Barclays changes its credit card application rules again – for the worse

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• GB says:

  9 Jan9 January 08:35

  Me too. The only card I have ever been rejected for but can’t be bothered to argue with them. It’s a shame because I fancied a free night in a posh New York hotel….

• Dirtyneedebluesky says:

  9 Jan9 January 09:19

  Always found it strange that Barclaycard control what could be two of the most common UK based credit cards for hotel loyalty schemes.

  @raffles

  Regarding your comment below then it may also work in the opposite way. Making it difficult to ‘ditch & switch’ potentially locks the consumer into their loyalty scheme for a longer period of time.

  “I can’t imagine what Hilton and IHG make of this, since it obviously impact them. A huge swathe of people who have an existing Barclaycard are now blocked from getting a Hilton or IHG card.”

• PITA says:

  9 Jan9 January 09:28

  Presumably somebody has to pay for the “free” night in the hotel, whether it be Barclaycard or the chain. Therefore restricting the churn rate benefits that party.

• Tilly71 says:

  9 Jan9 January 09:37

  Barclaycard adopting Amex rules then!

  • Raffles says:

    9 Jan9 January 12:13

    No, because Amex only blocks you getting the same card – not any card.

• Louise says:

  9 Jan9 January 10:35

  Have a Barclaycard platinum and are such a pain to cancel!
  Have rung up twice and the retentions team are a nightmare

  • Idrive says:

    9 Jan9 January 11:08

    Me too i got an ooold barclays platinum that i never use i should have cancelled before. I ll do it asap then..

  • Mr(s) Entitled says:

    9 Jan9 January 11:16

    Why?

    Me: I want to cancel
    Them: Are you sure? I could…
    Me: No. I have no interest in maintaining this relationship further. Please close my account now.

    No idea why it would take multiple calls.

    • Louise says:

      9 Jan9 January 12:41

      Twice I have rung up and they have said they can’t process closure as I need to talk to retentions and the department was closed.

      I have written to them asking for closure and even then they have bombarded me with emails and text messages asking to call them

      • Rob says:

        9 Jan9 January 15:42

        I write to them saying I am cancelling, enclosing the chopped up card.

        They will then try to contact you to talk you out of it. Just ignore their text messages. A couple of weeks later you get a letter confirming closure.

  • Ian says:

    9 Jan9 January 20:33

    They give you good offers though. I got a year of interest-free purchases. Was perfect for my Rugby World Cup ticket buying obsession.

• Jason says:

  9 Jan9 January 11:49

  I’m in the same boat, cancelled my premium IHG visa early December and waiting to apply for the Hilton CC. Need a voucher to use mid April so time running out.

• axel heyst says:

  9 Jan9 January 12:08

  I cancelled my IHG card on 29th December their retententions lady was pretty haughty taughty about this until I told them I was moving abroad. Applied for Hilton on 2nd January. Browsers said I was succesful but oddly no email confirmation came through. BUT then the new Hilton card arrived yesterday.

  It was my first burn and churn with Barclays, and it’s obviously hit or miss.

  Rob, one IMPORTANT benefit you should mention is the free and uncomplicated online access to your experian credit rating with these Barclaycards.

  I checked my credit rating before I cancelled the IHG card and am very keen to check it again once my Hilton card account is active.

  • flieduk says:

    9 Jan9 January 13:29

    Really… Please do tell.

  • John says:

    10 Jan10 January 00:58

    Barclaycard gives you your Experian score, which is a number drawn out of a hat.

    Unlike the US, in the UK your credit rating is assessed individually by each financial institution when you apply for one of their products. Until Experian starts offering credit cards, their score remains worthless.

    Financial institutions do access data held by Experian, for which you need to pay £2 to access, or you can sign up for a ‘free trial’. The other two agencies which hold financial data about you are Equifax and Noddle, both of whom now offer free monthly credit reports.

• Chris says:

  9 Jan9 January 14:48

  I applied for IHG on 28th December and also got no confirmation e-mail – the card came through the post.
  Barclaycard need to up their game.

  O/T but does anyone know how long to expect before my 40,000 points post? And how long until I get platinum showing on my IHG account?

  • Barry says:

    9 Jan9 January 15:05

    O/T but just applied for the Lloyds avios cards – couldn’t have been easier, did call customer service – helpful, smart, UK call centre, just like Amex, wonderful, and dramatic comparison to above Barclays behaviour.

    • mark2 says:

      9 Jan9 January 18:31

      Can we assume that you did not get the 9000 Avios introduction bonus

      • mark2 says:

        9 Jan9 January 18:36

        I have not yet received the supplementary card requested on December 2nd (have to use paper form) and my wife has not received any Avios for a year’s moderate purchases despite three letters

      • Rob says:

        9 Jan9 January 22:25

        There is no bonus on the Lloyds Avios cards, unless you use a refer a friend link for 4,500.

  • Fenny says:

    9 Jan9 January 20:32

    I got a white IHG card just before Christmas as part of my Accelerate My status changed fairly quickly, but I’ve not had the points yet.

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