Credit Building > Barclaycard Forward credit builder card review

Barclaycard Forward credit builder card review

Wollit Team3 minute read · Updated 4th July 2024

The Barclaycard Forward is a credit-building card for people with limited or poor credit history. Unlike most credit-building cards, it also comes with additional perks like cashback and even a scheduled interest rate reduction.

How does the Barclaycard Forward credit builder card work?

Most of the Barclaycard features are similar to other credit builder cards:

• Low minimum credit limit, starting from £50 to £1,200, depending on your circumstances.
• There are no annual or monthly fees, but the representative APR is 33.9%.
• And mobile and online banking.

But it also offers some interesting and unique features:

• A 3-month 0% interest period on purchases is unusual for a credit-building card.
• £10 cashback every 3 months in the first year, up to £40 total.
• A "Price Promise" feature that can reduce the interest rate by 3% in the first year and another 2% in the second year if you pay all card bills on time.
• And access to Barclaycard Entertainment discounts.

How can the Barclaycard Forward card help me build credit?

The Barclaycard Forward credit card is designed to help people build or improve their credit scores. In theory, any credit card, loan, or line of credit can help you improve and build credit if you make payments on time. In practice, things are not always so easy.

The good part is that the Barclaycard Forward card has some features to help you do this.

First, it has an eligibility checker on its website. Before applying, you can use the pre-application eligibility checker to see if you're likely to be accepted without affecting your credit score. This is great as it can help you avoid a hard credit check, which can hurt your credit score.

Second, it offers a cashback Incentive. You can earn cashback if you make at least the minimum payments on time and stay under the credit limit. This encourages you to use the card responsibly, even rewarding you.

Third, its "Price Promise" feature reduces the interest rate by 3% if all payments are made on time during the first year and another 2% if all payments are made on time during the second year. Having a lower interest rate to pay helps your credit score. You're less likely to miss a repayment because you can't can't afford it.

Am I eligible for the Barclaycard Forward card?

To be eligible for the Barclaycard credit builder card, you need to tick these boxes:

• Over 18;
• UK resident;
• Have no more than one County Court Judgment (CCJ) in the past 6 years.
• You must also be employed and earn more than £3,000 per year. This is about £250 per month, making it affordable to most people.

One thing to remember here is that there are no minimum credit score requirements – as long as you can afford to make the minimum repayments and don't have too many legal problems related to debt and your recent credit history, you should be able to get the card.

How does Barclaycard Forward compare to other credit-building cards in the UK?

Here is how Barclaycard Forward compares to other similar cards:

1. Cashback and Interest rate reduction: Very few credit-building cards offer cashback, and almost no other credit card promises to lower your interest rate.
2. Interest-free period: Most credit-building cards offer up to a two-month interest-free period on purchases. The Barclaycard Forward card gives you three months, again, better than most other cards.
3. Small minimum income requirement: Many credit-building cards require a minimum income of more than the £3,000 Barclaycard Forwards asks for.
4. Slightly lower APR: the Barclaycard Forward card has a representative APR of 33.9%, which is typical for credit builder cards but still slightly lower. Most other cards start at 34.9 and can go as high as 37.9% for their representative APR.

What do reviews say?

Barclaycard has some pretty bad reviews on Trustpilot, one of the largest review websites. It only has a rating of 1.3 stars out of 5, given by over 3,000 people.

This doesn't mean the Forward credit builder card is bad—the reviews are for the company as a whole, which also provides other benefits.

The reviews we could find that mentioned the Forward card came from customers who were happy with how the card helped them build their credit score and how the Price Promise works.

On the other hand, most negative reviews complained about the lengthy application process, the poor customer service, and the high interest rate, even with the potential for reductions over time.

So keep this in mind when applying for it.

Is Barclaycard Forward worth it?

Barclaycard Forward could be worth it if you're looking for a credit-building card to improve your credit score and access a line of credit for emergency cash.

It certainly sets itself apart from other credit builder cards in the UK by offering cashback incentives, interest rate reductions, a somewhat lower APR, and a longer interest-free period on purchases. You will rarely find credit-building cards providing these kinds of perks or rewards.

But if you don't need the extra cash or want to avoid the risk of paying high interest charges, consider looking into specialised credit-building apps.

One such app is Wollit – it reports your monthly subscription as a loan repayment, helping you build your credit history in a much safer way. No credit limits to accidentally go over or interest charges to cut into your budget.

If you're serious about improving your credit score, you should probably look into both as well – your credit mix (how many kinds of credit agreements you have) also matters.

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