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John Lewis: Partnership Card reviews

Name: Partnership Card
Rating: 1.32 (862 reviews)

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1.33

Based on 862 reviews, last reviewed 24th Dec 2024

100% decrease in 5 star reviews

in the past 90 days

67% decrease in 1 star reviews

in the past 90 days

88%

Latest highest rating:

5

Customer satisfaction They are vgery focussed and always go the extra step to ensure we are happy Reviewed on: 24th August 2024

Latest lowest rating:

1

Disaster of a credit card company - total fail! We recently tried adding our John Lewis Partnership Card to Apple Pay, only to find it blocked by NewDay, the card provider. Shockingly, this happened... Read more Reviewed on: 24th December 2024

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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 (862)

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

Absolutely Shocking

Having had the previous HSBC based JL card for years and years. The newday version had been a disaster. Where do I start... 1) I had to apply for the new card which impacted by credit score, my previous HSBC credit limit was 11,000 the newday one is 7,500. As I spend quite a-lot on it monthly i.e over 50% of my credit limit (i pay off every month) this has also impacted my credit score seems to be a test that credit scoring agencies apply. Which means my credit scope is further reduced. 2) Transactions are forever being referred to ND fraud department. Where they spend upto 15 minutes checking systems and going through other purchases... they really don't like online purchases. And even then that very transaction will next be rejected (which has prompted me to write this) 3) They also don't like contactless, about 1 in 3 contactless transactions have to be confirmed by inserting the card and entering the pin. I like JLP vouchers but starting to think time to move on.. Reviewed on: 22nd March 2023

The App keeps freezing and I have to delete and reload every day

Since last phone update the John Lewis credit card app has crashed daily. Customer service was helpful - eventually but telephone communication is awful. To speak to a person is very difficult. It cut me off twice after selecting an option. The old bank John Lewis used was trouble free. This is a shambles. Intend to close my account if it doesn’t improve. Reviewed on: 17th March 2023

Rubbish customer service . A new day credit card under the umbrella of the John Lewis name

Do not take out this card If you need to speak to them it is a pain to get through all the different options just to actually speak to a human being Then if you do get through you get someone who is completely disinterested in the issue you are ringing about and unhelpful And they are not allowed to call you back Really poor customer service I will be paying the card off from my savings and closing the account Reviewed on: 15th March 2023

Seems the same but beware...

My credit card was rejected due to some BIN checking providers listing the card as a "debit" card, not a "credit" card. This has resulted in hundreds of ponds of inconvenience. Reviewed on: 12th March 2023

Clunky administration.

Chaotic introduction.No invite for my wife. Credit limit reduced arbitrarily. Pointless reminder of DD coming up in one week. Idiotic reminder to have enough money in account.Presumably data protection meant details could not be passed over. Surely this could have been avoided by asking permission of card holder. First page reminder of min payment and next month's not required. Do not deserve one star. Reviewed on: 9th March 2023

New JL credit card

Absolutely crap new credit card, nothing but aggro, despite 100% balance repayment each month card declined on several occasions. And I bet most people haven't realised the monthly repayment period has been reduced by 2 weeks compared with the previous HSBC managed card. Statements do not separate transactions by main cardholder and additional cardholder which makes checking statements much more time consuming. I have now shredded my additional card and now use a new credit card from a different provider. I expect JL to go out of business in the not too distant future due to their shocking management decisions. Reviewed on: 7th March 2023

Worst Credit Card Ever

Customer Service for New Day credit card is terrible. After endless options on the phone you get through to a person who is unable to answer your questions. Useless! I'm giving mine back after just one month. Reviewed on: 7th March 2023

John Lewis New Day Credit Card

Absolutely hopeless customer service from New Day. I cannot believe that John Lewis chose to change provider for their credit card when they had a perfectly well functioning one before which worked efficiently and if need be you could speak to a helpful person. In fact totally the opposite experience to the one I have had with New Day Reviewed on: 2nd March 2023

Terrible Customer Service

I was really happy with the old card provider (HSBC) but the new provider (New Day) puts up so many hurdles it is almost impossible to speak to a real customer service person. Goodness knows how anyone without a smart phone manages to speak to them. Not all the answers to my questions are on the app or bot! Do not think I’ll stay with them for much longer. Reviewed on: 1st March 2023

Absolute Shambles

I am a long time John Lewis fan and when they sent me a tempting offer for their partnership card earlier this year I decided to apply. The tempting offer was that there was about £70 already waiting for me in reward vouchers. I got my card but information about the rewards was (and still is!) very poor or non existent. It turned out that there was no Guarantee that my £70 would be payable anytime soon as they had too many applications - not my fault! I finally managed to get them allocated but then they disappeared with no explanation. A few phone calls later I was told that they had been removed from my app to be sent out to me in February. We’re now in March and there is no sign of them or even any warm words that they might arrive soon. I was told it takes 28 days from the day the points disappear from your account to arrive on your doormat as vouchers - nowhere on the website does it say this - what it does say is that you will get vouchers in February! No doubt John Lewis thought that this card would increase value for customers but as far as I’m concerned it’s destroying my relationship. The app was down earlier this week and I couldn’t use my card, it’s all a complete shambles. Does anyone remember the Hoover incentive for BA flights in the 90’s - I wonder if this is heading that way for JL? Reviewed on: 1st March 2023

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