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John Lewis credit card offers points boost for Christmas
John Lewis has boosted the points offer on its Partnership rewards credit card just in time for Christmas shopping season.
New customers that sign up to the John Lewis & Waitrose Partnership credit card can earn double points and the chance to secure a bonus £30 voucher.
Here, we delve into the details of the deal and explain why reward cards have become less common in the past few years.
What does the John Lewis credit card offer?
The John Lewis credit card allows you to earn one point for every £1 you spend at John Lewis & Partners and Waitrose & Partners, or one point for every £2 you spend elsewhere.
For every 500 points, you will get £5 in vouchers to spend at John Lewis and Waitrose, which are sent out three times a year.
John Lewis is offering customers that successfully apply for its Partnership card before 29 February 2020 the chance to earn double points at John Lewis or Waitrose for 90 days. However, your points won't be doubled for any spending you do elsewhere.
Shoppers that spend £250 with John Lewis or Waitrose during the first three months will also qualify for a bonus £30 John Lewis voucher.
Below, we've crunched how the rewards might convert based on how much you choose to spend at John Lewis or Waitrose.
| Total you plan to spend at John Lewis or Waitrose | Points you normally earn with the card | Points you will earn with the offer | Will your spending get you a voucher? |
| £100 | 100 | 200 | No |
| £150 | 150 | 300 | No |
| £200 | 200 | 400 | No |
| £250 | 250 | 500 | Yes £5 + £30 bonus voucher |
| £300 | 300 | 600 | Yes £5 + £30 bonus voucher |
| £350 | 350 | 700 | Yes £5 + £30 bonus voucher |
| £400 | 400 | 800 | Yes £5 + £30 bonus voucher |
If you're planning to spend £250 or more with John Lewis or Waitrose this Christmas, this offer could be worthwhile.
If you plan to spread your spending across several retailers, however, you might lose out.
The point collection rate with other retailers won't be doubled, so you will need to spend at least £1,000 to get a £5 reward if you use the John Lewis card.
- Find out more: check out our John Lewis credit card review to find out how the card was rated by existing customers in our latest survey.
Are reward credit cards getting better or worse?
The reward credit card market has been a bit staid over the past few years, with some providers closing or scaling back deals, as regulations get tougher.
| October 2017 | October 2018 | October 2019 | |
| Number of reward credit cards on the market | 80 | 63 | 57 |
Source: Which? analysis of Moneyfacts data
The EU interchange fee cap which was introduced in December 2015 is regularly cited as the reason deals have dried up.
This limited the fees that the likes of Visa and Mastercard can charge retailers for accepting credit and debit card payments - a cost that was normally shifted to customers.
How does the new HSBC card compare?
Despite this, there are some signs of life in the rewards-card market.
In May, HSBC launched a new rewards credit card that offers one point for every £5 you spend, with 2,500 bonus points (worth £25 in rewards) with your first purchase.
If you spend £10,000 every year, you'll earn an extra 2,500 points annually for the first five years you have the card.
The HSBC card has a representative 21.9% APR and comes with no annual fee.
Unlike some reward schemes, points can be redeemed anywhere that accepts Mastercard. This means you could use the HSBC card to pay for flights, a supermarket shop or to fill up your car.
The best reward credit cards
American Express was one of the highest-rated brands in our latest credit card survey, and is a Which? Recommended Provider.
It offers the American Express Nectar Credit Card which allows you to earn three points for every £1 spent at Nectar partners and two points for every £2 spent elsewhere.
The card also comes with a bonus 20,000 Nectar points (worth £100) when you spend £2,000 within the first three months with the card. The card has a representative APR of 28.2%.
Tesco Bank is also a Which? Recommended Provider and offers a range of reward credit cards that could suit your spending habits.
You can compare rewards credit cardsusingWhich? Money Compare.
- Find out more: check out the best and worst credit card providers according to our latest survey
Which? Limited is an Introducer Appointed Representative of Which? Financial Services Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 527029). Which? Money Compare is a trading name of Which? Financial Services Limited.
