Shopping as never been so rewarding! :P (BHS store card)

Member Name: Xx-Sarah-xX

Product:	BHS store card
Date:	19/03/09 (320 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Low apr, saving 5% on all purchases

Disadvantages: Is a credit card, some people don't like to have these

Until recently Bhs have only had a store card, but for about the last half a year they have introduced a new card which is called the BHS Master card. This is because the contract with GE capital has come to an end so they now have one with barclay card instead. Unlike there last card this card is a credit card and offer you 18.9% Apr where as their old card offered 29% Apr

I currently work at BHS so hopefully I won't forget anything!


*How can I get one of these cards?

Old members of the BHS Goldcard would have got a letter sent through the post telling them their card is running out and would have had a form to fill in and then bring in store to get sent off. If you aren't a member you can apply at any store and will get asked when purchasing if you would be interested (I know we find that annoying but we can't help it!) You can even apply online, though I noticed a flaw here. You have to be over 21 to get one of these cards but on the website it says 18. Wrong.


*Rates?

The BHS mastercard is one of the more competitive cards on the high street. It offers you 18.9% Apr which of course won;t matter if you keep you with your payments and you even can get up to £50 credit when you are in store applying if you get accepted (We phone through and they tell us on the phone).

You get 0% interest on non-Bhs purchases for 3 months

0% interest on Bhs purchases for 6 months

and 0% interest on balance transfers for 9 months, though a 2.99% handling fee does apply.


*Is this card safe?

This new card has something called Bhs secure which combats credit card fraud. This makes it one of the safest cards on the high street.

- Bhs Active Monitoring & Worldwide Fraud Protection - monitors your account for any unusual activity and alerts you if they find anything suspicious
- Internet Guarantee - designed to help you if your goods are delivered damaged and you're unable to resolve the issue with the supplier (excludes antiques and second hand goods)


* What will I get out of the card?

First off this card offers you 5 points for every pound that you spend in store and 1 point for every pound you spend wherever you see the mastercard logo.

Every time you reach 500 points you earn a 5 pound Bhs voucher. You receive vouchers every quarterly (Every 3 months) so depending what you have spent you should receive some vouchers, for example:

- Spent £110 in bhs and £240 in 3 months, this means you would have 790 points giving you a 5 pound Bhs voucher, though if this where your first purchase with Bhs you would receive 1340 points giving you 2 5 pound vouchers.

Don't worry about the extra points, they don;t disappear, they simply get carried on to your next quarterly payment. Simple.

They also have around 12 event days every year (1 each month). They are usually on a Thursday and card holders will be sent letters to let them know when the next event is coming up. On these days you can save 20% on everything in store, though I think its only 10% on larger items (We don't have furniture in the store I work in so I'm not quite sure.)


*Extras

You can change your PIN at any cash point though you must activate the card first. You will get your card within 2 weeks of you filling in the form. You will need a debit/credit card or a passport as proof of identity to fill in the form and there will be a few personal questions such as a estimation of your annual income, though these aren't too important and if you really don't want to give this information away it isn't essential.


*How do I pay my bills?

Just take them into your bank like you do with any over bills and you can pay them off there. Or you can pay them off online if you have signed up to do this which is a real time saver.


*Can i cancel this card if i want too?

Yes you can. You can't do this through going in store so don't try this, you have to phone the customer services number or the number of your bank to get it sorted out. This is because Bhs themselves aren't in charge of this card Barclay card is.

The Bhs mastercard would really benefit you if you shop in Bhs a lot, from what I know about it it sounds like one of the best around though I probably wouldn't want it as I already get discount anyway!

Summary: a good competative card