The card
Nationwide have three credit cards. The Classic, the Cash reward and the Comic Relief.
The Classic offers:
a. Up to 56 days interest free credit (but NOT on cash advances).
b. Free purchase cover for loss, theft or damages to most purchases over £50
c. Free extended warranty ... Read review
Advantages: Excellent facilities for getting money abroad Disadvantages: Excessive security and poor customer service
The card
Nationwide have three credit cards. The Classic, the Cash reward and the Comic Relief.
The Classic offers:
a. Up to 56 days interest free credit (but NOT on cash advances).
b. Free purchase cover for loss, theft or damages to most purchases over £50
c. Free extended warranty for a further 12 months on selected gas and electrical goods
d. Initial interest rate of 0% (for first ... ...cover if you use your nationwide card to buy your travel tickets (this is pretty limited though)
The Cash Reward offers:
As classic but also:
a. 1% money back on all your purchases in the first six months (0.5% after that).
b. No 0% introductory interest rate and the annual rate is 15.9%
The Comic Relief offers:
As Classic but also:
a. They give £5.50 to Comic Relief ... more
The card
Nationwide have three credit cards. The Classic, the Cash reward and the Comic Relief.
The Classic offers:
a. Up to 56 days interest free credit (but NOT on cash advances). b. Free purchase cover for loss, theft or damages to most purchases over £50 c. Free extended warranty for a further 12 months on selected gas and electrical goods d. Initial interest rate of 0% (for first 6 months of owning card), but it is currently 13.9% as standard. d. No commission fees on purchases abroad e. No commission fees on cash withdrawals abroad, but there is a cash withdrawal fee of 1.25% (minimum £1.25) f. 3% or £5.00 whichever is the higher. g. No annual fee h. Default charges for late payments, spending over your limit or return items is £15.00. i. Free travel accident cover if you use your nationwide card to buy your travel tickets (this is pretty limited though)
The Cash Reward offers:
As classic but also: a. 1% money back on all your purchases in the first six months (0.5% after that). b. No 0% introductory interest rate and the annual rate is 15.9%
The Comic Relief offers:
As Classic but also: a. They give £5.50 to Comic Relief the first time that you use your card, as well as 0.5% of the value of all your transactions. b. No 0% introductory interest rate and the annual rate is 15.9%
I have a Classic and my partner has a Comic Relief card.
Applying for the card
We applied online, but there is no real online application process. You fill in the forms online. They tell you they may accept you, then post you the forms you filled in for you sign, fill in any additional information they want, supply any paperwork they require and post it off. You then wait to be accepted on not.
To be honest if you are in a hurry you are far better off simply filling in a paper application form from your branch and sending it in as the online process simply adds steps and delays.
On the other hand for ease (as my handwriting is terrible) typing the application was good and meant I could apply without trying to get to the branch in opening hours.
Nationwide admit that their online process is poor and not really an application process, rather a form to fill in electronically which then travels down the normal paper channels.
You should also note that the card Terms and Conditions are not available online so you cannot check these until you receive a print of your application to review.
Using your card.
The card is accepted round the globe at anywhere that has the VISA symbol. I would say however be aware that there are some practcal limitations to this. In the UK practically all credit card transactions, both VISA and mastercard go through CardNet which means almost all outlets will accept both. This is not always true overseas. On a recent trip to The Netherlands we discovered that Mastercard (Maestro) and Visa are handled seperately and most stores only take Maestro cards. This meant that I was unable to use my card most places and had to take a lot of money out of the cash point (and pay the cash withdrawal fee). The positive is that the exchange rate on the card is MUCH better than you normally get on foreign exchange. Lesson here is that when you travel abroad take 2 credit cards of DIFFERENT types.
There is a HUGE issue with these credit cards however and I was lucky to find this out before my overseas trip, as it was problematic enough in the UK. If you use the card more than 8 times in one day (regardless of your credit limit) Nationwide automatically block the card. When you contact them they will refuse under any circumstances to release the card and simply inform you that the card will automatically release the next day. This is not helpful when you are trying to pay bills!! I was informed that they will release the funds regardless of the block if the merchant phones them, but they will not if the card holder phones them. Customer service is rigorous in holding this line all thge way up the line of responsibility. I am very glad that I have found this out before my USA road trip as I tend to rely on my credit card for all my shopping / hotels / meals / travel costs which can easily exceed 8 transactions in a day. I am also very nervous of the fact that they will release funds if a merchant contacts them, but not if the card holder contacts them.
I was advised by customer services that my opinion was not relevant as the card conditions state they can suspend the card whenever they wish, for as long as they wish.
Customer Services
Customer Services are pleasant and try to be helpful but are VERY jobsworth and will not under any circumstances even flex the rules, or indeed help you with anything they do not have a script for.
Internet banking
I use Nationwide for a number of services, including my current account (FlexAccount - Excellent!) and mortgage (pretty good) and manage all my accounts on the Internet. You ability to do anything with your credit card on the Internet is very limited and Nationwide themselves admit that they are very weak in Internet service provision for their credit cards. You can review your statement and pay your credit card via your FlexAccount online, that is all. Anything else must be done in writing or in a more limited way by telephone (though this often simply results in them posting you a form).
Paying your statement
You have to pay a minimum of 3% or £5 (whicever is higest) each month or you will incur a £15 penalty. You can pay in several ways:
a. By transfer from your FlexAccount via Internet banking (not though this is NOT considered an internal transfer and thus will take 24 hours to set up the transfer order on your FlexAccount - but you only have to do this one. THen it takes 5 working days from when you initiate it to transferthe money) b. By a Bill Payment set up on your FlexAccount. Some other banks do offer this service too. (5-9 working days to clear) c. At A Nationwide branch using the slip on your statement (5 working days to clear) d. Cheque by post. Don't forget to include the bank-giro slip from teh bottom of your statement. Natioonwide say 5 working days to clear, in practice this is nearly 9 once yourpayemnt has navigated Royal Mail and the mail processes of Nationwide and actually been processed. e. At any bank using a bank giro credit slip. (5 working days to clear). Some banks may charge for this. f. Direct debit. You can choose a monthly amount to pay, including options to pay the minimum or the whole amount. We have opted to pay the whole amount, though the bank are less keen on this as they make no money on it. It is the best option for prudent financial management.
Conclusion
As a credit card this one is pretty average some great points, some bad points. Overall I would say unless you actually NEED the credit, you are far better off getting a FlexAccount. The travel benefits are pretty similar, which is the main benefit of the card. Internet banking for FlexAccount is excellent and it is accepted throughout the VISA network just like a credit card. The main difference is that the account is debited automatically (and of course you can continue to use the card while you have money - unlike the credit card which cuts you off after 8 uses).
It is one of the better credit cards on the market, but it does not meet my needs. My FlexAccount is far more flexible and useful in the way I use a card and much easier to manage on the Internet Banking. When I need credit I simply make use of the overdraft facility on my FlexAccount which is comparatively inexpensive compared to my credit card (authorised overdraft is 6.75% EAR with no fees and Nationwide is pretty generous in the size of authorised overdraft you can have.).
Advantages: Great for use abroad, extended 12 month warranty Disadvantages: Low credit limit, no rewards, no cashback ,watch out for DCC
...on balance transfers. Currently, the Nationwide offer is ten months on balance transfers and three months on purchases. So as not to get caught out, it is generally better to use the card for either the purchases offer or the balance transfer offer and not both at the same time. I decided to use the card for a balance transfer being careful not to make any purchases on the card during the introductory period.
Basically the way this works is you ... ...like all credit card companies, Nationwide hope you won't be disciplined enough to do this and incur substantial penalty fees. But if you use the card cannily, the competitiveness of the APR on the card is irrelevant as you will never pay interest.
For those who are interested, the APR for the Gold card is 15.9% and 17.9% for the Classic card. To get the Gold card you need to be over 25 and earning at least £25000 a year with an excellent credit ...
silverfox357 21.03.2007
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Nationwide Building Society Credit Card
Advantages: Fantastic for use abroad Disadvantages: Low Credit limits
I have been banking with Nationwide Building Society for over 15 years and have one of their credit cards as well as other financial products from them.
Nationwide currently offer three credit cards all of which are Visa cards:-
Classic Card (offers low interest 13.9% apr)
Cash Reward (offers 1.0% for 1st 6 months then 0.5%)
Comic Relief (donates an initial £5.65 and then 0.5% of all purchases)
The card I currently have is the cash reward, below ... ...make cash back, and with a few trips abroad it really does shine above some of the other cards on the market. On the negative side my credit limit is not that high compared to other cards, I think Nationwide are quite responsible when giving their limits which is refreshing. ...
grovej 03.01.2005
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Nationwide Building Society Credit Card
Advantages: Low Interest rates, no points loyalty scheme, internet control option Disadvantages: Dull card design
Apply for and use a Nationwide Visa card you will not earn free loyalty points. Huh ? Well, Nationwide have basically decided that points based loyalty schemes only benefit a few people as you need to spend large amounts to get any decent return. So what they have done is create one with damm good features and low interest rates instead.
There are actually 3 options you can get - the Classic, The Comic relief Charity and the Cash Back. You can apply ... ...and electrical goods. As Nationwide account holder you can also buy your travel money commission free. There is no annual fee either.
You can also manage your credit card securely over the Internet. This lets you see the balance outstanding, your transaction details and lets you pay the account (if you have a Flex account ) Because it is issued by Visa it has all the normal advantages -acceptable in thousands of places in the UK & worldwide, cash ...
ultras67 18.01.2003
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Nationwide Building Society Credit Card
Advantages: Interest free credit period on balance transfers Disadvantages: None
The Nationwide Credit Card - small piece of plastic, about 8.5cm X 5.5cm, doesn't look much, doesn't say much, but could be worth a lot to you !! Why ? How ? What's the deal ? Well there are two possible deals really - one for savers and one for borrowers. For Borrowers - (Please note - I am NOT recommending borrowing more than you can afford) Well the Nationwide allows you to carry out balance transfers onto its credit card. So, nothing new or special ... ...transfer a balance to your Nationwide Credit Card it is interest free as long as you pay it off in full by the 'Payment Due' date. So what does it mean in real terms ? Well if you are one of those who borrow on your credit card, you land up paying interest on the amount from the day of the transaction. However if you were to take out a Nationwide card as well, you can make the transaction on your original card, then, when payment is due (if your ...
IainCMartin 18.06.2001
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Nationwide Building Society Credit Card
Advantages: No usless points earned Disadvantages: None yet surfaced
...But check this out- the Nationwide card is the ‘must have’ piece of plastic for all householders and serious consumers for one simple reason – the free one year extension to the normal guarantee on loads of electrical items that cost £50 plus. Yes, you heard right…practically all electrical household goods are covered, washing machines, fridges, cookers, tv’s, audio, video etc etc. There is no hassle, you just ring-up ... ...a written guarantee pronto in the post for your extra year –parts and labour, with a ‘phone number for repairs! So relax for 2 years while you get back on you financial feet.
I could go on to mention the other extras such as no annual charge, free bits of travel insurance and 100 days purchase cover, but the extra year guarantee is mind blowing in its sheer usefulness.
The Nationwide, being one of the diminishing band of ‘mutuals’ ...
Mozdarby 17.07.2001
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Nationwide Building Society Credit Card
Competitiveness of APR
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Reward Scheme
Additional Charges
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