hsbc advance account opinions, offered free

allan673

hi, i went into the local hsbc branch today. i went in to ask about changing my isa as it only pays 0.20% on a healthy balance.
they rang retentions for me and they said they cant do internal transfers to a new fixed rate isa of 2.75%, unless im an advance customer.
and they then offered it me free for 12 months.
i said i would think about it as i wanted to look around at other products
what do you think please? i would use travel insurance and breakdown cover, maybe some other things too.
whether i would continue to pay after 12 months is another matter? maybe, maybe not depending on how i get on with it.

telecomengineer

I would go for it (especially if its FREE of the monthly fees) as there are some other good perks with the advance account, they have a linked Regular Saver that offers 8% interest, if you save the max £250 for the 12 months you get something like £130 interest

allan673

cheers for the reply,
i may go for it, still undecided. at least its free for a year then i can cancel it.
this way i get 2.75% fixed for a year on my isa, and the benefits of the advance account.

its the only way of getting a better rate on my isa as they only allow transfers in from other providers, unless i took the isa elsewhere.

spenderdave

Not sure what they told you is correct. The 2.75% rate is indeed for Advance (normally chargeable) and Premier (free if you qualify). Normal current account customers get 2.5% interest on their fixed rate ISA. I am puzzled by them saying they cannot do an internal transfer at the 2.5% rate - but when I opened mine a couple of months ago it was a transfer from Santander.