Barclays Current Account Plus - decent benefits?

don9999

I don't really need a new bank account.

But.....I do need Mobile Phone Insurance.
Current price for my HTC Desire HD phone (if I continue beyond the free month) is £6.99 per month.
I 'know' it may be included in my Household Contents Insurance, but I want it separately insured.

Came across this Barclays Account.
It costs £5 per month, and includes mobile insurance (including theft and accidental damage etc.). Even includes TWO phones if you open a joint account.
So for starters, I would be saving versus the £6.99 I'm quoted.

But it's not all.
The account also includes 1 year extended warranty on domestic appliances.
Plus cardholder protection.

I've not previously considered 'paying' for a bank account, especially as many of the quoted benefits are not 'really' benefits to proper money-savers such as ourselves....
'Free travel insurance' - I only pay a few £10's of pounds for annual family insurance anyway.
'Free AA' - I only pay £39 for Autoaid anyway.
'10% off holiday' - That would be off brochure prices, and we all seek highly-discounted prices anyway.

So.....'most' quoted benefits are not really benefits to many of us anyway.
But.......the free mobile insurance DOES seem good.
I haven't been able to find a comparable insurance quote for TWO mbile phones from any reputable company.
And the extended warranty and cardholder protection is just a bonus.

There doesn't seem to be any credit requirements. So I don't have to deposit my salary into the account, or any regular monthly amount. May just desposit a few £10's, but that should be all, else will hardfly use it besides for the benefits.

Has anyone else got this account.
What do you think of the account?

Can't really find any proper reviews - and where it does appear, it seems to be rated lower than other banks, because the 'perceived' benefits from the others is better. But as shown above, the 'perceived' benefits of those other account aren't really of much benefit to 'us' moneysavers.

Cheers,
Don

jambosans

I genuinely think the Current Account Plus is one of the better value package accounts on the market. As you've pointed out, you would be hard pressed to find mobile phone insurance (for a smart phone) for £60 a year.

Extended warranty cover, provided you remember to register is a handy little extra.

Other stuff IMO is negligible, but a £300 interest free overdraft is also handy.

I don't actually have this account, but have considered it in the past. So I can't really comment on Barclays customer service, etc. However customer service is always going to give a mixed bag of opinions, especially with the Big Four (Barclays, HSBC (minus First Direct), Lloyds Banking Group (LTSB, and HBOS) and RBS Group (NatWest and RBS)).

cbassno3

I have the Barclays plus account and I believe it's value for money. I did have the Lloyds tsb silver account but had recently recieved a letter stating that the excess for mobile phone repairs damages etc for smart phones Ie Iphone has been increased from £30.00-£100 per claim. Far too much if your phone plays up or gets damaged. All the other features with the barclays plus account are little extras the extended warranty and identity protection and legal services could also be of benefit at somepoint.

System

Hi

I have the Current Account Plus, I believe it represents good value for money, which I never thought I'd say about a packaged account.

I've not had to claim on the mobile phone insurance so can't comment on how efficient the process is.

The extended warranty and card protection are nice little extras.

I don't think you can do better for a fiver a month.

Regards
UNDERGROUND

don9999

Thaks for the comments. I applied for the account last night.

I too never thought I'd be willing to 'pay' for a bank account, but these particular benefits are worth more than the £5 per month.

I'm just surprised that the account hasn't been highlighted more.

The excess for mobile phone claims is just £25 for first claim, and £50 for subsequent claims. Which sounds reasonable.

I think the extended warranty will be useful. In just the last year, I have had to buy a new washing machine and microwave, both having failed just several months after their warranties had expired. If I had had this account when I had bought these items, I would have been able to claim under the extended warranties.

The new washing machine was bought more than 3 months ago, so I won't be able to include it for the extended warranty. But I only bought the microwave a few weeks ago, wo I will register that for an extended warranty.

I also plan to buy some new computer parts - new processor, motherboard, memory, hard disk etc.. Not sure if these can be included under the extended warranty. Does anyone know? It DOES include 'computer equipment', but it's not clear if this includes newly bought 'components'.

Finally......it all comes down to how good the claims service is. Has anyone had any experience? I'm sure lots of us have had experiences of 'bad' claims experiences, where a company has tried to get out of paying for a claim. I know I have - under a recent car warranty claim. Hopefully, Barclays will be good.

Cheers,
Don