barclays premier

b33

Hi guys I am new to credit as I have been in america doing a phd for a few years so I just got back to the uk. I don't have any credit. I put myself on the electoral roll. I went into barlcays to open an account. The have given me a premier account with no od but £150 reserve and a premier connect card with £50 limit is that good? also when can I ask for an od? They said if I want an od right now I have to do a full application. any advice would be received with thanks.

sillystudent_2

The have given me a premier account with no od but £150 reserve and a premier connect card with £50 limit is that good?

Tbh I don't know anything really about the Premier Account, but I do know you don't want to use the £150 reserve - it charges around £22 per week if you're in it, whether by £1 or the whole £150. If you think there's a risk of going into negative funds, I'd recommend getting an overdraft asap, it'll be much much cheaper! If you're on the electoral roll that's a v. good start for doing a full credit application for an overdraft, not sure how easily it'll be with limited UK credit history though...

and a premier connect card with £50 limit is that good?

I'm assuming this is a cheque guarantee limit? Think its ok, not sure, I know you can get £100 and £250 ones but tbh they're all not that relevant anymore - don't think £250 are even issued anymore, and they're all going to be phased out by 2012ish, and plus no-one takes cheques anymore.

Hope this helps

Edit: btw are you paying a fee for this Premier account?

b33

yes the £50 is a cheque thing. The woman said some people only get a blue card if they dont qualify. Also she said that I will pay £17.50 p/m

sillystudent_2

The woman said some people only get a blue card if they dont qualify. Also she said that I will pay £17.50 p/m

Umm I might be wrong but I always thought you either 'qualified' for the Premier account (through high income/savings etc.) or paid £17.50 a month, not both.
If this is the case, the question is whether you'll use all of the Premier benefits - to be fair, I think it does come with RAC cover, mobile phone insurance and annual travel insurance, if you're going to use any of these it may be worth keeping. On the other hand if you don't drive, have an old phone and rarely travel, you're essentially paying £17.50 a month for nothing - you can get one of the 'blue card' (i.e. standard) accounts for free.

b33

sillystudent wrote: »

Umm I might be wrong but I always thought you either 'qualified' for the Premier account (through high income/savings etc.) or paid £17.50 a month, not both.
If this is the case, the question is whether you'll use all of the Premier benefits - to be fair, I think it does come with RAC cover, mobile phone insurance and annual travel insurance, if you're going to use any of these it may be worth keeping. On the other hand if you don't drive, have an old phone and rarely travel, you're essentially paying £17.50 a month for nothing - you can get one of the 'blue card' (i.e. standard) accounts for free.

Well I have used some of the things and here is how I got on:

my boiler broke down 2 weeks ago called "homesos" and they have yet to do anything!

My friend had a birthday in london, I couldn't make it so I called the concierge and they called the restaurant that the party was at and arranged a free birthday plate which had a cake and candle on it.

No the qualify thing was about the debit card, apparently you can get premier but sometimes not the black debit card but a cash card of some sort instead!

izools

Yes indeed, if you don't score high enough they send out a Blue "Full Auth" Visa connect card instead of the Premier black card.

How did you get it for £17.50 / PM? I assume you have a big salary and / or plenty of savings? Normally the account is £25 PM unless you meet their strict criteria.

BE WARNED - DON'T bother calling the premier helpline if you want to talk about the account - they take an hour or more to answer. I called them on Monday because my Current Plus account was upgraded to Premier without my consent, I was on hold for an hour after which I was auto-transferred into the "normal" banking helpline queue.

Use 08457 555 555 instead. It is offshore, but you'll get straight through and they are normally quite good.

EDIT: Don't use the reserve. Not only is it expensive, but the bank still consider it an unauthorised overdraft and as such will pre-decline you for offers you might otherwise be eligible for, like a loan, overdraft, etc. I would recommend asking them to remove it, to take away the temptation. After six months of running the account well, they should pre-approve you for a proper overdraft, which you can use without fear of it damaging your internal score, or costing an arm and a leg.

Oh, and welcome back to the uk

NB: It would also be worth applying for a Barclaycard Initial once you've had the account six months, to help rebuild a credit score on your UK credit file. Barclaycard tent to increase the limit and / or reduce the APR on Initial accounts every six months if you threaten to close it, and of course run it well.

Baldur

sillystudent wrote: »

Umm I might be wrong but I always thought you either 'qualified' for the Premier account (through high income/savings etc.) or paid £17.50 a month, not both.

Meeting the 'eligibility' criteria enables a reduced fee of £17.50 per month, rather than the standard fee of £25 per month - http://www.personal.barclays.co.uk/BRC1/jsp/brccontrol?task=homefreeopenplangroup&value=13778&target=_self&site=pfs

Premier Life comes with a monthly fee of £25.00. If you meet the eligibility criteria below the monthly fee is discounted to £17.50. Otherwise our standard fee applies.

• I am a UK resident
• I earn £100,000+, OR
• I earn £60,000+ and I am either less than 35 years old or hold a business relationship with Barclays, OR
• I have £50,000+ to invest through Barclays

book12

Why can't anyone get the black card?

I don't think they would be that bad and give a 'full authorisation' card. At least give a blue card with a cheque guarentee.

Anyway, that facility will be gone in 2011.

In the brochure, it says 'black card'. I hope they would say something about if people are not eligible, they would get the blue card.

b33 wrote: »

Well I have used some of the things and here is how I got on:

my boiler broke down 2 weeks ago called "homesos" and they have yet to do anything!

My friend had a birthday in london, I couldn't make it so I called the concierge and they called the restaurant that the party was at and arranged a free birthday plate which had a cake and candle on it.

No the qualify thing was about the debit card, apparently you can get premier but sometimes not the black debit card but a cash card of some sort instead!

It's a debit card, not cash card.

b33

izools wrote: »

Yes indeed, if you don't score high enough they send out a Blue "Full Auth" Visa connect card instead of the Premier black card.

How did you get it for £17.50 / PM? I assume you have a big salary and / or plenty of savings? Normally the account is £25 PM unless you meet their strict criteria.

BE WARNED - DON'T bother calling the premier helpline if you want to talk about the account - they take an hour or more to answer. I called them on Monday because my Current Plus account was upgraded to Premier without my consent, I was on hold for an hour after which I was auto-transferred into the "normal" banking helpline queue.

Use 08457 555 555 instead. It is offshore, but you'll get straight through and they are normally quite good.

EDIT: Don't use the reserve. Not only is it expensive, but the bank still consider it an unauthorised overdraft and as such will pre-decline you for offers you might otherwise be eligible for, like a loan, overdraft, etc. I would recommend asking them to remove it, to take away the temptation. After six months of running the account well, they should pre-approve you for a proper overdraft, which you can use without fear of it damaging your internal score, or costing an arm and a leg.

Oh, and welcome back to the uk

NB: It would also be worth applying for a Barclaycard Initial once you've had the account six months, to help rebuild a credit score on your UK credit file. Barclaycard tent to increase the limit and / or reduce the APR on Initial accounts every six months if you threaten to close it, and of course run it well.

I earn enough to get it for 17.50 as I am under 35. This reserve thing sounds like a red herring, why do they even offer it, why not just give a £150 od surely the risks are the same. I guess they want to make that 22 a week they charge! what a debacle!

b33

BE WARNED - DON'T bother calling the premier helpline if you want to talk about the account - they take an hour or more to answer. I called them on Monday because my Current Plus account was upgraded to Premier without my consent, I was on hold for an hour after which I was auto-transferred into the "normal" banking helpline queue.


Yes when the weather was bad I called them and the automated message said the lines were closed and they were like that all day!

izools

With a Reserve, they can pluck out the "Risky" customers.

They tell the customer it is to be used only in an emergency, and customers that happen to suffer such "emergencies" are clearly a high risk, hence using it pre-declines you for further credit.

It can come in handy if you have an OD and Reserve, say for example you have a family emergency and need travel and board for a couple of days to help. Most people would have a credit card for things like this, but Barclays offer the Reserve as an alternative.

I'd steer well clear. I don't need it and I'm poor, you certainly don't with your income!!