We all get the junk mail that comes through the post, and usually bin it straight away. Although reading some of the penny-pinching tips published by members recently suggests that there are indeed many uses for this kind of thing. About a month ago I got a circular from Unison, the Union that ... Read review
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We all get the junk mail that comes through the post, and usually bin it straight away. Although reading some of the penny-pinching tips published by members recently suggests that there are indeed many uses for this kind of thing. About a month ago I got a circular from Unison, the Union that I am a member of offering me a credit card in return for £40 vouchers. Like any self-respecting freebie-hunter I thought that I would have a bit of that.Please do read on though, as you will find out that you don't have to be a member of Unison to claim the vouchers.
But exactly how good is this credit card?
There are 3 cards available, each with varying interest rates. There is a platinum card if you earn over £17,000, one where you are charged interest from the moment of purchase with no interest free period, and one where you have an interest free period in which to pay off your monthly balance. The latter is the one that I have and will form the basis of the rest of this review.
Interest Rates
The APR for the Unioncard is currently at 15.9% for balance transfers and purchases - not very competitive compared with some of the deals around. This is reduced to 2.9% for any balance transfers for the first 5 months after your account is open, which again, not very competitive in this market. For cash advances, the rate is a pretty high 17.7% plus the 1.5% handling fee of your withdrawal, subject to a minimum of £1.50. Beware though as a balance transfer cannot be made from any other card issued by the Bank of Scotland or Halifax (which are now part of the same HBOS group), as the Bank of Scotland are the issuers for this card.
Annual Fee
As with many cards around nowadays, there is no annual fee involved with this.
Eligibility
There are 4 conditions for acceptance and 3 of these are pretty much standard for whatever financial service you are trying to get. You need to be a UK resident, over 18 years of age, and have a good credit rating. As I mentioned earlier, I got mine backed by Unison, but you don't have to be a member of Unison to obtain a card and take advantage of the offer. You do however, need to be a member of one of the participating unions which are listed as follows:-
Make sure that you read the small print here as there are quite a few potentially hidden charges associated with this Card. The main one being that if you fail to make a payment then they are entitled to charge you £20. Charges are also levied for an unpaid direct debit if that is how you choose to pay and a cheque that bounces (currently a whopping £25), bringing me onto the worst thing about credit cards.......
Repayment
The minimum monthly payment is 3% of the outstanding balance or £5, whichever is the greater - a figure pretty much standard with most companies. You get a 25 days interest free period which is pretty standard compared to others that I have seen, although other cards do have longer periods. On the negative side, you are not covered for any mistakes or unauthorised charges that appear on your bill as a result of Internet shopping unless you take out their protection cover at £12 per year. This for me would be a problem as this does seem to be pretty standard on most credit cards these days.
Other features
There is an online banking facility, but as of yet I haven't been able to find it on their rather confusing website, so for me everything has to be paid in by the usual methods (and as usual there is a charge for paying at a bank other than those in the HBOS group). You should be able to comprehensively manage your account online, including looking at an up-to-date statement which is a useful feature. I applied using the flyer, but you can apply online, but all this does is give you an idea if you will be accepted and if so, then they send you a pre-printed credit agreement to sign. Completing it online is very easy, and takes about 10 minutes, but you need to have a lot of information with you such as work and current account details.
They also run their own card protection scheme further to the purchase protection which will insure you for the usual loss of job, sickness cover etc at a charge of £15 per year or £35 for 3 years. From research that I did about a year ago when choosing my main credit card this is a standard offer from most companies, and £15 per year is about average.
Now to the free stuff
All applications made (not necessarily approved) by the 31st April will recieve £40 worth of Marks and Spencers gift vouchers which can be used at any of their branches. These are delivered upto 28 days after your card is issued. I thought that this was a good deal, especially as there is no clause stating the you have to use the credit card. You coulkd simply apply, get your vouchers and cancel the card - £40 for a little bit of work. You can also get a discount on any holidays booked through Thomas Cook of up to 10% when paid with the card, although it would be worth checking as many holiday companies will charge for payment by card, meaning that this offer isn't quite as good as it first appears.
Would I recommend it?
Well there is no doubt that there are some better credit cards out there, but the only things that I could recommend this card on are the £40 Marks & Spencers vouchers and the online facilities that it seems to have. If it wasn't for the carrot of the vouchers I probably wouldn't have got it at all. So no, I wouldn't recommend it at present as a card for someone to use routinely as I think that the card is distinctly average. For heavy card users and those who don't repay the full amount I think that there are much better deals out there for you.
To apply, you can do it via their website at www.unioncard.co.uk
*** UPDATE***
The free £40 voucher incentive has been extended and is still advertised on their website. There is no definitive end date at present
I have been a member of my local Credit Union since it started, about 10 years ago. In fact, I am proud to say that I am Member number 31! Although Credit Unions all have points in common, there are also differences so I will start with a general look... more
