The Aqua Advance is no longer available to new applicants. This page is kept as a record of what the card offered.

ClearScore is a credit broker, not a lender.

The Aqua Advance was a credit-builder card issued by NewDay, aimed at people with limited or damaged credit histories.

Two features set it apart from most credit-builder cards. It charged no foreign transaction fee on purchases made overseas — unusual in a category where 3% is standard. And it offered a reducing interest rate: cardholders who stayed within their credit limit and paid on time could see their rate fall each year over three years. Aqua at one point described this as a drop of up to 5% a year, potentially reaching 19.9%, though that specific wording was later removed from its website.

Interest rates started at 34.9% APR variable for purchases, with higher rates offered to some applicants. Cash withdrawals carried a 3% fee (minimum £3), with interest charged from the withdrawal date regardless of whether the balance was cleared in full.

The card was still open to new applicants in early 2020 and was withdrawn from sale at some point after that. Existing cardholders were unaffected when it closed to new applications.

The Aqua Classic is aimed at a similar part of the market — people with limited credit history or a poor one. It doesn't offer the reducing-rate feature, and its representative APR is higher.

Our Aqua Classic Credit Card Review covers its current rates, eligibility criteria and features.

For a wider comparison, our guide to credit cards for bad credit sets out what's currently available across the credit-builder category and our guide to credit cards charging no FX fees on purchases sets out what's currently available across the travel-friendly card category.