If you're not careful, this secret could cost you dear...
Your credit card may be hiding a dirty secret. Its parents.
For example, did you know that M&S Money - the provider of insurance, loans and credit cards - is wholly owned by HSBC and not Marks & Spencer?
Didn't think so.
It just goes to show that favourite brands aren't necessarily controlled by your favourite organisations.
With credit cards, this matters more than you think.
There are well over 100 companies and charities that offer credit cards, but there are less than a score of card issuers. Understandably, HSBC is the card issuer for HSBC cards and for M&S Money cards. It's not surprisingly the issuer of First Direct cards, as it wholly owns that online bank too. Yet it is also the issuer of Marbles and John Lewis cards.
Why does this matter?
Most card issuers will not let you have another of its cards, even if you buy a different brand.
You need to stop using your existing card for at least six months and in many cases longer before you will be considered for another card by the same issuer.
The problem is that the more times you apply for credit the worse your credit record looks. Therefore, you don't want to apply for another card from the same issuer.
This is a major problem if you wish to transfer you existing card balance to a cheaper deal. It may be that a new 0% credit card deal will save you hundreds in a year, but you endanger your chances of getting a new card, or any other form of credit, be it loans or mortgages, if you apply for a second card from the same issuer, and get rejected.
And what's more most issuers won't even let you transfer balances between two cards that they own.
But how do you find out which cards have the same issuer?
Buried in the small print
It can be extremely difficult to find out who the card issuer is for any given card. Details of the overall issuer are often hidden in the terms and conditions.
However, it's not just that these crucial details are buried in the terms and conditions, it's also that the terms and conditions are buried! It's often not until you've given a credit card provider all your personal data by going through their online application form that you are given the opportunity to read the terms of the deal you've just applied for!
So to help you out here's a list of card issuers, which I've worked hard to ensure is as accurate and up-to-date as possible:
Credit card issuers
|
Card issuer |
Card provider (i.e. the brand/the company you applied to) |
|
Allied Irish Banks |
SAGA |
|
American Express |
American Express |
|
Bank of Ireland |
BOI Post Office |
|
Barclays |
Argos Barclaycard |
|
Capital One |
Capital One |
|
CitiGroup |
BMIBaby Citicard Egg card
|
|
Co-op |
Amnesty International Barnardo's Childrens Aid Society Co-op Greenpeace Help the Aged Labour party Liberal Democrat Medical Foundation Oxfam Ramblers Association Save the Children Smile Stroud & Swindon Yorkshire BS |
|
Santander |
Abbey Alliance & Leicester* ASDA GE Cards (Laura Ashley, Debenhams, Harrods) Santander Paypal |
|
HSBC |
First Direct GM Card HSBC John Lewis Marbles M&S Money Waitrose |
|
Lloyds Banking Group |
all "lifestyle" Amazon Britannia Cancer Research Carphone Warehouse IF ipoints Lloyds TSB More Than NSPCC Smart |
| HBOS (part of Lloyds Banking Group but accepts transfers from Lloyds TSB) |
Halifax Bank of Scotland |
|
Bank of America (cards mainly issued by MBNA Europe) |
The AA card BikeCard BMF BMI breakthough breast cancer british heart foundation Cheshire Building Society Childline Football clubs homebase ICICI MBNA Melton Mobray Building Society Norwich & Peterborough PADI Play.com Rugby League clubs Ryanair Ski Club GB Star trek Sonycard Toys R US Unicef Virgin Money Virgin Atlantic World superbikes WWF |
|
National Australia Group |
Yorkshire Bank Clydesdale Bank |
|
RBS Group |
Mint NatWest Lombard Direct Royal Bank of Scotland Ulster Bank |
|
Sainsbury |
Sainsbury's card (50% owned by Lloyds) |
|
Tesco |
Tesco ClubCard credit card |
|
Nationwide |
Nationwide |
Data from company websites, press offices and from Stoozing.com (with a few corrections of my own)
*Older cards from these banks were issued by MBNA.
Get help from lovemoney.com
If you need a bit controlling your credit cards, we can help.
First, adopt this goal: Pay off credit card debts
Next, watch this video: The cost of credit card debt
And finally, why not have a wander over to Q&A and ask other lovemoney.com members for hints and tips about what worked best for them?
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