Apply card credit egg uk

LONDON, ENGLAND, 1999 SEP 20 (NB). Egg, the online financial services arm of the Prudential, caused an online sensation in the UK on Sunday when it launched what it called the UK's cheapest credit card.

Egg originally caused a stir in October of 1998 when it launched a range of savings schemes offering excellent rates of interest. Since then, it has moved almost wholly online via its Web portal and is offering low-price loans and mortgages.

Now the company is offering a Visa credit card with ongoing rates of 9.9 percent, and a six month introductory period of six months at just 4.5 percent for balance transfers from other cards.

The only catch with the card is that applications and statements are only available online. Users pay two pounds ($3.20) a month if they want paper statements.

Other attractions of the card include a one percent cash-back program on purchases, doubled when cardholders shop online via the Egg shopping e-mall, which has more than 100 online merchants signed up in the cash-back program.

Not unexpectedly, the credit card deal - the first to offer online approvals in real time in the UK - has caused a rush of applications since early on Sunday, September 19.

Frantic attempts to sign up for the card appear to have swamped Egg's computer systems. This bureau spent several hours trying to apply for a card online. Calls to Egg's harassed service bureau staff revealed that hundreds of frustrated applicants were calling to complain.

Pema Rada, a spokesperson for Egg, told Newsbytes that she was unaware of any problems that Internet users were experiencing.

"We certainly planned ahead for a large volume of applications, which we received. We have had a significant number of people applying for the credit card in the last 24 hours," she said.

According to a customer sales representative, meanwhile, although Egg predicted a lot of applications, the sheer scale of applications overwhelmed the firm's computer systems, which were loaded to capacity. "You should keep trying," was the advice.

Attempts to apply for a card at 07:30 hours UK time this morning were also foiled, this bureau can report.

Egg's Web site is at http://www.egg.com .

Reported by Newsbytes.com, http://www.newsbytes.com .

(19990920/Press Contact: Pema Rada, Egg Press Office +44-171-548-3858 /WIRES ONLINE, PC, BUSINESS/)