Customers fear sale of Goldfish to Barclaycard may mean the rewards pool gets drained away

Customers fear sale of Goldfish to Barclaycard may mean the rewards pool gets drained away

Goldfish, the credit card company recently bought by Barclays, has closed its doors to new customers amid fears that its new owner could be about to ditch the company's popular reward scheme.

The sale of Goldfish to Barclaycard was completed at the end of last month and the card giant says it will tell its new customers within the next fortnight what will happen to them.

Last week it sent out an email to affiliate websites which advertise the Goldfish brand, telling them to stop promoting it as 'planned [marketing] activity... has currently been placed on hold'. It said that applications for the card already made this month would go ahead, but no new ones would be opened. Visitors to the Goldfish website are being directed to Barclaycard's products.

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Goldfish has long had one of the most generous credit card reward schemes in what has become a rapidly diminishing loyalty card market. Users earn one point for every pound spent, then get back a £10 voucher for every 1,750 points earned. The voucher can be used at 29 outlets including Marks & Spencer, John Lewis and WH Smith. But one option being considered by Barclaycard is to ditch the loyalty scheme. A spokesman said it would 'rule nothing out' but would make Goldfish customers 'a compelling proposition' in the next few weeks.

However, if the proposition entails losing the card's loyalty scheme, many customers are likely to be up in arms. Robert Richardson has had a card with the company for 12 years. 'The reason I signed up to Goldfish was because of its loyalty scheme,' he says. 'I get about £100 a year back from them which I can spend in M&S and other stores. If Barclays got rid of the scheme there would be no incentive for me to stay with them.'

People who pay off their credit card balances in full each month are better off with credit cards offering points, as the interest rate being charged is irrelevant. But the reward card market has almost halved in the past three years, with 44 available now.

Of these, experts say 'cashback' credit cards offer the best deals. Michelle Slade at data provider Moneyfacts likes the Egg Money card, which gives £90 back a year for someone spending £750 a month on their card, or £30 to someone spending £250 every month: 'There aren't many cashback cards left, but for people who never run up any interest they are a good deal. You are getting something for nothing.'

Sean Gardner, chief executive of Moneyexpert.com, says there are two deals worth considering. The Abbey credit card gives 5 per cent cashback on supermarket spending until the end of July, while the American Express Platinum card gives 5 per cent back for the first three months on spending up to £4,000. 'Even the standard cashback rate of 1.5 per cent after that is pretty competitive,' he adds.

Non-cashback reward cards include Nectar from American Express, which gives up to four points for every £1 spent and the British Airways card, also from Amex, which gives one BA air mile for every £1.

But not everyone who has a reward card takes full advantage of it. Money Expert research shows that more than half of those who own one of these cards has amassed an average of £42 in points they have not yet spent. 'This shows that very few reward schemes genuinely work,' says Gardner.

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