uSwitch.com comments on the introduction by Morgan Stanley of a fee for Black card customers.

With the end of fee-free credit cards, Morgan Stanley has announced a £20 annual fee for 'a selection' of Black card customers from 1st June.

Mike Naylor, Personal Finance Expert at independent price comparison and switching service uSwitch.com, comments: "Morgan Stanley is the most recent credit card provider to follow the trend of charging customers a monthly or annual fee for a standard card".

"The ?20 charge will impact 'a selection' of Black credit card customers from 1st June, but the rationale for selecting these customers is not entirely clear".

"The Black card is typically offered to customers who are rejected for the Platinum card, and while both have similar rates of interest and cash-back facilities, the former offers a much lower credit limit".

""The move to introduce fees by Morgan Stanley follows that of Co-operative Platinum Visa and Northern Rock Base Rate Visa earlier in the year.

Both of these cards will now charge customers ?2 per month (or ?24 a year)".

""More 'innovatively', as we reported last month, Lloyds TSB has introduced a one-off ?35 annual fee for customers that do not use their credit card regularly, generating an income of ?1.791 million in the one month alone".

"MBNA, which manage the Virgin card, has written to all customers that have both a positive credit card balance and an account that has been inactive for over a year".

"These customers can either claim the cash back, give it to charity or face a one-off debit from the positive balance of up to ?10".

""We are seeing an increasing number of leading credit card providers bringing in monthly or annual fees, which is of little surprise given that many are trying to find new ways to recover the ?300 million of profits2 lost as a result of the OFT's clampdown on default charges just over a year ago".

""We would not be surprised to see more credit card providers move to introduce fees, in particular monthly or annual fees, before the end of this year".

"As such, consumers should continue to keep a close eye on the small print and the correspondence they receive from their provider, and seriously think about switching away from those that do introduce fees for no added benefit." For more information visit www.uswitch.com or call 0800 093 06 07 For further information, contact: Tracy North, uSwitch.com, on 0207 7802 2925 or tracynorth@uswitch.com, Karen Mignon, Lansons Communications on 0207 294 3685 or karenm@lansons.com, Lisa Folwell, Lansons Communications on 0207 294 3650 or lisaf@lansons.com.

Back to top