Over 110 UK credit cards independently reviewed by Fiscus Credit Cards
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Platinum from Morgan Stanley
This card was last reviewed on Wednesday, 15 March 2006.
| Overall Rating: |
 |
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| Issued By: |
Morgan Stanley |
| Card: |
Platinum |
| Network: |
MasterCard |
| Category: |
Rewards |
| Acceptance: |
 |
| Insurance: |
None |
| Service: |
24 hour telephone line. Online account management. |
| Comments: |
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| Pitch: |
"Morgan Stanley Platinum Card. Flexible spending power." |
| Typical APR: |
15.9% |
| Interest Free Days: |
55 |
| Minimum Repayment: |
- |
| Annual Fee: |
No annual fee. |
| APR: |
5.9% interest |
| Period: |
Fixed for life on balances transfered before 1/8/2006 |
| Charges: |
- |
| APR: |
0% interest |
| Period: |
6 months |
| Type: |
Cashback |
| Description: |
- |
| Reward Rate: |
1 |
| Period: |
- |
| Aimed At: |
Individuals that plan to clear their balances each month. The introductory balance transfer offer allows for short term debt. |
| Review: |
The Morgan Stanley Platinum card is actually a very similar underlying card to its Gold offering. Usually, a Platinum card refers to a superior product, with more services bundled in, a higher credit limit and generally offered to individuals with higher credit scores. However, this is not the case with Morgan Stanley. As with all cards, there is a trade-off between providing the cardholder with greater rewards and standard APR. The price you pay for higher rewards (such as cashback) is a higher interest rate. The Gold and Platinum cards simply offer a different reward to interest ratio – applications require the same, average credit score. The Morgan Stanley Gold credit card offers no cashback and an interest rate of 12.3%. The Platinum card, on the other hand, provides an initial cashback of 1% (1% for the first £2000, then 0.5% thereafter) with standard APR at 14.1%. This site argues that the Gold card is a very average offering, and that there is much better available on the market. With the Platinum card however, Morgan Stanley have come up trumps. The nearest competitor is American Express Blue, which also offers 1% cashback at a cost of 18.9%. The Blue card has a lot more features, but at the same time, it is hindered by being on the smaller Amex network versus the MasterCard network offered by Morgan Stanley. The Morgan Stanley Platinum comes with the near-ubiquitous 0% offer on balance transfers and purchases for 6 months, so some short term debt is acceptable. However, as with all cashback cards, we only recommend their usage if you plan to clear you balance in full each month. If not, the interest will cost you more than any cashback saving. Overall, a very attractive cashback card, well worth considering if you clear your balance in full each month. |
| Verdict: |
- |
| Apply Online: |
Click here to apply for this Platinum from Morgan Stanley
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| Overall Rating: |
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