Credit Card from Goldfish
This card was last reviewed on Wednesday, 15 March 2006.
| Overall Rating: |
 |
|
| Issued By: |
Goldfish |
| Card: |
Credit Card |
| Network: |
Visa or MasterCard |
| Category: |
Rewards |
| Acceptance: |
 |
| Insurance: |
Purchase, Travel Accident |
| Service: |
24 Hour Telephone Line, Online Account Management |
| Comments: |
|
| Pitch: |
"Earn points that can be redeemed to save you money on your household bills, your leisure activities and get you vouchers for high street retailers." |
| Typical APR: |
14.9% |
| Interest Free Days: |
56 |
| Minimum Repayment: |
- |
| Annual Fee: |
No annual fee. |
| APR: |
0% interest |
| Period: |
6 months on balances transferred within 6 weeks of account opening. |
| Charges: |
- |
| APR: |
- |
| Period: |
- |
| Type: |
Goldfish Points scheme. |
| Description: |
- |
| Reward Rate: |
0.66 |
| Period: |
- |
| Aimed At: |
Individuals with an average / below-average credit history that are looking for a rewards card. This means that the cardholder should clear their balance in full each month to benefit fully from the card. |
| Review: |
The Goldfish credit card first hit the UK back in 1996, when the credit card market was a much less competitive affair. Goldfish, along with online-banking pioneers such as Egg and Cahoot, helped usher in a newer era of competitive, low APR cards. However, that was back in 1996 and eight years on Goldfish are not looking in such rude health. Apparently Goldfish talk to their customers in a “straightforward, honest and rational way”, but with a standard APR of 17.9% on their credit card, they clearly haven’t listened to what a lot of customers want. As with all rewards cards, there is a trade-off between standard APR and rebates to cardholders. The greater the rewards scheme, then the more it’s going to cost you. Goldfish offers a rewards points system called, originally, “Goldfish Points”. This gives you discounts in large chains such as Asda, Dixons, JJB Sports, John Lewis and WHSmith, amongst others. It can also save you up to £75 a year on gas and electricity bills if you are a British Gas customer, and remarkably, can help pay your TV Licence. Goldfish points can also be donated to the company’s designated charity, currently the NSPCC. All these savings equate to an effective rebate of around 0.66%. Unfortunately, this doesn’t stack up too well when compared with the competition. The best cards in this field are the American Express Blue credit card, which provides 1% cashback at an interest rate of 18.9%; this is the top end when it comes to cashback, although has a particularly high interest rate. The thing about the Blue credit card is that the people at Amex understood that a cashback card should be for people that clear their balances in full each month. This means that they offer a great cashback deal, but at the cost of a very high APR. However, they expect most people to clear this balance and thus not be affected by it too much. American Express also throws in an introductory 2% cashback offer as part of the bargain, reinforcing this positioning. Goldfish, however, come up with mixed signals. They position the card as a rewards card, and like Amex, they understand that it is best for individuals that clear their balances in full each month. However, by offering an (uncompetitive) balance transfer offer of 4.9% for the first 6 months, they seem to be encouraging people with debt to sign up to their card. If you were to transfer card balances to Goldfish, you would find yourself hit with a pretty unpleasant interest rate after 6 months. So, back to the numbers. Goldfish has a standard APR of 17.9%, a rewards rebate of 0.66% and an introductory 6 month balance transfer offer of 4.9% (this offer does not apply for purchases in the first 6 months, which are charged at the standard APR of 17.9%). How does this compare to other cards on the market? The Accucard credit card, set to high cashback, provides a cash return (we’ll assume that most people prefer a cash rebate to rewards points) of 0.8% at an interest rate of 14%. It also comes with a 0%, 6 months balance transfer deal (again, this does not apply on purchases). In comparison, the Smile card provides 0.5% cashback for a remarkably low interest rate of 9.9%, when benefiting from the lower interest rate from holding a Smile current account. If you have short term debt obligations but plan to clear balances frequently in the longer term and thus utilise the benefits of cashback, then it may be worth considering the Morgan Stanley Platinum credit card. The Morgan Stanley provides a cashback of 1% with a standard APR of 14.1%, but also includes a 0%, 6 months introductory offer on balance transfers and purchases. Overall, I find it hard to recommend the Goldfish when there are so many more competitive cash rewards cards out there. Not only does the competition offer the rather more versatile cash rebate, but some return a greater value to the cardholder, some charge a lower standard APR and others offer better balance transfers offer. If you happen to have your heart set on the Goldfish, we would recommend that you take a look at some alternative cash rewards cards before deciding upon the Goldfish. |
| Verdict: |
- |
| Overall Rating: |
|
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