lovemoney Awards 2013: best credit card provider

There's a new winner in this year's credit card category of the lovemoney Awards.

First Direct has won the Best Credit Card Provider category of this year’s lovemoney Awards. The bank, a division of HSBC, also triumphed in the customer service section and finished runner-up in the interest rate section.

Last year’s winner John Lewis was joint runner-up for the overall award, along with the Co-operative Bank, which should bring them some festive cheer after a torrid year.

Here’s how the results broke down this year.

Interest rate

Winner: Co-operative Bank
Runners-up: First Direct and Asda

The Co-op’s cards do have pretty low interest rates, with the Platinum Fixed Rate the cheapest with a representative APR of just 9.9% and the highest charging 15.9%. First Direct’s presence here is more puzzling, with its ordinary credit card having a representative APR of 19.9% – higher than the industry average of 18%. Asda Money's is a slightly more respectable 14.9%.

Rewards

Winner: John Lewis
Runners-up: Marks & Spencer Money and Virgin Atlantic

The John Lewis Partnership card is a consistent favourite of lovemoney.com readers, as it returns 1p in John Lewis vouchers for every £1 you spend. Marks & Spencer’s card does likewise with M&S points. And Virgin Atlantic's Black and White cards are obviously rewarding for many frequent flyers.

Cashback

Winner: American Express
Runners-up: Santander and John Lewis

No surprise to see American Express scoop top spot in the Cashback section. Its Platinum Cashback Everyday and Platinum Cashback cards have been the market leaders for most of this year.

The Santander 123 card is also a strong cashback card, which explains why the bank takes the runners-up spot. And although the John Lewis card technically pays vouchers, rather than money, it is essentially cash to spend in John Lewis or Waitrose so we'll allow it to share second spot in this section for the second year running.

Customer service

Winner: First Direct
Runners-up: Capital One and Co-operative Bank

Again, no surprises with the result here. First Direct is consistently praised for its customer service across the board. Capital One (for the first time) and Co-operative Bank (for the third time) took the runners-up spots.

What's so special about First Direct's credit cards?

First Direct's triumph in this category is interesting, not least because it suggests that lovemoney.com readers prize sticking with their bank, and its good customer service, over potential benefits offered by other credit cards.

However, while we're sure First Direct card customers get great customer service, beyond that the cards themselves aren't that great.

You don't have to pay to use them, which is good. And they both come with 0% balance transfer periods of 20 months and balance transfer fees of 2.9%, which are OK but nowhere near the market-leading Barclaycard Platinum 29-Month card, with 29 months at 0% and a fee of 2.79%.

Even better for interest-free balance transfers are the Bank of Scotland Platinum 24-Month, Lloyds Bank Platinum 24-Month and TSB Platinum 24-Month, which offer two years at 0% with just 1.5% fees to pay.

Our favourite all-round credit card right now is the Nationwide Select credit card. It's only available to people who have or open a Nationwide Flex (other conditions apply to this account), FlexDirect or FlexPlus current account, although the Flex and FlexDirect accounts are arguably worth having in their own right.

The Select card offers 0% on balance transfers for two years with a 2.4% fee, 0% on purchases for 15 months, 0.5% cashback on any sterling purchases (although your Nationwide current account must be your main current account, ie your salary goes in and your bills are paid out, to qualify for this) and commission-free purchases abroad.

Read more on the Nationwide Select card and other good all-round credit cards in Nationwide Select Credit Card: the best all-round credit card.

Compare top credit cards

More on credit cards:

The best 0% balance transfer credit cards

The best 0% purchase credit cards

The best cashback credit cards

The best reward credit cards

The best credit cards to use on your travels