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John Lewis: Partnership Card reviews

Name: Partnership Card
Rating: 1.86 (894 reviews)

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1.86

Based on 894 reviews, last reviewed 30th Apr 2026

No new 5 star reviews

in the past 90 days

700% increase in 1 star reviews

in the past 90 days

88%

Latest highest rating:

4

High interest although you gain points using your cr... High interest although you gain points using your credit card whilst shopping in John Lewis Reviewed on: 17th April 2026

Latest lowest rating:

1

Zero TRUST, and HONESTY Customer service is shocking. A distinct lack of ANY rewards for points earned. You call to say you have recieved zero vouchers depite clocking up ove... Read more Reviewed on: 30th April 2026

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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 (894)

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

Section 75 under the Consumer Credit Act

I made a claim to John Lewis finance in April 2021 under the Section 75 Consumer Credit Act because I had paid a deposit for a holiday in a chalet in France. Under their terms of sale of the company, if we were unable to access the resort due to exceptional circumstances (Covid 19) it says they would refund our deposit. We were in lockdown in the UK so we were prohibited from travelling abroad. The French company has repeatedly refused to refund our deposit which was all documented and sent to John Lewis along with a request to claim back my £950. John Lewis refused. I wrote back sending copies of the Conditions of Sale and they did not even bother to answer. I then re sent the letter in August by registered delivery so I know it was delivered and still no reply over 5 months later. John Lewis make it impossible to deal with any problems because you cannot email or speak to anyone in the department that deals with these claims but only write. Leave this credit card well alone. There are so many decent companies out there so my advice is use any one of them but avoid John Lewis. Judging by the terrible reviews I am not the only one to have received quite appalling service. Reviewed on: 10th January 2022

App

The App upgrade in early Nov 21 does not work and I know have to log on via a tablet \ PC to view my account. Moreover, I cannot authenticate on line purchases so cannot use my card onIine. Have tried contacting the call centre several times and went round the in circles with the automated call direction, I left several messages which they did reply to telling me ring the centre. Two months on and no indication of when the app will be fixed? So New Year, New Credit Card me thinks! Reviewed on: 31st December 2021

complete mayhem of admin

I have a credit card with them for the last 15 years or so, the last 2-3 years has been completely shambolic right from call connection quality through to their Card security administration which appears to be running in an ‘outsourced’ model. It looks like the trust is on HSBC to get things right at the expense of their own brand value Reviewed on: 19th December 2021

terrible app and online portal

I'm about to look for another card as it is a nightmare to log in online. Reviewed on: 14th December 2021

Where are the One Time Passwords?

I'm now unable to view my account via internet or phone because, however often the website claims to have sent a one time code, I have yet to receive one. It is clear I am not the only one. I would reluctantly go back to paper statements but that would mean being in a phone queue for several hours. I suspect the long queue of people waiting on the phone are experiencing the same problem. It is time John Lewis recognised it had a technical problem and did something about it. Reviewed on: 29th October 2021

Contadiction

I have wasted whole afternoons - on one occasion talking to four different advisers in succession - trying to resolve a nonsense, I am locked out of my online account because, allegedly, the details provided do not match their records, Yet in the telephone conversations every last piece of information has been confirmed as correct. The advisers say there is nothing they can do, I shall (the vouchers one earns notwithstanding) be cancelling my card. Reviewed on: 24th October 2021

My payments keep continually getting declined despite health credit on account

Since Friday I have experienced 5 declined payments - all very small sums of money despite having a large credit on the account . I have been on the phone numerous times to get the card unblocked . Each time I ask why the customer care team can’t give me an answer and say they can’t guarantee it won’t happen again. I received an email tonight saying a payment for £10 has been declined . As I use my card for all payments I can’t confirm like this . I will look for another provider and this has made me so angry I will no longer support JL with any figure purchases (previously have bought all our white goods, furniture etc). As JL can’t get their act together over this they deserve to be consigned to the retailing rubbish bin Reviewed on: 19th October 2021

Credit Card - Total waste of time!

Applied for credit card (I was attracted by the rewards offer), accepted immediately, arrived three days later. Activated it online straightaway as you normally would. Card still not working three days later - call up and am then told they will take 3 working days to go through credit checks before I can use the card!!! What on earth was the point of my application and acceptance? Card absolutely no use, wanted it for a purchase, now need to cancel the card as there is no point in keeping such a ridiculous card that has been a total waste of time. JLF you should have said card tentatively accepted, pending credit checks and you should never have sent me a card I could not use. I've never known another financial provider send out a card that could not be used. Reviewed on: 12th October 2021

Complete incompetence

I have been trying to obtain an OTP - One Time Passcode to access my account. Three weeks have passed and still not OTP. has been received. Mobile phone with BT technology have investgated and they state that there is no evidence of John Lewis attempting to send the OTP, despite approximately 30 attempts to obtain it. I contacted John Lewis again, and suggested that we use an old Vodafone mobile number, and gave them that number, which they show as recorded on their website. I was told that it would take 24 hours for the new number to register with John Lewis. 24 hours have passed, and I have made a further five attempts using Vodafone, and am now locked out, and no OTP has come through. John Lewis customer service are now telling me that it takes 24 hours for the OTP to arrive. This is contrary to the information given previously, when I was told that the OTP would arrive in a matter of seconds. I have just spoken with customer service again, and they say they will sort it out and call me back. I asked to speak with a John Lewis executive/supervisor with no result. Neither the FOS nor the Consumer Helpline are of assistance, and I have been referred to a legal entity.. As the situation stands now, I have no access to my account and John Lewis flatly refuses to give access without the OTP. Consequently, I have absolutely no control or access to my account with John Lewis. This is unacceptable and appallingly bad service. One cannot get beyond customer service reps, who are probably located outside the UK and are trained to deal only with routine matters. They are very apologetic, but are very limited in the manner in which they can be of any real assistance. John Lewis appears to be abdicating all responsibility for their incompetence and leaving it to their Customer Service reps to take calls with no involvement on the part of upper level management. Reviewed on: 12th October 2021

Misleading information on hyped up credit card

"The password for your Partnership Card online account has been successfully reset. If you didn’t make this change then please call us on 0345 300 3833, (our lines are open from 7am - 11pm). Calls may be monitored and/or recorded. This email was sent by an automated system, so please don’t reply to it." taken from their email sent to me. However their lines are not open at 7am or even at 7.30am. Their automated message blares out: We are experiencing a high volume of calls? really? at 7.30am on a Sunday morning? Reviewed on: 3rd October 2021

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