Thread: Neiman Marcus Credit Card Exposed

WARNING: Did you know the Neiman Marcus credit card business was sold to HSBC? This Neiman Marcus card review points out what you need to know.

Founded in 1907, for over a hundred years now this luxury department store has stood out for their exceptional customer service. However several years back they decided to sell their credit card business to the mega bank HSBC. So how does this affect past, present, and future Neiman Marcus cardholders?

Neiman Marcus vs. HSBC: the lawsuit
According to court documents, after the deal took place HSBC tried to jack up rates and fees on cardholders. Neiman Marcus didn’t agree, so HSBC allegedly threatened to cancel 192,000 accounts!

Long story short, it created an ugly tug-of-war between the two companies, with the cardholders stuck in the middle. Neiman Marcus even sued HSBC for this alleged incident.

The new Neiman Marcus credit card customer service?
Previously these credit cards were managed in-house at Neiman Marcus. Now it is outsourced to HSBC.

Even though the department store and HSBC eventually settled the lawsuit and kissed and made up, that fiasco from the has tarnished the reputation of the card's customer service. Some past accountholders cut up their card to never look back, while those contemplating the application decided to think twice after hearing the complaints and negative reviews.

However in defense of the store, customer service seems to be running smoother during the past couple years. So is the card now worth another look?

What you need to know about the rewards program
The Neiman Marcus credit card has a rewards program for your spending called InCircle. Here’s how it works:

• Cardholders get 2 points per dollar spent at Neiman Marcus
• The points can only be redeemed in increments of 10,000
• It takes 10,000 points to get a $100 gift card, which equals out to be a 2% rebate on spending
• If the points are redeemed for merchandise/gifts/travel, you appear to get less. For example, every 10,000 points only gets you 5,000 airline miles.

Conclusion? The 2% rewards on the Neiman Marcus card aren’t impressive, especially consider the fact that this card can only be used at their stores.

There are major credit cards that give comparable (or better) rewards at department stores:

• Blue Cash from American Express - Pays you an unlimited 2% cash back at every department store. No annual fee.
• American Express Premier Rewards Gold - 1-3x Membership Reward points per dollar spent (can be redeemed for Neiman Marcus gift cards). $175 annual fee.

In addition to AmEx, N.M. now accepts Visa and MasterCard too.

Verdict?
As you can see, it's hard to find a good reason to apply when you take into account the inferior rewards.

That being said, the minimum credit score required for a Neiman Marcus credit card application to be approved is rumored to be relatively low - I have heard from people with FICO scores in the high 600's getting their application approved.

So if you don't meet the requirements for an American Express or a good Visa/MasterCard, then shooting for the Neiman Marcus charge card to get your feet could be the way to go.

What about this guru. for the people who shop at the very expensive store and only have Chase Sapphire, Discover and Citi select. would you recommend the Neiman Marcus store charge card?

When looking at all other stores Macys, Wal Mart, target , American Eagle they all take Visa , Mastercard, American express and Discover. So I can understand you recommending them getting a major credit card.

But Neiman Marcus only takes the Neiman Marcus card and American Express. For the Neiman Marcus outlets they take all major credit cards. What would you recommend for this very expensive store, their store card?

In Nov 2011, Neiman started accepted Visa and MasterCard, so you would be able to use the Chase Sapphire and other examples you listed, except for the Discover (which still is not accepted at their stores).