Best Premier Current Accounts Article Discussion Area

sandyzaphod

My wife and I have only 1 premier account and it is with Barclays. It is a joint Additions account and the only money that goes into it is the account cost. Our own accounts are normal current accounts. This means that we both have the benefits of Travel insurance, Vehicle recovery (RAC) and electronic item insurance all for one premium. The Recovery insurance is European as well as domestic and alone would be more than the cost of the account.
Also the account is flexible and you can choose which insurances you need and the cost of the account changes with your choices, so if you do not need travel insurance then the account is cheaper without it.
Win Win in my case.

mrchiggles

The_Only_Golden_Boy wrote: »

We have had a Barclay's Premier Account for about 6 years now with all of the above benefits. I am now 71 and the travel Insurance is available until you reach 79. As we have over £50000 invested in Barclay's products we pay £17.50 per month. I believe that this is good value as it would cost us more than the annual fee £210 for just the RAC European cover, Worldwide Travel Insurance, Mobile phone, Gadget Insurance and Card cover. The other benefits are a bonus. We also have a Santander 123 account that pays 3% p.a. on up to £20000. The original Premier bundled account is no longer available, you have to purchase addons that will cost more than the current monthly fee. But I agree good value account.

I have that one too "Premier Life" it's good value but they don't sell it more, from what I can tell to pay for a premier account and all the new bits you need to bolt on this account would be over £30 a month now!

So moral is don't close it

KGM_2

I've got a basic (joint) Nationwide account and have been trying to upgrade to FlexPlus but have been getting this message all this week:

We're sorry
Hi there. We’re really sorry but we can’t offer you an upgrade online at the moment.

To upgrade your account you’ll need to:

Give us a call on 08457 30 20 10 or
Pop in to your nearest branch
Close this message to return to Online Banking

So I call the number, and they can't do it over the phone as it's a joint account. So I've got to go to the bank, and from what I gather, listen to the insurance cover been read out for 20-25 minutes. I'll not be able to pay attention, never mind the two kids we'll be bringing along!

Anyone else having the same problem, or more importantly, overcome it? Thanks

Archi_Bald

KGM wrote: »

So I've got to go to the bank, and from what I gather, listen to the insurance cover been read out for 20-25 minutes. I'll not be able to pay attention, never mind the two kids we'll be bringing along!

I don't know why they want you to go into a Branch for the upgrade, but it might well be because of the nature of the account and the public outrage over mis-selling of packaged accounts. They probably want to see both account holders, too.

I do very well understand that they will want to read out the T&Cs pertaining to all the insurances that come with the FlexPlus. They will also need you, and probably the joint account holder, to sign that you agree with those T&Cs before they will give you a FlexPlus.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006mg74/features/mis-sold-packaged-bank-accounts

Savvy_Sue

It could be worth you spending some time reading the insurance cover online before they read it to you in the branch, especially if you're intending to rely on it.

Just as an example, I've got some insurance through my bank (no longer available to new customers), and on doing some checking found that because we've got some declared medical conditions, we're supposed to ring before every trip we make to confirm that nothing's changed. I knew I had to do so at least annually, and I also realised that if anything changed I needed to make them aware, but I hadn't realised I needed to check with them every time we took a holiday!

welshtony

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

It could be worth you spending some time reading the insurance cover online before they read it to you in the branch, especially if you're intending to rely on it.

Just as an example, I've got some insurance through my bank (no longer available to new customers), and on doing some checking found that because we've got some declared medical conditions, we're supposed to ring before every trip we make to confirm that nothing's changed. I knew I had to do so at least annually, and I also realised that if anything changed I needed to make them aware, but I hadn't realised I needed to check with them every time we took a holiday!

Which bank is this?

Savvy_Sue

Good old Smile ...

I've been researching the alternatives, can't find anything cheaper as everyone else wants to charge extra for DH, and Smile don't. Yet ...

GingerFurball_2

Del_Boy_Gupta wrote: »

Out of interest which account is this that still gives free travel insurance past age 75?

Some Lloyds customers get their account fees waived if they keep their account balance above a certain amount.

welshtony

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

Good old Smile ...

I've been researching the alternatives, can't find anything cheaper as everyone else wants to charge extra for DH, and Smile don't. Yet ...

Thanks. I was worried in case it was NatWest. I've had a Gold Plus credit card with them since the 80s, current cost £95 pa I think, but the travel insurance cover only asks 4 questions:
- am I waiting for an operation, or currently receiving day or in-patient treatment
- have I received a terminal prognosis
-am I intending to travel against my doctor's advice and
- am I travelling to get medical treatment.

I've happily relied on this insurance for many years now, and had a major claim settled quickly and satisfactorily in 01, when my (unrelated) travelling partner had to pull out of a trip to Australia when diagnosed with cancer. So I was a bit concerned when I read your comment, but I've rechecked my policy booklet and it seems clear that I only have to notify in the event of having to answer 'yes' to any of those questions.

divoch

When I tested the tool it did not work correctly. I entered data that should result in Nationwide FlexPlus but I got:
"There were no Results. Please amend your search."

When I removed tick from Winter sports then Nationwide FlexPlus came up . It seems that the tool does not know that Winter sports are included in this insurance !

It seems to be quite a good deal for me(and my wife) as at the age of 70 I cannot get Worldwide insurance with Winter sports (yes, I still do it) for £120