HSBC plus account - worth it??

cas1982

I signed up to this 18 months ago. costs about £13 a month.. is it worth it or should i cancel it??

benjus

I don't know the details of this particular account, but I have never seen a "packaged" account where the benefits are worth the monthly fee. In all cases I have seen they exaggerate the value of the benefits, which you could get elsewhere much cheaper if you need them.... and obviously if you don't need the benefits you're just wasting money.

Catty212

I have this also. I used mine whilst I was travelling, and found it beneficial, because you aren't charged with withdrawls abroad. Now I'm home, I think it's pointless, you do get free travel insurance but it's really not worth it. I'm unable to cancel it until the term expires.

talana

is it worth it or should i cancel it??

Only you can answer that depending on what you think of the benefits offered in the package.

Personally I don't think it's worth it.
Worldwide travel insurance - shop around to compare if this is useful to you.
Most of the rest reads like so much hot air to me.

8% AER on balances up to £1000 and 2.5% AER thereafter up to £2500 - all sadly immediately cancelled out by the £13 monthly fee you pay. :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

benjus

Catty212 wrote: »

I have this also. I used mine whilst I was travelling, and found it beneficial, because you aren't charged with withdrawls abroad.

They don't charge a withdrawal fee but they still load the exchange rate by 2.75%. Nationwide (which offers genuinely free overseas withdrawals) successfully challenged HSBC's advertising on this point (http://www.asa.org.uk/asa/adjudications/Public/TF_ADJ_43100.htm).

Cranston_2

Not worth it, one giant con, cancel ASAP.

SiuLoong

Agreed, benefits are best tailored to your needs and researched and bought separately, you can get decent rates of interest by switching banks, free withdrawals abroad with Nationwide... not worth the money in my opinion.

cas1982

thanks! will cancel it tomorrow am

ShelfStacker_3

Cranston wrote: »

Not worth it, one giant con, cancel ASAP.

Not really. It's only a con if you don't use any of the benefits. For example, if you have an HSBC credit card AND go abroad a lot AND keep your current account almost permanently in credit, the travel insurance, free overseas cash withdrawal (with conversion rate loading, mind), 10% refund of card interest and 8% interest rate might make it worth the money.

It's a sweeping judgement to say that packaged accounts aren't worth the money; they only aren't worth the money if you don't use the extra services they offer you for them.

Scousebird_2

Go into branch and discuss the account with an adviser-if it is established that there is little or no benefit to you then this will be discovered and you have had the account 12 months so you are out of your minimum term. HSBC are not hard sell and if you have no further benefit or need for the account, then they will not force you to keep the account and you can start the process of downgrading. There are some fantastic discounts you can utilise on;

http://www.hsbc.co.uk/plus

Then click on Leisure Benefits

If you register your details there are some great money saving things on there at the moment-they are updated monthly and are great for saving money, especially over the summer months, you will lose this if you go back to a normal basic account. Look at your finances as a whole because there are some fantastic benefits with Bank Account Plus-ask to speak to a Bank Account Plus Specialist. There is one in every branch, who are specially trained to help you make the most of the account. And who will be happy to help you decide what is best for you.

Valencia

I took this out around 2.5 years ago when they were doing GBP100 cash-back when you took out a mortgage.

I'm staff so it only costs GBP6GBP a month so the first year I was GBP28 in credit! I've been abroad a few times so the insurance has helped there as well as the free cash withdrawals.

Not used any of the leisure offers but another 'perk' you get is an English call centre 'welcome to plus service...how can I help'.