £500 limit, mostly incurring interest (profit for newday). Newday has taken out a loan circa £650M to pay JLP for receivables (source: newday results presentation August 2022) - a loan carrying interest will ultimately have to be paid for by cardholders. The presentation highlights perceived benefit of the JLP account. "Higher customer transaction volume and loyalty. Diversifies customer base towards prime. Delivers growth and attractive profit profile." Newaday’s 28.9% cost to income ratio maintained only if existing and new cardholders pay at least the same amount of interest. Ineligibility is I would think also orchestrated by JLP. A JL manager assures me JLP would have been satisfied with its due diligence. JLP is in financial difficulty. Its overheads and operating costs are unsustainable: top-heavy with overpaid managers and ceo, not attracting enough retired part-time workers for saving on National insurance it is suffering wage inflation, most generic products and services on offer are a soft touch for competitors. With profit margins shrinking, JLP strategy is for JL Financial Services to become an important profit centre in its own right. As agent for insurers, JLP gets commission. Likely a cut of the interest paid by cardholders. I would think JLP wants to reduce the cost of the vouchers cardholders get when using the card whether or not in JL and/or W. A form of cash-back, the idea of the vouchers was that cardholders would mainly buy from JL and/or W, not as I suspect most do to mostly buy elsewhere. The points differential is not enough to deter. As JL Financial Services knows how much cardholders spend, what they buy when and where, I suspect JLP has analysed every existing credit limit and told newday to get rid of what JL regard as unprofitable cardholders via ineligibility or derisory credit limits. Although it appears that JLP has alienated its core customers, from JLP's perspective it could be argued partly our own fault for not regarding JL and W as our sole suppliers. I am proper loyal to W in particular but I gather my attitude is unusual. If f i were to buy elsewhere something that JL or W sells then what I spend elsewhere wouldn't be helping JLP so rather than shop around I only shop at Waitrose. I doubt JLP rates newday for customer service, more likely for ruthlessness. JLP is I suspect using newday to do its dirty work. In its presentation newday says "Moved to the latest version of Customer Management bureau data and tightened growth strategies for existing customers" and "Tightening of affordability criteria and initial credit limits for new customers". On balance if what i reckon is correct or something along those lines then that doesn't say much for JLP's ethics but then again JLP is not what it was. Reviewed on: 30th August 2022

Declined!

Reading the hundreds of reviews below I'm slightly reassured to learn that I'm not alone in being declined by NewDay for a JL Partnership Card: I was beginning to take it personally. Have had one for years, spend thousands each year, pay off the balance in full every month and never incur charges. I called NewDay and was told I could apply again when the card opens to the general public. Given the algorithm their system must use, I doubt this would be successful and will have to look elsewhere. The call-handler (not his fault) did ask if I wanted to open a complaint, which I did over the phone. What does John Lewis think about the situation, and how will it mollify its outraged - and previously loyal - customers? Reviewed on: 30th August 2022

JL partnership card

Like many others reviews I've read here, after 12+ years regularly spending on my partnership card (a large amount of which has been at JL and waitrose!) and paying off bills on time, my application for the new partnership card (as invited by JL) has been declined without explanation. the helpline suggested I write to NewDay. I won't be doing that. PLease, John Lewis, look into what is happening and try and sort something out - you are in danger of losing some very loyal customers. Reviewed on: 29th August 2022

John Lewis doesn't deserve loyal customers any more.

I have been a customer of John Lewis/Waitrose for many years and always pay my card off in full each month. I applied for a new card, foolishly thinking it would just be a case of paying my account by direct debit. Wrong!. The new providers want direct access to my bank account (which I am not prepared to give them) and seem to want to conduct their business via apps. and mobile telephones. We live in rural Scotland and mobile telephone reception is limited so contact on this basis is impossible. I have been offered a card and a credit limit (even though I have been retired for many years) but won't be taking up the offer. What has gone wrong with J.L. ?. Too many smart IT people at the top and a greedy desire to farm everything out to presumably save money and cut jobs. I would suggest that the J.L/Waitrose shopping profile comprises loyal, older, middle class people so I fear they will lose a lot of custom. I use Waitrose now as the staff are superb and it grieves me to think that my weekly shop will be done elsewhere from October 31st. A bad move - sheep being lead by management goats !. Anne T. Reviewed on: 29th August 2022

JL Partnership Card

Recently invited to apply for a new JL Partnership card, run by NewDay. I can only assume that New Day do not want customers who settle their debt promptly each month. A look at other recent reviews here shows many other JL customers in exactly the same position….financially secure, loyal JL and Waitrose customers….either being declined outright or offered ridiculously low limits that simply do not reflect their true financial position. I am now more financially secure and able than ever. What are you doing JL? Why would you chose to partner with a credit card provider that simply does not reflect your customer base? New Day have a core mission to help people with low or poor credit scores to improve their borrowing record. Just look at their website and marketing videos on You Tube… You’ve got this one badly wrong! Reviewed on: 28th August 2022

No customer loyalty after 37 years!

Received notification that my current partnership card will expire in October and I should apply for a new one with New Day. My current credit limit is £7,800. Despite being a loyal customer for 37 years, spending thousands with John Lewis during that time, and never defaulting on payments, New Day have offered me a £250 limit. Seriously? What an absolute joke! The loyalty reward scheme has gone right down the pan too. Used to offer free cup of tea and cake vouchers to spend in store, but now you get a free entry into several competitions. Big Deal! How does that constitute a `reward`? Anyone can enter a free competition. It`s only a reward for the person who wins, not for the entrant. What a con! I haven`t had any reward worth claiming for at least 2 years. As another customer said `I won`t be taking the new card` and for me also, it`s a very sad end to what has been a long happy shopping experience over the years. They will certainly lose a great deal of future purchases from me, and I suspect from many other loyal customers too. Doesn`t make good business sense. I see this as the final nail in the John Lewis coffin. This company once prided itself on giving the ultimate customer experience, now like so many others nowadays, they just don`t care anymore! Reviewed on: 27th August 2022

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