The latest Uswitch.com survey of more than 10,000 credit card customers reveals that high street giants M&S, Tesco and Sainsbury’s are losing out in the satisfaction stakes to long established American Express and newcomer Virgin Money.
Longest standing UK provider American Express scoops up a total of five awards including the top title: Credit Card Provider of the Year 2016
Challenger bank Virgin Money is hot on their heels winning four awards, including Best Overall Customer Service and Best Application Process
High street giants pay the price in the satisfaction stakes, after many hit the headlines for slashing their reward card offerings
Retail rivals M&S Bank, Tesco Bank and Sainsbury’s Bank fail to win one award between them
John Lewis is the only retailer to fare well, taking home the trophy for Best Rewards Scheme
Yet again the big banks fare badly, with only Halifax taking home an award for Best for Overseas Use.
The results are in for the Uswitch Credit Card Awards 2016, revealing an about-turn in customer satisfaction for retail brands as they lose out on all but one of the coveted top spots. The awards, based on a survey of over 10,000 credit card customers by Uswitch.com, the independent price comparison and switching service, see American Express scoop up five awards including Credit Card Provider of the Year 2016.
In 2015 retailers were riding high, racking up a total of eight awards between them. This year, however, high street big hitters M&S Bank, Tesco Bank and Sainsbury’s Bank have failed to win one award between them.
Several retail brands have hit the headlines in recent months for slashing their reward card offerings, blaming changes to their offers on additional costs resulting from new EU legislation. John Lewis, last year’s winner of the Credit Card Provider of the Year title, has fared the best out of the retail pack; taking home the trophy for Best Rewards Scheme for the second year in a row.
In contrast to the retailers, long standing card giant American Express dominates the awards. Along with challenger bank Virgin Money they clean up, taking home nine out of a total of 12 trophies. Aside from Credit Card Provider of the Year, American Express picks up a total of five awards including Best Value for Money, Best for 0% on Purchases, Best Mobile Website and Best Mobile App. Virgin Money is hot on their heels with four awards, including Best Overall Customer Service, Best Application Process, Best Website and Best for Balance Transfers.
Yet again the big banks fare badly, as the Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC, Lloyds and NatWest fail to win a single award between them. All four banks fail to even scrape their way into the top ten list for the Best Overall Customer Service category.
Tashema Jackson, money expert at Uswitch.com, says: “In this year’s shock result we’ve seen all but one of the retailers knocked off the top spots. This fall from grace may come as no surprise to reward card customers, as many will have been unimpressed by the cuts made to their deals.
“These results should serve as a warning for all in the industry that savvy credit card customers won’t be fobbed off. Providers run the risk of losing out if they take their eye off the game, as customers will simply set their sights on products that provide the best returns for their spending.
“American Express is an attractive choice as they still provide lucrative reward and cashback offers. We’ve also seen Virgin launch several market leading deals over the past year. Both providers back this up with a strong online service, which consumers now expect to see as part and parcel of the whole customer service package.”
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Notes to editors
All research was conducted online by Censuswide between 17th and 23rd December 2015 among 10,010 UK adults. The survey was conducted using a random sample of UK respondents that hold at least one credit card. All figures are based on Uswitch.com analysis.
New EU legislation was introduced in 2015 to cap how much retailers can be charged by banks in interchange fees for credit or debit cards. Interchange fees are charged by a cardholder's bank to a retailer's bank every time a consumer makes a card-based purchase. More information can be found here: http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2015/04/20-capping-fees-card-based-payments/
A full list of the 2015 winners can be found here
Full list of winners across all categories:
| Category | Credit Card Provider | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Credit Card Provider of the Year 2016 | American Express | ||
| Best Value for Money | American Express | ||
| Best Mobile Website | American Express | ||
| Best Mobile App | American Express | ||
| Best for 0% on Purchases | American Express | ||
| Best Overall Customer Service | Virgin Money | ||
| Best Application Process | Virgin Money | ||
| Best Website | Virgin Money | ||
| Best for Balance Transfers | Virgin Money | ||
| Best Rewards Scheme | John Lewis | ||
| Best for Credit Building | Barclaycard | ||
| Best for Overseas Use | Halifax |
Source: Uswitch.com Top ten award category findings below:
| Credit Card Provider | Best Rewards Scheme | Credit Card Provider | Best Overall Customer Service | Credit Card Provider | Best Value for Money | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Lewis | 67% | Virgin Money | 69% | American Express | 61% | ||||
| American Express | 60% | John Lewis | 69% | M&S Bank | 61% | ||||
| M&S Bank | 59% | First Direct | 69% | John Lewis | 60% | ||||
| Santander | 58% | M&S Bank | 68% | Virgin Money | 59% | ||||
| Halifax | 55% | American Express | 67% | Nationwide | 57% | ||||
| HSBC | 54% | Sainsbury's Bank | 64% | Sainsbury's Bank | 57% | ||||
| Nationwide | 53% | Nationwide | 64% | First Direct | 56% | ||||
| Tesco Bank | 53% | Tesco Bank | 62% | Tesco Bank | 55% | ||||
| Capital One | 53% | MBNA | 60% | Halifax | 54% | ||||
| Barclaycard | 51% | Halifax | 59% | Santander | 53% | ||||
| Credit Card Provider | Best Application Process | Credit Card Provider | Best for 0% on Purchases | Credit Card Provider | Best Website | ||||
| Virgin Money | 75% | American Express | 74% | Virgin Money | 68% | ||||
| Tesco Bank | 70% | Tesco Bank | 73% | American Express | 68% | ||||
| American Express | 69% | Nationwide | 73% | Nationwide | 67% | ||||
| M&S Bank | 68% | MBNA | 71% | MBNA | 66% | ||||
| Nationwide | 67% | Halifax | 71% | M&S Bank | 65% | ||||
| Sainsbury's Bank | 67% | Santander | 69% | Tesco Bank | 63% | ||||
| John Lewis | 66% | Capital One | 68% | Halifax | 63% | ||||
| Halifax | 64% | Barclaycard | 67% | Santander | 63% | ||||
| First Direct | 63% | Lloyds | 66% | First Direct | 62% | ||||
| Santander | 63% | NatWest | 64% | Capital One | 62% | ||||
| Credit Card Provider | Best Mobile Website | Credit Card Provider | Best for Balance Transfers | Credit Card Provider | Best Mobile App | ||||
| American Express | 59% | Virgin Money | 82% | American Express | 59% | ||||
| Nationwide | 58% | MBNA | 71% | TSB | 56% | ||||
| TSB | 57% | Tesco Bank | 69% | NatWest | 55% | ||||
| Tesco Bank | 56% | Halifax | 68% | Santander | 55% | ||||
| Barclaycard | 55% | Santander | 67% | Tesco | 55% | ||||
| Halifax | 55% | Lloyds | 66% | Nationwide | 55% | ||||
| Capital One | 55% | Barclaycard | 65% | Barclaycard | 54% | ||||
| Santander | 55% | NatWest | 64% | Halifax | 53% | ||||
| M&S Bank | 53% | Capital One | 63% | First Direct | 51% | ||||
| First Direct | 53% | Nationwide | 62% | Capital One | 49% | ||||
| Credit Card Provider | Best for Overseas Use* | Credit Card Provider | Best for Credit Building* | ||||||
| Halifax | 85% | Barclaycard | 60% | ||||||
| Nationwide | 81% | Capital One | 56% | ||||||
| Barclaycard | 71% | Aqua | 53% | ||||||
| Vanquis | 51% |
* Sample size too small for these categories
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