Just married - looking for a premium bank account

boonkoh

We've just gotten married two weeks ago, and therefore looking to consolidate our finances and open a joint bank account. I'm with First Direct, she with HSBC - we both have the standard free current accounts.

Our first thoughts were to go with the HSBC Premier Account. We can meet the £50k savings eligibility. Combined, we have £100k+ annual income. But I was wondering if any MSE's had recommendations for other premium-type bank accounts available out there?

Ideally we would like one where it offered preferential withdrawal/spending conversion when we're traveling overseas, and also preferential mortgage rates (two year fixed ending next year).

Any suggestions? And is there a website that has a comparison of all the different types of premier accounts?

jonesMUFCforever

On that kind of salary I would ask for the Private banking type of account.
Most banks offer them although unlikely to be free or offer impartial advice.

rb10

There's generally little (or nothing) to be gained by the 'premier' or 'private' banking accounts. It's generally just a gimmick used by banks to make you think you're getting something special.

There are usually better mass-market accounts around - e.g. the Halifax Reward account.

Many banks will offer discounted mortgage rates to main banking customers, so this might form part of your decision - but you'd need to know where you're likely to go for your mortgage next year to do this.

jonesMUFCforever

Anyone with £50k+ in savings and combined salaries of £100k needs financial advice re tax planning, pensions etc.
Private banking can discuss this a bank ''seller'' certainly cannot.

It might be better to find an IFA for advice.

InsideInsurance

I would query the sense of having £50k of savings with HSBC. You may be better off either getting a basic cheap product via their IFA or simply paying the £25 per month fee.

There are many sites that compare the premier/ high street private offerings like moneysupermarket and defaqto.

Generally speaking, the "relationship manager" is simply a sales guy who will pester you occasionally. The NatWest one I had used to call monthly offering poor interest rate savings options. The Barclays one used to call everytime £10k+ went into my account but I subsequently found out that it was a single transaction trigger and so put in £10k and get a call, put in 2 sets of £8k within 24 hours and get no call at all.

Havent actually spoken to "my" RM at barclays for 2.5 years now... I say "my" because the person on their system as my RM is a random branch manager from the other end of the country who the twice I've spoken to her simply said she doesnt do RM work and would get an RM from my holding branch to call.

At the end of the day, it is very rare that a single bank is best for current accounts, savings rates, credit rates, mortgages etc. You are better off at simply comparing the features (eg free breakdown, travel insurance etc) against your needs and the fees. When you next need another financial product then again compare the market and if your premier offering happens to give you the best deal then great but more often than not I suspect others will be better - excluding mortgages it certainly has always been my experience having had premier with RBS/ Natwest, HSBC and Barclays

mrchiggles

To provide some balance here, I've found my Barclays relationship manager excellent and literally I couldn't have achieved what I have without his help. Maybe some are better than others.

In my example, we wanted to do an extension to our house which we didn't have the cash to fund but were confident that we could get back on a mortgage once it was completed.

Our RM helped us with options around borrowing the money and sorting out the mortgage linked through to this. He explained all of the bits of fine print we had to be aware of using a long term loan like this and is even helping us pay it off in the most efficient way to avoid big interest penalties.

Having someone who knows you and you can just call and get things sorted can't be underestimated. He's based at our local branch so very easy to pop and see him.

Of course, you could argue that you're just paying for someone to do what the bank manager used to in the "olden days" but that's the reality of modern banking I think. There are places like Handlesbanken which I hear provide similar services so that might be an option.

Given I make full us of the (now discontinued) premier life benefits and benefit from the reduced fee I'm more than happy. The michelin star dinner for 2 they gave me a month or so ago has paid for the account fee alone

innovate

jonesMUFCforever wrote: »

Anyone with £50k+ in savings and combined salaries of £100k needs financial advice re tax planning, pensions etc.
Private banking can discuss this a bank ''seller'' certainly cannot.

It might be better to find an IFA for advice.

I would never ever take (and never ever have taken in 30-odd years working life) "advice" from any bank, whether it's private banking or mass banking makes no difference at all. The fact remains that they will only ever sell to you, and only ever sell their bank's products. They only care for you as far as what you buy coincides with their sales targets. Glorious titles like "Relationship Manager" or "Personal Advisor" make no difference to the fact that they are sales people, with steep targets to meet.

Their products may or may not be your best option, but you can be 100% certain they will not tell you about competitor offerings.

If you are not able to manage your finances yourself (clearly some people are, e.g. if they work in finance, or have a knack for finance), the best option without a shadow of a doubt is to find a good IFA.

expatasia

innovate wrote: »

I would never ever take (and never ever have taken in 30-odd years working life) "advice" from any bank, whether it's private banking or mass banking makes no difference at all. The fact remains that they will only ever sell to you, and only ever sell their bank's products. They only care for you as far as what you buy coincides with their sales targets. Glorious titles like "Relationship Manager" or "Personal Advisor" make no difference to the fact that they are sales people, with steep targets to meet.

Their products may or may not be your best option, but you can be 100% certain they will not tell you about competitor offerings.

If you are not able to manage your finances yourself (clearly some people are, e.g. if they work in finance, or have a knack for finance), the best option without a shadow of a doubt is to find a good IFA.

And what's your average punter's percentage chance of finding one of those?

innovate

I have looked at many current accounts, and do in fact have many current accounts. The only chargeable one that has actually offered any real value to me is the Santander 123, which costs £2/mth, and pays me about £15/mth in interest and cashback.

The only other current account I have and which comes with "benefits" is the Nationwide Flexaccount, which has no charges but comes with a pretty decent European Travel Cover.

None of the other 'perks' offered by any of the chargeable and/or private banking accounts offer me anything that I cannot get a lot cheaper elsewhere. Also, no bank has consistently the best interest rates and the best products, and some products never are on offer from banks. Makes me laugh when people say they've "been given" a Michelin star dinner for 2 - - - I buy those myself when I feel the need, and I'll get 2 nights 5-star hotel included with the dinner for a lot less than I would have to pay the bank in charges, and what I'd lose from having bought their usually mediocre deals!

I think retail banks should perhaps go back to their core business - i.e. being banks, rather than doubling as insurance companies, travel agents and butlers.

innovate

expatasia wrote: »

And what's your average punter's percentage chance of finding one of those?

A hell of a lot better than getting the best deals from a single bank!

You can always talk to your mates, colleagues, neighbours, family, for some recommendations. Or try unbiased.com, and there's plenty of good discussion going on on MSE about good IFAs.

expatasia

innovate wrote: »

You can always talk to your mates, colleagues, neighbours, family, for some recommendations.

Oh yeah, that's guaranteed to work. But I take your overall point.