And more... (Marks & Spencer Financial Services)

Member Name: Redpen

Product:	Marks & Spencer Financial Services
Date:	25/05/03 (470 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to use and 10% off days are fab!

Disadvantages: Considered to be outdated and restrictive, useless inless a regular

I applied for my first M&S charge card while at uni (that was many, many years ago now!) Then this was the only card accepted and this has only recently changed. I was accepted and a couple of weeks later I had the card. It was so useful while at uni- I was never a hungry or starving student!! - Every Friday it was ready meals and booze on the charge card and then the bill went home to my parents (Which I might add I am paying for now, both Issy and Hugo regularly send me there bills, I do ask them what do they think an allowance are for, and I swear I never used to spend so much!)

Today the charge card benefits have been dwindled somewhat. I still use my card weekly when I do the food shopping. I do love M&S and feel it is a great British institution.

I have probably said this before - in the 90's my wife was on the board of M&S as a Non-Executive Director and found the company to be very customer service driven and highly ethical. After a couple of bad years regarding performance and profits Marks and Spencer now appears to be in recovery.

The charge card?s benefits include:
Although I have never used the interest on the account, because I make a point of paying off my balance every month (I might be the only one who finds this strange but I define a charge card as something you pay off every month) ?Anyhow the current APR is 18.9% which is very competitive as other store card?s interest rates can be anything up to 30%. The card has no annual fee and allows you 55 days interest free credit before settling your balance. You can also have a joint account, which allows you to have an additional cardholder, perfect for your other half!

Other benefits include

Discounts on home contents insurance with MSFS, if paid for on the card. Free M&S Magazine (although cardholders were previously allowed free M&S catalogs too- they have stopped this now) and commission free travel money. As you have probably noticed these
benefits are not all singing and dancing, however one benefit I do find particular useful is the 10% off for cardholder?s day which are held around twice a year. A couple of months ago on of these days we bought new Sofas for the upstairs drawing room and saved around £500!

I also find the card useful for keeping household expenses separate from business expenses. So all the food and grocery shopping is kept to one card as it is easier to manage. The addition of being able to manage you account online also helps!

There is also the peace of mind of having someone from MSFS contacting you if there are any unusual payments on your account. I remember being asked once if I had spend ?x? amount- it was almost like being told off! Having to admit to spending that much! - But this service is reassuring to have.

One downside to this is receiving junk mail and circulars from MS offering loans etc, which can get annoying.

They also offer other services such as card protection, which I don?t personally use because I get it free with my Coutts card, but I am sure it would be useful knowing someone was there to help if such an event was to take place. A payment protection plan is also offered to make payments if certain unfortunate life evens occur.

I would recommend this card to anyone who is a regular at M&S (although if you are then you will probably already have one!) I do agree that if you?re not a regular at M&S then this card is a bit of an outdated and somewhat restrictive payment method. For this reason MSFS director Laurel Powers- Freeman, known for being ?new blood? and as a bit of a radical thinker has implemented a new form of card known as the ?and more? card (&more) which acts like any other Visa, but is managed by MSFS. This means that it can be used anywhere Visa is accepted, it also offers a reward scheme which is something like (can?t remember the details exactly) 2 points for every £1 you spend in M&S and 1 poi
nt for every £1 you spend elsewhere. This card is currently undergoing trials in all of M&S stores in Wales and if successful should be launched in the New Year (bit of insider knowledge for you!) Obviously this card would be seen as being up-to-date with consumers needs and far more useful.

For more information please visit the relevant website.

Summary: