ABOUT THE CARD
The Barclaycard Platinum is a credit card from Barclays Bank and I decided to sign up for one of these because of the promise of cashback on purchases. There are several Barclaycards available, each with different features but I tend to go for cashback cards as I don't want ... Read review
Advantages: Cashback, Good security, Dropped to 1% for new customers Disadvantages: Overseas call centre, Unreliable site
...CARD==
The Barclaycard Platinum is a credit card from Barclays Bank and I decided to sign up for one of these because of the promise of cashback on purchases. There are several Barclaycards available, each with different features but I tend to go for cashback cards as I don't want one that doesn't give me anything. Ones that gives me 0% on purchase or balance transfers for a limited time aren't any good to me either.
... ...calls on my mobile from Barclaycard staff members telling me there had been suspicious activities on my card, which did have me worried. However, on going over the recent transactions with the Barclaycard staff members, it turned out to be just my busy self spending my money all over the place. I do use the cards quite a lot but after those two occasions, they seemed to have picked up on the fact that I use the card a lot so six months on, I've not ... more
ABOUT THE CARD
The Barclaycard Platinum is a credit card from Barclays Bank and I decided to sign up for one of these because of the promise of cashback on purchases. There are several Barclaycards available, each with different features but I tend to go for cashback cards as I don't want one that doesn't give me anything. Ones that gives me 0% on purchase or balance transfers for a limited time aren't any good to me either.
It has the usual chip and PIN and is a VISA card. When I first started using the card, I'd received two phone calls on my mobile from Barclaycard staff members telling me there had been suspicious activities on my card, which did have me worried. However, on going over the recent transactions with the Barclaycard staff members, it turned out to be just my busy self spending my money all over the place. I do use the cards quite a lot but after those two occasions, they seemed to have picked up on the fact that I use the card a lot so six months on, I've not received any further calls. Either way, it seems that they take security of customers' identify and fraud seriously enough to make courtesy calls.
FEATURES
The main feature for my Barclaycard is the cashback. There are other cashback cards from other banks and card issuers so why did I pick the Barclaycard? The main attraction was the whopping 2% cashback from supermarket and petrol spends. Unfortunately, they seemed to have dropped the 2% down to nothing now for new customers but mine continues to give me cash back.
Barclaycard do limit the cashback to £15 a month but that would be £750 worth of petrol or supermarket purchases (2%) or £3000 of any other spending (0.5%) or a combination of the two, whichis more than I'd spend. The cashback is credited to the balance when the statement is due. I think this is good in a way as you do not need to wait to the end of the year or build up a certain amount before you can cash out like most other cashback cards.
RATE
The APR is 14.9% variable, which is surprisingly low for a cashback credit card as I'd expect a normal card to be around 15.9% APR and so I would have expected a cashback card to have a much higher APR of around 20%. The general rule for using cash back cards is to always clear the balance at the end of each month otherwise it would just eat up the cashback reward.
USING THE CARD
I use the card just like any card. At most shops, via Chip and PIN or sign, at car parks, just pop the card in to debit the amount, by entering the card details on secure website payment pages if shopping online and of course registering with payment services and websites that store card details for future purchases. You receive a paper statement every month giving you about 25 days to pay the statement, which can be done online, over the phone, by post or in branch. There's also a thing called 'Barclays Secure' that you can set up so that websites that support it will ask you for an extra password when you try to use the card.
If buying from abroad or foreign websites, like most cards, there is an 2.75% charge which is a similar charge to other credit cards and if ever withdrawing cash from the card via an ATM (bad idea normally), there's the usual 3% or £3 (whichever is higher) charge and the usual rip off interest but this is in line with all other credit cards.
BARCLAYCARD SITE
After registering on the Barclaycard website, to log into my account, I am asked for my ID number, which they gave me, then for a six digital pass code, which I chose, my last name and finally, two characters from the memorable word which I chose. With all these security question just to log in, it seems security is pretty good with the site. The pages are secure and it times out if I'm idle for around five minutes, just like all other bank and websites dealing with money that I use.
With the Barclaycard website, I'm able to view recent transaction, view past statements, request a new credit limit, request PIN via post, request new card, etc as well as the usual, pay the bill using a debit card. The account seems to have all the things that any other bank or card company's website would have for a credit card and everything is very straight forward.
When the site is working, it's terrific but I find that the site doesn't work a lot of the time during late evenings and early morning (11pm-2am+). Sure enough, some nights it will be due to site maintenance but when compared to other online banking and other credit card online accounts, the Barclaycard site seems to be down the most often.
CUSTOMER SERVICE
Customer service is a bit iffy. I've phoned customer service a few times to ask questions. Based on the accent of the customer service representatives, I'm guessing that it was an overseas call centre. Their English is good but are not always able to answer my questions. I asked how they determined what stores qualified for the 2% cash back but she did not have an acceptable answer for me. She just told me that certain stores they have in their system qualified but was not able to tell me what they were. Reason I asked was because I wanted to find out whether they deemed stores like LIDL a supermarket. I'm also still wondering whether shopping at Chinese supermarkets count rather than just shopping at the big supermarkets like Tesco's, ASDA, Sainsbury's, etc.
On another occasion for a different, a newly acquired Barclaycard OnePulse, I asked if it earned cashback at all, even on an introductory period and I was told it does not. I asked because I remembered seeing something about 3%cashback on somewhere for the first few monhs. However, 3 months later, I received my monthly statement and it had said that I had received cashback! I emailed customer services and was told that this was cashback for the last 3 months of spending! I believe it was 3% cashback for all my spending but as I was told that it did not have cashback, I used my other cards more often, giving me less cashback, so customer service can be a bit useless unless dealing with very standard queries.
After six months with Barclaycard, they let you request a new credit limit. I had mine for exactly six months so requested a higher limit. They ask you for the reason in the form that you fill and they give you options such as car, electrical, etc but is easy to do. They started me off on £950, which is rather low as my other cards give me £2600+ and on asking for the increase, on the second day, was told that I had qualified for the increase and bumped it up to £1450. I wanted a bit more but they didn't give it to me but I'm not bothered.
VERDICT
Although the cashback card may not be for everyone, Barclays offer other cards with other features such as balance transfer, charity credit card, student, and so on so there's something for everyone. I'm also not limited to supermarket and petrol cashback as I get 0.5% for other spending. Customer service is a bit iffy but I find I don't need to use it much anyway. I am confident that with more serious problems like fraud that they have procedures in place and they would be able to deal with it properly as the customer representatives seem to understand and speak English well enough. I do recommend the Barclaycard Platinum but as with any credit card, only if you pay off the bill in full at the end of each month, and especially if it provides other benefits such as cashback.
As Barclays withdraws such offers once they have drawn in enough people, I would suggest looking at their other cards as well, which offer benefits, otherwise, look at what offers other card companies are offering. As for me, as I will put my spending on a credit card, I might as well be using my Barclaycard Platinum with cashback for the rewards as it's basically earning me money for money I'm going to be spending anyway if we're talking food shopping at supermarkets and petrol. To conclude, I would recommend the Barclaycard Platinum, but whether it's right for you depends in your circumstances, what features the card has at the time, etc, as the cashback feature doesn't seem to be available anymore at this time for new customers.
Advantages: Lots of free benefits, good customer service Disadvantages: APR not competitive enough
...credit card was a standard Barclaycard Visa back when I first turned eighteen. It was a rather obvious choice for me, as I had always banked with Barclays and was therefore automatically eligible for the credit card. A couple of years later, I was invited to upgrade to the gold version, and not long after that I learnt of the platinum version, and was invited to upgrade once more. Since then, this has been the main credit card that I have used. I ... ...a consistently active user. Barclaycard advise that eligibility for the card depends on previous Barclaycard account history, credit scoring data, and Barclays banking history. It is therefore unlikely that you will get a platinum card, unless you have had a standard account for some time.
Appearance
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The card has a modern design, prominently featuring the Barclaycard logo and a mysterious image of a moon shining down between the letters. ...
LostWitness 14.12.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Barclaycard Platinum
Advantages: Great for collecting Nectar points, added security features Disadvantages: Will sting you for late payment
This is my second credit card. I applied for it as my other credit card from HSBC wasn't giving me anything for using it and I noticed that there where lots of other credit cards about that where offering 0%, cash back or points. I chose Barclay card as it had teamed up with Nectar so when you use your Barclay card you can collect Nectar points which you can then claim money off our shopping bill in Sainbury's or free days out. For more information ... ...a Barclay's customer but applying for one was really easy. I applied online and the process of filling in the form was quick and simple. You can choose which card you want, all offering different rates of interest.
They then processed my application and I was accepted. They sent me an agreement thought the post, which I had to sign and return and then they sent me my card. The whole process from application to getting the card took about 3 weeks. ...
redballoon 13.05.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Barclaycard Platinum
Advantages: Good customer service, regular 0% offers, good online service Disadvantages: APR not competitive enough, moving to India
...by switching balances between my Barclaycard and my other credit-card to take advantage of the 0% transfer deals. I have been intending to cut one of the cards up once the balance is paid, but have been debating as to which one. My mind was made up 100% this last week though, so its goodbye Barclaycard. More on that later however.
Application process
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When I first applied for the card I had to fill in a long form and send it off, ... ...a quick decisions.
The Barclaycard website is very well defined and allows you to compare the features of several cards before making a decision. The selected cards all have benefits depending on what type of user you think you will be.
The Card
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The card itself is quite nice looking in various shades of grey and blue. That's about it really; there is not a lot you can say about the actual card. It also offers a £100 cheque guarantee as ...
fryera2 13.03.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Barclaycard Platinum
Advantages: Quick turn around Disadvantages: Indian call centres, different information from different people
I took a Barclaycard that could offer me 14 months interest free on balance transfers. The turn around from application to getting the card was quick only taking a couple of weeks. The application form itself is fine, I did it on the internet. They ask the usual earning questions and personal info required but its not too long and they are questions you know, I had an account with them already which made things easier. Again the balance transfer ... ...the transfer when you apply or when you register your card on its arrival. I did it on arrival without any fuss. The APR after the offer is around 15%, still not too bad.
Bad Points - my balance has been reduced on 2 occasions for no given reason, luckily it has only been about £100 so as long as youre not at the limit there's not much to worry about. I'm sure it says in the contract they can do this. Also when calling up most departments appear ...
HCharlie 26.05.2009 (27.05.2009)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Barclaycard Platinum
Competitiveness of APR
Product package
Quality of Customer Ser...
Reward Scheme
Additional Charges
Security and Privacy
Ease of Application
Quick review of Barclaycard Platinum
Applyed for a Barclaycard 4 months ago. On applying I opted not to have the £30 card protection service. I received a few phone calls, each asking if I'd like the card protection service and I continued to refuse it. 1 month into the service I got a £30 charge on my card for card protection and ever since I've been trying to get my money back. The only replies I get back are "It's a different department" or "Call this number..." which is never answered. I would not recommend this company to anyone! ...
Smif 27.03.2008
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Barclaycard Platinum
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Advantages: Great Card, With A Great Limit Disadvantages: None
BarclaycardPlatinum is the third in the Barclaycard Visa structure, I started with a standard Visa card in 1992 then in 1996 I moved up to a Gold card. Then two years ago I was moved by them to a Platinum card for which a annual fee of £ 40 is payable unless you spend £8,000 a year on the card.
I have never had any problem in regards credit limit as they keep put it up without asking, but then I always have paid in full every month. With this in mind I can?t even tell you the interest rate as I have never missed a payment.
The customer services department have always managed to solve any queries with my bill in one phone call, which saves a lot of hassle chasing people up trying to figure out why I have never heard of a firm only to find that they use a different name on the credit card system. ...
Union 25.05.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Barclaycard
Advantages: Free insurance and purchase protection, good website Disadvantages: Basic APR is uncompetitive
I have been a Barclaycard credit card account holder for nearly six years now, and would have to say that they are by far and away the best Credit Card company that I have had dealings with. Their APR rates may be uncompetitive - but there are ways around that anyway.
I have a PlatinumBarclaycard account, which means that I don't get charged the £30 Annual Fee if I use my card for a certain level of expenditure. This is not hard to achieve, by simply using the card for all your every day grocery shopping etc etc. The benefits you receive are then very worthwhile.
Whenever I make Internet purchases Barclaycard offer excellent protection schemes. I have previously ordered items on-line which have failed to arrive - when I contacted Barclaycard they refunded the funds to my account. The same security applies to goods that arrive damaged ...
LostWitness 18.12.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Barclaycard
Advantages: Cash back if you can get it Disadvantages: Customer service absolutely appalling
I was previously a Platinum card holder with Morgan Stanley which was recently taken over by Barclaycard. The new B/C came within the time specified before closure of the old M/S card, unfortunately the new pin did not. When I say I had no problems in all the years with M/S I am not lying! They even had a UK call centre where people speak English and an 0800 tel no! Well I've phoned Barclaycard on a number of occasions previously, this evening I phoned twice and got cut off after waiting for 8 mins the first time and 12 mins and 20secs the second time and still had not got the account problems resolved. As for email queries I will never bother again. If they think a 3 day max turn round on emails is acceptable they are in planet ZOG.
I just wonder how many other Morgan Stanley ex card holders will not be with Barclaycard much longer ...
buzzspeed 07.10.2008 (06.10.2008)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Barclaycard
