Barclaycard refuses to say whether terms for existing Egg customers will be affected. Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images
Egg credit card customers are being left in the dark about whether the terms of their accounts will change if the proposed takeover by Barclaycard goes ahead.
Barclaycard announced its intention to buy Egg's UK credit card assets – a portfolio of 1.15m accounts and credit worth £2.3bn – but has refused to say whether it plans any changes to the terms and conditions of existing customers. Completion is subject to competition clearance and, if granted, is expected to happen during the next few months.
Ordinary green Egg cards offer special deals on purchases from hundreds of retailers, which currently includes 4% cashback on purchases of iPads and iPods, plus free engraving and shipping from Apple, £70 cashback on home insurance from the RAC, and 25% on purchases at retailer Debenhams. This is similar to the Barclaycard Freedom scheme.
But black Egg Money cards, unlike Barclaycard, offer cashback of 1% on spending between £500 and £20,000 a year up to a limit of £200 cashback a year.
However, customers who want to see these deals continue should take note of Barclaycard's handling of 1.7m UK credit card accounts which it bought from the US credit card company Discover in 2008. Discover's UK portfolio included 11 credit card brands, including Goldfish and Morgan Stanley, and Barclaycard created four new accounts to make sure all transferred customers received the same product benefits as before.
The Goldfish name and heritage was maintained through a new Barclaycard Goldfish card, and Barclaycard said customers have benefited from an enhanced rewards programme.
At the time Amer Sajed, managing director of UK Cards at Barclaycard, said: "The card portfolio we acquired included one of the best-known rewards schemes in the UK. It is one of the first things which comes to mind when you think of Goldfish, and we wanted to take advantage of this heritage and build upon it to create a range of products to meet the expectations of our new customers."
However, shortly after the takeover the cashback points scheme was reduced from 1% to 0.3% for Goldfish customers. The scheme has since been changed again to provide vouchers for shops including Halfords, Boots, Marks & Spencer and Argos. Cardholders must earn 3,500 points to receive a £10 voucher, with one point earned for every £1 spent on the card.
Some Barclaycard Goldfish customers also belong to a straightforward cashback scheme, which pays 0.25% on the first £200 spent using the card, 0.35% above £200 to £1,500, and 1% on amounts over £1,500. A spokesman for Barclaycard believed these rates have not been changed since the Goldfish accounts were taken over.
Barclaycard announced its intention to buy Egg's UK credit card assets – a portfolio of 1.15m accounts and credit worth £2.3bn – but has refused to say whether it plans any changes to the terms and conditions of existing customers. Completion is subject to competition clearance and, if granted, is expected to happen during the next few months.
Ordinary green Egg cards offer special deals on purchases from hundreds of retailers, which currently includes 4% cashback on purchases of iPads and iPods, plus free engraving and shipping from Apple, £70 cashback on home insurance from the RAC, and 25% on purchases at retailer Debenhams. This is similar to the Barclaycard Freedom scheme.
But black Egg Money cards, unlike Barclaycard, offer cashback of 1% on spending between £500 and £20,000 a year up to a limit of £200 cashback a year.
However, customers who want to see these deals continue should take note of Barclaycard's handling of 1.7m UK credit card accounts which it bought from the US credit card company Discover in 2008. Discover's UK portfolio included 11 credit card brands, including Goldfish and Morgan Stanley, and Barclaycard created four new accounts to make sure all transferred customers received the same product benefits as before.
The Goldfish name and heritage was maintained through a new Barclaycard Goldfish card, and Barclaycard said customers have benefited from an enhanced rewards programme.
At the time Amer Sajed, managing director of UK Cards at Barclaycard, said: "The card portfolio we acquired included one of the best-known rewards schemes in the UK. It is one of the first things which comes to mind when you think of Goldfish, and we wanted to take advantage of this heritage and build upon it to create a range of products to meet the expectations of our new customers."
However, shortly after the takeover the cashback points scheme was reduced from 1% to 0.3% for Goldfish customers. The scheme has since been changed again to provide vouchers for shops including Halfords, Boots, Marks & Spencer and Argos. Cardholders must earn 3,500 points to receive a £10 voucher, with one point earned for every £1 spent on the card.
Some Barclaycard Goldfish customers also belong to a straightforward cashback scheme, which pays 0.25% on the first £200 spent using the card, 0.35% above £200 to £1,500, and 1% on amounts over £1,500. A spokesman for Barclaycard believed these rates have not been changed since the Goldfish accounts were taken over.
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