Barclays Premier Life ?? is it worth it and the Will Writing Service

just_about

Did you have this current account before being made bankrupt ?? Am asking you this as you would not get a full current account so soon after being discharged from bankruptcy !! If you did get it after your bankruptcy then you must be extremely lucky !!!

However having said that if you already had the current account from long then it just an upgrade and potentially every thing is the same , just the extras you get for the money you pay..

In this climate I will say not only barclays but all banks are pretty desperate !!

izools

I opened two cash card accounts with barclays when I was discharged in March 2009. One for my salary and personal expenses, the other for rent / food / bills / house hold expenses.

Each account has been run impeccably with no instances of overdrawn or charges and each has seen well in excess of £1000 per month turnover.

I applied for a full current account on the 15th of this month, and it was approved. Credit searched, warts and all, went through fine. I have the PIN for my new Connect card already.

So yes, I did get it soon after being discharged from bankruptcy, but I have proven to Barclays that I know how to run a current account through the way I ran my two cash card accounts. That and I don't think the entry requirements for a Barclays Bank Account are that much, as they can opt to provide the customer with no overdraft, no cheque guarantee card, and a full authorization Visa connect card, thereby reducing the risk to themselves greatly.

flimbo

elaps wrote: »

I have recently joined barclays premier life at the 17.50 per month rate. They take joint incomes into account if it is a joint acccount when deciding if you qualify for the 17.50 rather than 25 fee.

Here is how it saved me money:

Joint account upgraded to premier with premier life. We get the following benefits included that we paid for seperately last year
1) RAC cover including at home, onward and europe. Our last renewal for that was 298 (I did not try to get any discounts, guess that was overpriced). I have cancelled my RAC and they were kind enough (as I was staying with them in effect) to refund 148 by cheque.
2) Family travel insurance (inc all children when travelling with account holders), including business travel and winter sports. Last year we paid 76.

So already we are converting what was 31 per month to 17.50 per month.

The on top of that we get the following bonuses thrown in. Maybe for others these would be savings if you were alrady paying seperately, or maybe you already have them from someone else or don't want them. There a load more ... I'm just listing the ones that I think we will use:
a) insure two mobile phones (joint account)
b) insure gadgets up to 500 pounds
c) domestic emergency cover up to 1000 pounds (eg burst pipe)
d) extra year warranty on domestic appliances
e) card protection scheme

On top of this I they have changed my Barclaycard platinum into an unadvertised "premier" version ... which has given me a reduced interest rate on the balance transfer (0% fee, 6.9% interest) and they offer 12 months 0% then 6.9% on other balance transfers for a 2.9% fee.

So all in all, I'm a happy customer ... Barclays retained me, I have saved money, and got a bunch of bonuses thrown in.

just be careful when using the travel insurance my mother in law opened this account mainly for travel insurance as she visits us for 2 - 3 months at a time but now she has had an accident we find she is not covered and also they have changed the conditions of her policy without notifying her

flimbo

Be careful with the travel insurance my mother in law has paid £25 a month for over a year only to find now she has had an accident they wont cover her for repatriation back to UK because they altered the conditions of her policy without notifying her. Her main reason for opening this account was the travel insurance as she comes to stay with us for 2-3 months at a time.

withabix

flimbo wrote: »

Be careful with the travel insurance my mother in law has paid £25 a month for over a year only to find now she has had an accident they wont cover her for repatriation back to UK because they altered the conditions of her policy without notifying her. Her main reason for opening this account was the travel insurance as she comes to stay with us for 2-3 months at a time.

They will have notified her about the change in maximum single period covered. It came out in a standard letter with a leaflet a towards the end of 2009. Still got mine filed away. The change happened on 1st January 2010.

What happens to her post when she is out of the UK 'for 2-3 months at a time'?

In any case, it is always advisable to make sure you have a copy of the current policy documents. Readily available online on the Premier website:

http://www.bank.barclays.co.uk/PremierLife/RegisterforPremierLifeBenefits/P1242561497877

datostar

I've still got one of the old Barclays Premier charge cards, which confers advantageous overdraft rates. That's about the only reason I've kept it on nowadays. Interesting experience when I phoned their customer services recently. The operative told me that as I didn't have a Premier current account I couldn't possibly have a Barclays Premier Card. I had it in front of me at the time and said 'It says on it Barclays Premier Card' and gave him the number. Still denied it, but he rang back some time later and confirmed that I did have a Barclays Premier Card. It seems that the present cards associated with Barclays Premier Cards are credit cards. Is Barclays completely out of the charge card market now? I suppose the old Premier Card is something of a collector's item now.

aberamanboy

jlager1 wrote: »

Not sure if I'll ever use the "Lifestyle Management" - Anyone tried it yet?

Yes. Recently upgraded to the Premier account and was wondering what this was exactly so have just phoned them. It seems that they will help you with absolutely anything. I am very very impressed with the service that I have just received from their advisor/manager!

They mentioned that they could help with travel arrangements, I was about to start planning a French camping trip for this summer so mentioned this......Ten minutes later I have described what I would like, right down to details like max driving time between camping stops and theme parks that I would like to visit along the way, multiple locations over a two week period etc. etc.....they will even suggest the best routes to take!

Sounds like they have French people in their team who will now phone several potential sites and negotiate best deals with Barclays buying power. They are coming back to me before midday tomorrow with a written report containing list of details and costs etc.

Somebody else commented that they are on speed dial, I can now see why this is. My eyes have been opened, I will be making the most of them very often from now on!

I suspect the more imaginative you are regarding potential use of the service, the more you will get out of it.