Cahoot has again topped a quarterly list of internet credit cards produced by the UK branch of ecommerce researcher Gomez.

Abbey National-backed Cahoot, which had acquired 45,000 customers six months after its disrupted June launch, retained its lead from the previous survey as the best overall card and best for overall cost.

However, newcomer Intelligent Finance, or IF, overtook Cahoot as the most easy to use site and was fifth best overall.

To qualify for the survey, the cards must allow UK customers to apply online and view their transactions within a single site, independently of other integrated online products - ruling out offerings from Capital One and US card MBNA.

Each was scored for ease of use, customer confidence, on-site resources, relationship services and overall cost by reviewing what the cards offered and how they delivered on customer service according to some 150 criteria, all of which at least one of the cards met.

Of the two other newly qualified cards, Halifax, was ranked ninth overall but ranked best for its on-site resources and praised for the range of cards it offered. The other, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter (tenth overall) was commended for its email alert system, where customers receive warnings relating to account status, and for the promptness of its customer support service. Second overall was Smile, with Egg third.

Despite being top card, Cahoot came in for some criticism. The report said: "The Cahoot website does not support the wide range of additional products and features of other sites. In addition, it lacks time-saving tools, such as ATM finders and savings calculators, and the rewards and incentives offered on less competitively priced cards."

Ed Bowie, banking and credit card analyst at Gomez, said: "We've seen quite an expansion in services since the last quarter, with Barclaycard, Goldfish, Egg and Marbles all offering online shopping directories in conjunction with their cards.

"This year we can expect to see the card vendors increase the number of services they offer and also see increased attempts at cross-selling."

Top Internet Credit Cards for Winter 2000 ranked by uk.gomez.com