Halifax Ultimate Reward Current Account - Changes

apt

The current value of the breakdown insurance to you is nil because you don't use it. If you do need it, you can get roadside and homestart cover for less than £27 per year via a cashback site. The annual cost of travel insurance is £40 or less. The cost of adding home emergency cover and an iphone to your home insurance policy will vary according to provider. However, it will be a lot cheaper than shelling out £15 per month to the Halifax especially as the cover that the Ultimate Reward offers is not that great - home emergency cover limited to £250 and £100 excess on the i-phone insurance.

Mr_K

Anybody that pays for a bank account is a mug. I had the Premier Account with HSBC for a while but only because they offered it for free. The' extras' were window dressing that can be got for very little elsewhere. The 'financial advice' they offered was to buy more of their poxy products.

opinions4u

Mr_K wrote: »

Anybody that pays for a bank account is a mug. I had the Premier Account with HSBC for a while but only because they offered it for free. The' extras' were window dressing that can be got for very little elsewhere. The 'financial advice' they offered was to buy more of their poxy products.

You're not paying for the bank account.

You're paying for the extras and the convenience.

If it doesn't provide value for money, don't take it.

But annual travel insurance (or even single trip cover), breakdown cover, mobile phone cover and home emergency callout cover are all products that cost when bought on their own.

The cheapest annual policy I could find recently was £65. I wasn't convinced by the cover provided.

The mobile phone cover on a typical home insurance policy is usually limited, especially if you have a chunky excess. Buying direct from the phone firm can cost £10-£15 a month.

Mrs o4u just had a breakdown renewal for £141 for home start and recovery.

My contents policy charges £49.99 a year for home emergency cover. And if something is going to need a plumber you can guarantee it's going to be on a Sunday morning when tradesmen charge extra.

I don't care about card protection cover or discounts off other insurances.

But the decision as to whether or not these accounts are good value for money is not as clear cut as you imply. Some people can save both time and money by having them. 90% of the population can't be bothered shopping around and the account ensures continuity of cover for them. And a joint account provides double AA cover for the same price.

Topcashback and a bit of time and effort can probably save you money. But not always.

clueless1682

Also don't forget that if you have a joint account then it covers both parties. We've 2 cars so the AA cover works out well for us. And the mobile phone cover is great too - OH had to make a claim when he squashed his phone, frankly we thought it was beyond repair but 7 days later it was returned good as new.
Given we have 3 reward accounts plus this one, we're making £20 a month off the bank and getting a good range of benefits.

Maybe its not for everyone, as others have said you need to weigh it up and see if it works for you. If not, then don't have the account, simple as that!

Mr_K

As you say each to their own, if it works out a good deal for you go for it. I suspect on most occasions it ensures a nice earner for the bank on insurances people never claim on/need/they'll rarely pay out on.

An example of this has just been posted in the insurance forum.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/44363452#Comment_44363452

Not that I'm complaining, I've got shares in Lloyds/HBOS

simax

£7.95 for my Silver account for iPhone insurance, breakdown cover, card protection and travel insurance is cheaper for me than buying direct (iPhone insurance with Vodafone is £12.99 on it's own for example. Many other standalone iPhone insurance policies are, quite frankly, pish).

chinamanlow

Ive been waiting for people to feel "insulted" by what ive said.....this is what the banks love and feed on,do you really think the bank pays out the same as what it costs to give it to you.....that richarc1983 just doesnt understand how annually you can get all the same "cover" for less and id like you to really think about DO YOU REALLY NEED THOSE THINGS? AND HAVE YOU EVER USED THEM OR CLAIMED?
How about looking after your car like i do? regular mot and service,learning about basic stuff on how to diagnose problems.....but people are lazy and would rather pay insurances for say the AA to charge you alot for a basic easily fixed thing on your doorstep.
Think how much youve spent in the last say 5 yr on ALL insurance (it feeds on fear of something going wrong) and how much youve used !!
Ok you legally need to have car insurance but this is how they still make alot even in a recession....IMO youre a fool if you pay for a bank account,i dont bother getting holiday insurance for europe i just use a blue card for hospital treatment if needed (i never have).
Its like the rip off "cover" by BRITISH GAS or united utilities,if you research it well youre covered anyway and they make sure you dont have an old boiler so theres less likely hood you'll claim.....you'll always get shafted by the "terms and conditions" UU have to cover street blockage in drains up to a large radius anyway in your street.
As i said in my OP even MARTIN LEWIS said break up your cover-costs, its cheaper !

chinamanlow

Heres a perfect example of how the ins' industry works,last sept was my renewal on my car.....i paid esure about £370 fully comp'
Here's what ridiculous "offers" i had
Footman james £1200! 10 yrs without a claim aswell !
3 others £450,£550,600 ! including this very sites 'recommendations'.
Insurance goes ONE WAY-UP!
I verbally-ground down esure to £350 ! how many people out there paid LESS this year?....not many.
Ive just got a cracking deal on iphone 4 for just 12 months so i can sell it on ebay and make at least half my contract back,IP4 will be free soon in 12 month or so when 5 comes out.
It took me an hr with 3 diff' people from O2 to get what i want from them,cracking them with a vodafone deal off uswitch site.
Yet they'll be plenty of muppets out there who pay £40 a month for two years plus price of the phone.
In two yrs IP4 will be old hat and free.
Always remember to ask "why should i give you my hard earned cash?" My dad was a salesman for 30 yrs so i know the mindset.....they wanna make,you want to save BANKS ARE NO DIFFERENT.

simax

chinamanlow wrote: »

IMO youre a fool if you pay for a bank account.....

.... As i said in my OP even MARTIN LEWIS said break up your cover-costs, its cheaper !

That's your opinion, and you're welcome to it. Many people (including me) think that value-added accounts (as long as you only choose what you NEED) offer very good value for money.

You name me one place that will insure an iPhone, provide me with AA breakdown cover and travel insurance for £7.95/month? Doing it seperate, Vodafone will charge me £12.99/month alone for iPhone insurance.

richardc1983

Here here how dare you refer to people as fools. I have no interest in fixing my car if if breaks down on a winters morning or I'm stood on a shirt and tie. Yes I can learn basic things on a car but it works for me to have the cover.

The insurance for a phone is worth it alone. Also the home emergency breakdown cover is good also.