BHS Gold Card Facts (BHS store card)

Member Name: sanguina

Product:	BHS store card
Date:	04/12/05 (2470 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Discount up to 15% plus extra on cardholder discount nights

Disadvantages: You will receive statements like a credit card

Having read some reviews of the goldcard, I have noticed some details are either incorrect or out of date. As a current BHS Associate here is the up-to-date goldcard information.

Opening a BHS Goldcard is a good idea for anyone who is a regular BHs customer, or occassional customers who make large purchases, e.g. coats, lighting products, spending a lot in christmas or holiday shop.

The goldcard is a store and discount card combined, and replaces the old choice card scheme (which was a discount card only) although choice cards may still be used by existing members.

Discount on the goldcard works as follows:
On opening the goldcard, you will receive double points for the value of your purchase at the time. e.g. If you are buying a £50.00 jacket, you will receive 10 points instead of 5. This will put you straight onto a 5% discount level. This is because 10 points gets you onto 5% discount. In order for you to take advantage of this initial double points offer, your purchase must be put through on your gold card account at the time of opening the account. You will also receive a £5.00 respend voucher with your first statement , assuming you have spent £35.00 or more when opening the account.

There will also be occassional promotional offers such as £5.00 off, or 10% off when opening the card, as well as double points.

After opening the account, you should receive occassional money off vouchers and special offers as well as invites to discoutn and cardholder nights and other special events, including the very popular christmas party evening, where you could save up to 20% on top of any existing discount on your card. BHS stores also have 15% and 20% events throughout the year, many of which are cardholder nights only.

After you have opened the account, and collected any initial points, you will then receive 1 point for every £10.00 spent on the account. This applies to BHS purchases only. The card can also be used at all arcadia stores such as Burtons, Dorothy Perkins, Topshop etc. Although discount points are not added for these purchases.

Assuming you are on a 5% discount, you will need to collect a further 25 points to get onto a 10% discount, and after that a further 35 points to get a 15% disount. When these disount levels have been reached, this dicount applies to all purchases and cannot be "used up" as with other discount schemes. The points however are reset every year, usually around the 1st of October.

When the points are reset, your discount level will not fall to 0, instead a 15% discount will usually be reduced to 10%, and a 10% to 5% etc.

Paying your statement is easy, and can be done using the payment slip, as with any other bill, or by direct debit. If you wish to use your card as a discount card only and "pay as you go" you can also pay at any Evans or Dorothy Perkins store, and facilities should soon be available to pay your account in BHS itself. In this way you can buy products in BHS on your Goldcard, and then go to Evans and pay it off right away. You will still receive a statement, but it will show that the balance is paid.

I would recommend the goldcard as a good product for anyone who is a regular BHS customer, as it really could save you money, especially if you usally pay by credit card anyway.

Oh, and by the way, contrary to the beleif of most customers, BHs staff get no incentives or commission for opening accounts, it's just "part of our job". I myself have had abuse from customers saying that we are pressuring them to take on credit just so we can get extra money etc. This is totally untrue, we get nothing! Except pressure

Summary: Good for regulars,a nd customers making large purchases