Halifax Ultimate Reward - The extras worth it?

zudecke

Hi guys,

If we consider that I go on at least one holiday per year, have a rather expensive mobile phone (bought directly from the manufacturer) and have roadside breakdown cover (with Cover Aid), is the Halifax Ultimate Reward account worth it at £10 pm?

To qualify my question, I'd like opinions on the following:

Phone insurance
1) how quickly do they send out replacement handsets?

2) do they cover straight up loss or do they have all sorts of minefield stipulations (e.g ineligible if the phone was left unattended or in the back of a cab etc)?

3) water damage covered?

Breakdown cover:
1) will they come to the roadside or my house if the car won't start? How much would that excess be?

Cheers,

Z

grumbler

Ultimate Reward Current Account Getting Started Guide

p.24 : Mobile phone insurance Key Facts

"Full terms of the policy can be found in the Policy Document on pages 79-84"


The fact that "Lifestyle Services Group Limited handle claims on behalf of the insurer" doesn't inspire much confidence:

Spill the beans... on mobile phone insurers

bsms1147

Sounds like you want someone to read the T&Cs for you.

SuperHan

I haven't used the insurance, but when I blew a tyre on the motorway, I was picked up within 30 mins, my car towed 10 miles away to a garage of my choice (which was actually my brother in laws house, as he's a mechanic), and they gave me a lift back to my destination, which was nearer where they picked me up than where they dropped my car off. No excess paid

PeacefulWaters

Breakdown cover has proved effective for me.

Never claimed on travel cover.

Phone cover slow, but gets there, with an excess.

Home Emergency Cover has been very useful.

But you should see the cost as being £15 a month.

pinkdalek

I've used both the breakdown and home emergency cover, well worth having for peace of mind, luckily touch wood, never used it for phone insurance, but a standalone policy is on average £10 per month.
I go on holiday abroad and UK to so it covers us, the breakdown cover covers the account holder and not the car so useful if you were a passenger too.

I don't imagine you could get all 4 insurances to cover you for less than £10 per month in total. (or even £15)

YorkshireBoy

PeacefulWaters wrote: »

But you should see the cost as being £15 a month.

OP, just in case you're wondering why...it's because you could get the £5 Reward payment from a 'normal' Reward account.

GingerFurball_2

PeacefulWaters wrote: »

Breakdown cover has proved effective for me.

Never claimed on travel cover.

Phone cover slow, but gets there, with an excess.

Home Emergency Cover has been very useful.

But you should see the cost as being £15 a month.

It's £10 a month if you meet the Reward criteria (£750 in, 2 DDs, keep account in credit.)

anoncol

GingerFurball wrote: »

It's £10 a month if you meet the Reward criteria (£750 in, 2 DDs, keep account in credit.)

Read Yorkshire boys post.

PeacefulWaters

GingerFurball wrote: »

It's £10 a month if you meet the Reward criteria (£750 in, 2 DDs, keep account in credit.)

Opportunity cost.

You could simply go for the Reward account and get the free fiver anyway without an insurance commitment.

In other words, could you buy similar quality cover for less than £180 a year? The answer is probably yes.

YorkshireBoy

PeacefulWaters wrote: »

In other words, could you buy similar quality cover for less than £180 a year? The answer is probably yes.

But you (the OP) might not be able to buy it for less than £120 a year. If that's the case then Nationwide Plus at £10 a month may be an option worth considering, especially since it also pays 3% AER interest on up to £2.5K with no minimum pay in.


If you go this route, just downgrade your Halifax account to the standard Reward variant to retain the £60 a year Reward payments.