Holly covers personal finance topics from credit cards to wills. She enjoys turning complex money matters into clear, practical advice.
Anna covers personal finance, helping readers make sense of savings, credit cards and insurance. Her insights are informed by experience in the financial services industry.
Why you can trust our credit card reviews
Real customers
We asked 4,995 customers about the customer service they receive from their credit card provider.
Expert analysis
We compared the fees and interest rates of 137 cards to bring you the best deals on the market.
Looking for a new credit card? You'll want to start by shopping around for the best credit card deals — but it's also important to know if the company behind the offer will provide decent customer service if something goes wrong.
That's where Which? can help. We've surveyed thousands of credit card holders to find out how satisfied they are with their provider. We asked them to rate the provider on a range of categories, from the application process through to the ease of managing their card online.
We took these insights and combined them with our expert deals analysis to determine which providers are the cream of the crop.
This table reveals how customers rated 30 credit card providers, and which firms have been named Which? Recommend Providers (WRPs) for 2026.
Only providers that combine high levels of customer satisfaction with products that meet standards set by our market analysts can become a WRP. This year, six brands have hit the mark: Amazon (by Barclaycard), American Express, British Airways American Express, Barclaycard, Lloyds Bank and Tesco Bank.
Use the table to find out a brand's overall customer score, and scroll to the right to find out how customers rated its service across five categories.
Please note that this article is for information purposes only and does not constitute advice. Please refer to the particular T&Cs of a provider before committing to any financial products.
RECOMMENDED PROVIDER Amazon (by Barclaycard) (89) | 81% | 74% | ||||||
RECOMMENDED PROVIDER American Express (Amex) (379) | 80% | 63% | ||||||
RECOMMENDED PROVIDER British Airways American Express (53) | 80% | 63% | n/a | |||||
First Direct (58) | 80% | 54% | n/a | |||||
M&S Bank (147) | 80% | 49% | n/a | |||||
Chase (56) | 79% | 57% | ||||||
Monzo (110) | 79% | n/a | ||||||
RECOMMENDED PROVIDER Tesco Bank (350) | 79% | 69% | ||||||
RECOMMENDED PROVIDER Barclays/Barclaycard (801) | 77% | 86% | ||||||
Co-operative Bank (Co-op) (49) | 76% | 54% | n/a | |||||
John Lewis/Waitrose (71) | 76% | 49% | n/a | |||||
Nationwide (205) | 76% | 86% | ||||||
Klarna credit card (43) | 75% | n/a | ||||||
MBNA (135) | 75% | 71% | ||||||
HSBC (281) | 74% | 54% | ||||||
RECOMMENDED PROVIDER Lloyds (364) | 74% | 86% | ||||||
Virgin Money (including Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank) (83) | 74% | 51% | ||||||
Asda Money (47) | 73% | 74% | n/a | |||||
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) (76) | 73% | 74% | n/a | |||||
Santander (229) | 73% | 63% | ||||||
TSB (51) | 73% | 86% | n/a | |||||
Zopa (56) | 73% | 80% | ||||||
118 118 Money (44) | 72% | 54% | ||||||
Capital One (288) | 72% | 51% | ||||||
Halifax (292) | 72% | 86% | ||||||
Virgin Atlantic by Virgin Money (59) | 72% | 43% | n/a | |||||
Bank of Scotland (BoS) (53) | 71% | 60% | n/a | |||||
NatWest (302) | 71% | 74% | ||||||
Vanquis Bank (73) | 68% | 63% | ||||||
Aqua (83) | 66% | 43% |
Table notes: The average provider customer score is 75% and the average product score is 62%. Our customer scores and star ratings are based on an online survey of 4,995 members of the public, conducted in November 2025. The customer score is based on satisfaction with the brand and likelihood to recommend. Sample size shown in brackets. n/a means we didn’t receive enough responses to include a star rating. Product score: based on Which? analysis of five fees and charges. Where providers offer multiple cards, we have shown the highest score it achieved from our analysis. Where n/a appears, we were unable to rate the provider's product. Jump to the section on how we analyse credit card providers to find out more about our research.
Amazon (by Barclaycard) tops the table this year and received five stars across all six categories. The two brands offer one card in partnership together. The Amazon Barclaycard lets you earn 1% in rewards when shopping at Amazon and 0.5% elsewhere. Customers said staff respond to queries quickly and they enjoy earning Amazon rewards.
81%
out of 30 credit card providers with a customer score
American Express remains a WRP for another year. Customers gave it five stars in all categories (except application process, where it earned four stars) and praised it’s ‘excellent’ customer service and rewards scheme.
80%
out of 30 credit card providers with a customer score
British Airways and American Express offer two cards designed for frequent flyers to earn Avios on their spending. Customers rated British Airways American Express five stars for all categories, except the application process, where we didn’t get enough survey respondents to report. Perhaps unsurprisingly, customers rave about the reward scheme and travel benefits.
80%
out of 30 credit card providers with a customer score
Tesco Bank has kept its WRP title for another year, scoring five stars for customer service, application process, clarity of statement and online account management. Tesco offers long 0% interest periods on purchases and balance transfers and customers like that you earn Clubcard points as you spend.
79%
out of 30 credit card providers with a customer score
Barclaycard has been crowned a WRP this year. Customers gave it five stars for overall customer service and four stars in all other categories, with many saying their card is easy to use. Barclaycard offers a range of competitive cards with low to no fees.
77%
out of 30 credit card providers with a customer score
Lloyds Bank remains a WRP for another year. While it received the lowest customer score of all the WRPs, Lloyds really stood out in the product analysis, thanks to its market-leading travel card and decent interest-free purchase periods. Customers said they liked the interest rates on offer and many said their card was easy to use.
74%
out of 30 credit card providers with a customer score
First Direct, M&S Bank, Chase and Monzo were among the most highly rated brands by customers, but they all missed out on being crowned Which? Recommended Providers this year.
First Direct, Chase and Monzo all require you to have a current account with them in order to open a credit card, which automatically makes them ineligible for WRP status – although it’s worth noting that First Direct and Chase didn’t score highly enough on the product score either (we weren’t able to calculate a product score for Monzo).
Anyone can take out a credit card with M&S Bank, but the below-average product score meant it didn’t make the cut for WRP this year.
Nationwide was among the highest scoring providers in our product analysis and was well rated by customers – but you must have a Nationwide current account in order to get one of its credit cards. While this means we couldn’t award it WRP status, it’s definitely worth considering Nationwide if you already bank with it.
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Holly Lanyon, credit cards expert, says:
'This year, 14 providers weren’t rated highly enough by their customers to be eligible for WRP status: 118 118 Money, Aqua, Asda Money, Capital One, Halifax, John Lewis, Klarna, MBNA , NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland, Santander, TSB, Vanquis Bank and Zopa.
'Some of these brands offer market-leading cards, so it’s worth checking our table to see where they fall down compared to competitors. For instance, seven of the 14 providers received just three stars for overall customer service.
'That said, you shouldn't dismiss these providers entirely. If the customer satisfaction score is close, the product score can help you compare providers: these 14 providers had product scores ranging from 43% to 86%.’
Which? regularly analyses hundreds of credit cards to find the best travel, interest-free, 0% balance transfer, cashback, low-interest and airmiles deals.
To become a Which? Best Buy, a credit card must have been one of the top five cards in its category for the past three months and satisfy specific criteria for the type of card, such as the size of its balance transfer fee or length of its interest-free period.
We also review our analysis regularly, which means we will withdraw Best Buys if providers make adverse changes to APRs, 0% periods or fees.
See which cards we recommend in our guide to the best credit card deals.
Anna McClean, credit cards market analyst says:
'At Which?, we go the extra mile to help you in your research on credit cards.
'We score providers based on customer feedback, and in-house market analysts, like me, do extensive analysis to determine how firms stack up to find the ones that stand out from the crowd.
'We only award Which? Recommended Provider status to the companies that meet our benchmarks on both customer service and product offering.'
Here's some more information about our research and the terms we use in our tables.
Our provider customer scores for credit card companies are based on an online survey of 4,995 members of the public, conducted in November 2025.
Provider customer scores are worked out using a combination of overall satisfaction and the likelihood of recommending the provider.
We also ask these credit card customers to rate brands on six categories including customer service, mobile banking and more — so you can get an idea of the quality of service you might receive before you sign up.
We don't just pick Which? Recommended Providers (WRPs) on the basis of their customer score.
We analyse the fees and charges of more than 100 credit cards to calculate a product rating score and find the best deals on the market.
Where providers offer multiple cards, we have shown the highest score it achieved from our analysis.
To be a Which? Recommended Provider for credit cards, a credit card company must:
We only award Which? Recommended Providers to the lenders that meet our benchmarks on customer service and product offering.
Please note that this article is for information purposes only and does not constitute advice. Please refer to the particular T&Cs of a provider before committing to any financial products.
Why should you trust Which? research?
We’re not influenced by third parties. We work entirely on behalf of you, the consumer – nobody else. See our statement of editorial independence for more.