- Aged 18 or over
- UK resident
- Hold a UK bank or building society account
Please ensure you meet the above criteria before applying, or it could adversely affect your credit rating.
| Representative Example: 16.9% p.a. variable on purchases. This is equivalent to 16.9% APR representative variable based on a credit limit of £1,200. MBNA Europe Bank Limited, Stansfield House, Chester Business Park, Chester, CH4 9QQ |
 Purchases: |
 Balance transfers: |
Money transfers: |
 Rewards: |
 Cardholder services: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0% for 9 months 16.9% p.a. variable thereafter |
0% for 6 months 18.9% p.a. variable thereafter 1.5% transfer fee (£3 min) Must be transferred within 90 days |
0% for 6 months 20.9% p.a. variable thereafter 1.5% transfer fee (£3 min) Must be transferred within 90 days |
Play.com Gift Vouchers 1500 Bonus PlayPoints |
Online Account Management Fraud Guarantee Active Fraud Monitoring Verified by Visa OneTouch Payments |
Please read this first:
This review is based on general information about how the product compares in the market, it shouldn't be taken as a recommendation or advice.
Please see below for more important information relating to the content of this page.
The Play.com credit card is high value rewards scheme credit card.
What do we mean by high value? Basically, the rate of points earned per pound spent compared to the actual redemption value of those points is very competitive in the market amongst other reward credit cards.
The Play.com rewards scheme offers PlayPoints. They're earned on all purchase spending and can be redeemed for straightforward gift vouchers to spend at the Play.com website.
Cardholders will earn 1 PlayPoint for each £1 spent on purchases, and double PlayPoints on purchases made at Play.com.
1,500 bonus PlayPoints are also available - and awarded when new cardholders spend £150 or more on the card within the first 90 days of opening an account.
Redeeming PlayPoints is simple:
500 PlayPoints = £5 Play.com gift voucher.
The gift voucher can be spent on anything on the Play.com website, including films, movies, games and books to clothing, tickets and home electronics, so the reward range is fairly broad.
A slightly more unsurprising place the Play.com credit card appears in market comparisons is for its 0% balance transfer offer.
It's not an exceptionally long deal - but it does offer one of the cheapest transfer fees for a 0% rate currently available.
At 1.5% the card is often covered for the potential savings where cardholders can repay existing debts within the short 6-month balance transfer period.
Balance transfers and rewards generally don't mix however, and its always a shame to see issuers marketing cards with a multitude of offers that don't really work particularly well together in a cardholder's favour.
That said, this card also offers 0% on purchases for 9 months - and so due to the brilliantly confusing way MBNA allocates payments during 0% periods to the highest 'go to' or standard rate first - payments will clear 0% balance transfers before 0% purchases and so the shorter 0% offer will get repaid in this case before the longer one (that's not typical of MBNA cards).
If the standard rates actually offered to a cardholder differ however from those advertised, things may be different - so do check the full terms and confirm anything with the card issuer first.
For music and film aficionados alike, the Play.com credit card offers a market leading rewards scheme.
There is also a useful low-fee 0% balance transfer deal hidden in this card too - which could offer savings for quick repayments of existing card debts.
| Detail | |
|---|---|
| Only apply if you are: | - Aged 18 or over - UK resident - Hold a UK bank or building society account |
| More likely to be accepted if you are: | - You are currently employed - You are over 23 years of age - You are a homeowner - You have an income of over £20,000 - You do not have any recent credit defaults (CCJ's, current arrears or missed payments) on credit cards / loans / mortgages - You are a resident in the UK and can prove residential addresses for the past 2 years |
| Detail | Additional | |
|---|---|---|
| Representative APR (variable) | 16.9% APR | Rates from 16.9% APR variable - 24.9% APR variable, the rate given will depend on individual circumstances and the results of credit searches. Based on a £1,200 credit limit. |
| Introductory Purchases | 0% for 9 months | Payments will be applied to 0% balance transfers before 0% purchases - this is because the standard rate for purchases is less than the standard rate for balance transfers. |
| Introductory Balance Transfers | 0% for 6 months | Must be transferred within 90 days of account opening to qualify. During 0% periods, payments will be applied to 0% money transfers before 0% balance transfers and these before 0% purchases - this is because during 0% periods payments are allocated to transactions with the highest standard rate first. |
| Introductory Money Transfers | 0% for 6 months | Must be transferred within 90 days of account opening to qualify. |
| Standard Purchases | 16.9% p.a. variable | Rates from 16.9% to 24.9% p.a. variable. |
| Standard Balance Transfers | 18.9% p.a. variable | Balance transfer rates from 18.9% to 26.9% p.a. variable. Money transfer rates from 20.9% to 27.9% p.a. variable. |
| Standard Money Transfers | 20.9% p.a. variable | - |
| Standard Cash Advances | 27.9% p.a. variable | - |
| Detail | Additional | |
|---|---|---|
| Balance Transfer fee | 1.5% (£3 min) | This fee applies to balance transfers and money transfers made within the first 90 days of account opening, after which the handling fees increase. |
| Money Transfer fee | 1.5% (£3 min) | - |
| Cash Advance fee | 3% (£3 min) | - |
| Foreign fee | 2.99% | This fee is charged for transactions made in non-sterling currency. |
| Annual fee | None | - |
| Default charges | £12 | This charge is made for late payments, returned payments and exceeding the credit limit. |
| Detail | Additional | |
|---|---|---|
| Credit limit | £1,200 assumed | Credit limit subject to status. |
| Interest free period | Up to 50 days | For purchases if you pay your statement balance in full and on time every month. There is no interest free period for balance transfers, money transfers or cash advances - except for those within an interest free promotional offer. |
| Minimum monthly payment | 1% (£25 min) | The balance on the statement if it is £25 or less; or - the greater of £25 or 1% of the balance on the statement before any default charges, card fees and interest (to which the card provider will then add an amount equal to the default charges, card fees and interest); plus the amount of any arrears, which are repayable immediately. |
| Allocation of payments | Highest rate first | Payments will be allocated to amounts that are charged at higher interest rates before those that are charged at lower interest rates. - If the provider charges interest at the same rate on different parts of the balance, they will allocate your payment to the introductory rate first. - If two or more introductory rates are the same they will pay off the introductory rate with the earliest start date first. - If the introductory rates have the same start date then they will pay off that part which will be charged at the highest standard rate at the end of the introductory period. - They will then apply your payment to balance transfers, cash advances, money transfers and purchases, in that order. |
| Detail | |
|---|---|
| Play.com Gift Vouchers | - 2 PlayPoints for every £1 spent at Play.com - 1 PlayPoint for every £1 spent elsewhere. Redeem PlayPoints for Play.com gift vouchers: 500 PlayPoints = £5 Play.com gift voucher. |
| 1500 Bonus PlayPoints | Get 1,500 bonus PlayPoints when you spend £150 or more within 90 days of account opening. 1,500 PlayPoints is enough for a £15 Play.com gift voucher. |
| Offered | Additional | |
|---|---|---|
| Online account management |  |
The account can be managed online. Optional paperless statements. |
| Fraud Guarantee | |
There is no liability or excess to pay for theft, loss or fraudulent use online or on the high street, as long as you notify MBNA as soon as your card cannot be found or you notice any unsual transactions on your account. |
| Fraud Monitoring | |
MBNA will monitor your account for any suspicious activity. They also offer a purchase disputes team and a 24/7 365 helpline. |
| Identity Protection |  |
- |
| Credit Report Access | |
- |
| 3D Secure | |
Verified by Visa An extra layer of security when shopping online. Register and set up a password-protected identity-check when you shop online with participating online retailers. |
| OneTouch Payments | |
Visa payWave You can pay for items costing £15 or less using faster contactless payment technology - no PIN or signature required - at participating retailers. |
| Purchase Protection Insurance | |
- |
| Purchase Delivery Insurance | |
- |
| Comprehensive Travel Insurance | |
- |
| Travel Accident Insurance | |
- |
| Travel Inconvenience Insurance | |
- |
| Assistance Abroad | |
- |
| Emergency Card Replacement | |
- |
Please read the following notice:
The review on this page is intended to provide general information only and does not attempt to give advice that relates to your specific circumstances. If you are unsure as to the suitability of any financial product, you should discuss this with an independent financial advisor.
While we make every effort to ensure and maintain current and accurate information on this site and the review on this page will be periodically updated inline with product changes, it could contain rates, deals or facts which have now changed and therefore should not be solely relied upon.
You should check the full details of any product with the relevant provider before applying, and you are advised to conduct your own research as well.
We aim to provide free reviews and comparisons of consumer products. To keep the site free, we are paid by some providers when new customers take products after they've clicked on our links. We don't allow our editorial content to be affected by those links, however we may not include all of the products available in the market.
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