Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Gold

Morgan Stanley - one of the biggest investment banks in the world - remember their chain of ads when they first launched in the UK, of people puttying walls with their old credit cards? - well looks like they are here to stay.

Ciao to the rescue again - having read a few ops about Morgan Stanley - I decided that with introductory rates about to end it was time to move on again and it appeared that MSDW fitted the bill - I trundled ...
...ADDITIONAL INCENTIVES FOR BALANCE TRANSFERS
I have now been a Morgan Stanley card-holder for some 18 months, yet I what seems a constant offer on my account for additional balance transfers at extremely competitive rates - a company that cares for its customers?


Sue  ... more

Morgan Stanley - one of the biggest investment banks in the world - remember their chain of ads when they first launched in the UK, of people puttying walls with their old credit cards? - well looks like they are here to stay.

Ciao to the rescue again - having read a few ops about Morgan Stanley - I decided that with introductory rates about to end it was time to move on again and it appeared that MSDW fitted the bill - I trundled off to look at their web-site, where you can apply on-line, although I do believe you don't get an instant decision. I was about to apply on-line when I recognised that this wasn't a good idea as I didn't have a post-code recognisable on anyone's computer systems.

I therefore opted for their telephone application system and was greeted with helpful, friendly operators.

I clearly explained to the nice lady at the other end of the phone that I had recently moved to a brand new house and therefore had only just been issued with a new address and postcode, and asked if this would be a problem, I was advised that it was highly unlikely and would I like her to take me through the application process - to which I confirmed yes - WRONG MOVE.

Upon completing the application, she advised me that my address didn't exist in the system (I had already told her this) and that my postcode was allocated to an area of Swansea only accessible with a passport - I tried to tell her otherwise but she wasn't having any of it, adamant that I couldn't possible live where I told her I did.

It was confirmed that the application would have to be referred to the company underwriters and that I should get a decision in about a week - (don't worry I will get around to telling you about the card) - WRONG AGAIN - a week later, I received a letter to my home address telling me that it didn't exist, and that if I wanted to prove that it did, then I would have to send them gas or electric utility bills issued in the last three months showing my name and address exactly as it had appeared on the application form I had never actually seen.

IMPOSSIBLE - having only been in the property around 6 months, and having had the postcode for one month - it couldn't possibly be done. Another call to their call centre in Glasgow was very helpful, told the young lady what correspondence I did have, and would this be OK - apparently a well-endowed bank statement is not enough and such things can be registered under any address (so can someone tell me why we had so much hassle getting an account for my then 11 year old daughter) - Well anyway, correspondence from my solicitor and a council tax bill did the trick and I was awarded my little gold monster.

WHY WAS I SO PERSISTENT?
Well, I didn't actually want a credit card to spend on, just to transfer the last of my balance from a more expensive card over to at 4.9% for the life of the balance - far cheaper than any loan - it makes a saving of around £20 a month on a card of 18.9% APR and a balance of just over £2K - if you follow the links off Lycos, it will calculate savings for you on a whole range of balance amounts and cards. Balances must be transferred by 1st April 2002 to take advantage of this, but knowing the way my luck goes, they will possibly reduce the rate further at this time, dependant on what the Bank of England does next.

STANDARD Rate for the card is still quite competitive at 13.9% and 19.9% for cash advances (this includes a charge of 1.5% of the money advanced - and not a cheap way to do things unless you are an MBNA card holder who do have some superb offers on such transactions from time to time).

Interest free period I believe is around 55 days, (10 more than Egg, 4 less than MBNA) - and minimum payment is 2%, £5 (whichever is the greater) or the total balance if less than £5.

Like most of the competition, there is a 2.75% charge on overseas transactions, although where they actually hit with this I don't really know, as I have never encountered any charges out of the ordinary when using my card overseas - and most of the time it stills work out to be cheaper than taking cash or travellers cheques.

LATE FEES are £20 for doing anything out of the ordinary like missing a payment, going over your credit limit etc. (again fairly standard fayre compared to the competition - with the exception of Liverpool Victoria so I believe who don't make any charges but there again don't give you enough to credit to actually do anything with).

ADDITIONAL CARD HOLDERS
Additional card holders are allowed on this account, and the feature I particularly liked is that each card has a separate account number (the main cardholder remains responsible for both accounts and the credit limit is shared) - this means that if one of you loses your card, then only that card gets stopped and thus the account is not frozen - most companies give the same number with both cards, thus if one of you loses it, the account is frozen until new cards are issued, not funny if you are a long way from home.

INSURANCE
Like most of the competition they offer insurance against repayment of balances to cover things such as sickness, redundancy and death (up to a maximum of £15K) at 71p per £100 of outstanding balance - there are cheaper deals around on cards if not taking advantage of the balance transfer rate - but make sure you always read the small print - if you are on temporary contracts, have a pre-existing illness or are self employed, you could find yourself wasting money on something totally useless to you.ON-LINE - you can access your account on-line and can: (From the site)

• View the latest transactions on your Card Account
• View your current Cashback Bonus award online
• View a real time summary of your Account
• View your last 12 months' statements online
• Sort your statements by transaction type, date and amount
• Download individual monthly statements in to Microsoft Money™ or Quicken™
• UPDATE: MAY 2002 - You can now transfer balances and make payments by Switch/Delta on-line

And, as far as I am aware they still take Switch/Delta payments over the phone. It is getting so confusing these days as every company has different rules on this - Marbles you can pay on-line but not over the phone, MBNA you cannot pay on-line OR over the phone, although you can use your internet/telephone banking.ANY PERKS?
With rates like this, who needs perks?

The standard card offers the same rates as the Gold Card, the Platinum (usually the cheaper cards on the market) actually charges higher rates, although they apparently offer a 0.5% cash-back on all purchases up to £2,000 in a year, and 1% thereafter. - if you spent £3,500 on the card in a year, you would get back the grand total of £25 (thanks but I'll settle for lower interest rates).

They have deals with Orange for extra perks when taking out a new monthly contract phone, although I should imagine you can probably find just as good deals browsing your local High Street.

Cheap wine crates from Laithwaites - and a free bottle of champagne with your first order (don't like champagne) and you can probably get a better deal in Tescos or Sainsburys.

Cheaper telephone calls with QUIP - assuming you are not taking advantage of any of BT's special offers (if you are not then you need you head tested)

And their own travel service - The First Resort -
http://morganstanley.thefirstresort.com/bridgepage/index.asp

which apparently offers things such as savings on long haul travel, 3 nights for the price of 2 on short breaks, and various other savings - although I would have to see how it compared with the High Street and other internet travel agents before making any decisions - there always seems to be a sting in the tail of such offers.

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As you can probably gather I am fairly cynical of most 'deals' provided by credit card companies - so long as they get my statements right, charge me a competitive rate of interest and give me a decent and sensible but usable credit limit (the amount of times I have actually had to ask companies to reduce my limit defies belief), a freephone telephone number for customer services and are nice to me when I telephone them and don't keep me waiting too long, then I am easily pleased.

On all counts so far, I am pleased,

• Good service,
• VERY, VERY, security conscious,
• Excellent rates of interest,
• A good usable credit limit,
• Friendly helpful staff
• A freephone telephone number and
• Short waiting times on the phone.

any more than that we shall have to wait and see.

But if you have recently moved to a brand new property, you may just have to prove who you are.

Fancy a go:

http://www.msdwcard.co.uk/uk/data/index.html

or telephone:

0800 028 0838
Lines open 9 til 9 Monday to Friday and until 5.30pm on Saturdays, closed Sundays.

If your application for a Gold Card is turned down, you may be offered a blue card instead.

UPDATE: 18/05/02
Having now decided that I do exist. MSDW are now sending me regular mailshots offering me a gold card, although it does appear that they have changed their balance transfer to 1.9% for a period of 6 months - they also keep mailing me trying to persuade me to use my card for purchases.

UPDATED: 26/09/03
Several month on they are still offering attractive incentives to transfer balances - currently 9.9%APR - not as attractive as surfing, but remember I am still getting my original 4.9% of the remaining balance I initially transferred

ADDITIONAL INCENTIVES FOR BALANCE TRANSFERS
I have now been a Morgan Stanley card-holder for some 18 months, yet I what seems a constant offer on my account for additional balance transfers at extremely competitive rates - a company that cares for its customers?

Sue 

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