Halifax Reward Account changing to £3 charge with “lifestyle rewards”

ZeroSum

7sefton said:

Just letting everyone know:

I have three sole Reward accounts from when Halifax allowed multiple ones. I’ve been very happy with the triple rewards I’ve had for the past decade.

I was hoping to be able to upgrade all three to the new T&Cs (even though this isn’t really allowed), but I think the Halifax system telephone registration must recognise the number you call from and only allow one registration from each one.

I’ve been able to upgrade one account, but when I call back trying to register the other two I’m told this isn’t possible because I’ve already registered.

It was good while it lasted

I've got 2 & it allowed me to register both

gt94sss2

I do wonder how many debit cards Halifax will need to reissue next month from customers who haven't used theirs in years..

OceanSound

Rollinghome said:

Rollinghome said:

... does anyone know whether plonkng £5k in today will get the fiver next month, during June, or whether it doesn't need to be there until 1 June with the first 'reward' being paid in July?

To answer my own question: I rang Halifax and they had to confer and still didn't seem too sure but they seemed to think the offer starts from 1 June and so there's no point of paying £5k in before.  I assume that you also won't get anything for that first month unless the £5k hits the account on the 1st of the month.

What made me wonder was the para in the T&Cs: "The Offer starts on the day you select it and lasts for a minimum of 12 full months. For example, if you select the Offer on 10th November 2020, it will end on 30th November 2021. If you keep a balance of £5,000 or more in your account from 10th - 30th November 2020, you will receive the Offer for that month."

Quite why they give an example randomly choosing November 2020 instead of  May 2020  which might be more relevant to many I'm not sure.

Thanks for replies.

I selected the offer on 14 May 2020, so according to the terms it will run for 12 months and end on 31 May 2021. Elsewhere it says:

We’re changing the Reward Current Account soon.
This is what’s changing from 1 July 2020:
* There’ll be a £3 monthly maintaining the account fee, with no fee if you pay in at least £1,500 in the previous month.
* We're removing the £2 reward payment.
* You'll get access to Reward Extras. Choose an offer and for 12 months you can earn either £5 or a lifestyle benefit for each month that you meet the conditions.

If the change happens on 1 July 2020 and my 12 month period ends on 31 May 2021, how is it going to run for 12 months?

General_Grant

OceanSound said:

Rollinghome said:

Rollinghome said:

... does anyone know whether plonkng £5k in today will get the fiver next month, during June, or whether it doesn't need to be there until 1 June with the first 'reward' being paid in July?

To answer my own question: I rang Halifax and they had to confer and still didn't seem too sure but they seemed to think the offer starts from 1 June and so there's no point of paying £5k in before.  I assume that you also won't get anything for that first month unless the £5k hits the account on the 1st of the month.

What made me wonder was the para in the T&Cs: "The Offer starts on the day you select it and lasts for a minimum of 12 full months. For example, if you select the Offer on 10th November 2020, it will end on 30th November 2021. If you keep a balance of £5,000 or more in your account from 10th - 30th November 2020, you will receive the Offer for that month."

Quite why they give an example randomly choosing November 2020 instead of  May 2020  which might be more relevant to many I'm not sure.

Thanks for replies.

I selected the offer on 14 May 2020, so according to the terms it will run for 12 months and end on 31 May 2021. Elsewhere it says:

We’re changing the Reward Current Account soon.
This is what’s changing from 1 July 2020:
* There’ll be a £3 monthly maintaining the account fee, with no fee if you pay in at least £1,500 in the previous month.
* We're removing the £2 reward payment.
* You'll get access to Reward Extras. Choose an offer and for 12 months you can earn either £5 or a lifestyle benefit for each month that you meet the conditions.

If the change happens on 1 July 2020 and my 12 month period ends on 31 May 2021, how is it going to run for 12 months?

The 1 July is for new accounts not those who selected the "upgrade" in May for their existing accounts.  So your year should run from 1 June to 31 May.

OceanSound

General_Grant said:

OceanSound said:

Rollinghome said:

Rollinghome said:

... does anyone know whether plonkng £5k in today will get the fiver next month, during June, or whether it doesn't need to be there until 1 June with the first 'reward' being paid in July?

To answer my own question: I rang Halifax and they had to confer and still didn't seem too sure but they seemed to think the offer starts from 1 June and so there's no point of paying £5k in before.  I assume that you also won't get anything for that first month unless the £5k hits the account on the 1st of the month.

What made me wonder was the para in the T&Cs: "The Offer starts on the day you select it and lasts for a minimum of 12 full months. For example, if you select the Offer on 10th November 2020, it will end on 30th November 2021. If you keep a balance of £5,000 or more in your account from 10th - 30th November 2020, you will receive the Offer for that month."

Quite why they give an example randomly choosing November 2020 instead of  May 2020  which might be more relevant to many I'm not sure.

Thanks for replies.

I selected the offer on 14 May 2020, so according to the terms it will run for 12 months and end on 31 May 2021. Elsewhere it says:

We’re changing the Reward Current Account soon.
This is what’s changing from 1 July 2020:
* There’ll be a £3 monthly maintaining the account fee, with no fee if you pay in at least £1,500 in the previous month.
* We're removing the £2 reward payment.
* You'll get access to Reward Extras. Choose an offer and for 12 months you can earn either £5 or a lifestyle benefit for each month that you meet the conditions.

If the change happens on 1 July 2020 and my 12 month period ends on 31 May 2021, how is it going to run for 12 months?

The 1 July is for new accounts not those who selected the "upgrade" in May for their existing accounts.  So your year should run from 1 June to 31 May.

I selected the £5 offer. If I pay in £1,500 and spend £500 during May (before 01 June), then £5 is in the bank? (literally)
Wonder if it's paid on the second working day of each month (same as before)?

colsten

The offer period does not start until June 1. The first payments won’t happen until July.

redux

Right, I've just finished reading the rest of this thread, after about a quarter of it previously

I never received either a letter or an email about this, and there is no notification in the online messages either. Halifax were too busy to talk to me in the phone system today. Looking online, information is ambiguous in places, such as a link in an article about this account leading to Ultimate Rewards instead.

I'll try a question here.

There seem to be different deadlines for different age accounts, and it appears one may have passed. Is it still possible to register a many years old account, and if so what deadline, or is it going to unavoidably downgrade?

Edit: I can answer this myself, having got through on the phone.

I was too late for 15th May, and he checked and could see I didn't have any message about it. So my account will downgrade, then I can register to upgrade again any time from 1st June onwards. This means I'll have missed a chance of one month's reward; some compensation will be applied shortly.

OceanSound

colsten said:

The offer period does not start until June 1. The first payments won’t happen until July.

Have you seen the Guide to changes:

The Offer starts on the day you select it and lasts for a minimum of 12 full months. For example, if you select the Offer on 10th November 2020, it will end on 30th November 2021. If you spend £500 on your debit card from 10th – 30th November 2020, you will receive the Offer for that month. 

No mention of 'you will receive the Offer for that month the next month'. Anyway, I've paid in at least £1,500 and spent £500 on the debit card before 31st May. 
Saying the offer period doesn't start until 01 June, someone could easily infer the pay in and spend doesn't need to happen until on or after that date, in which case he would only receive 11 payments (provided he sticks to the conditions and the offer runs only until the original end date and is not extended with another offer or otherwise).

Actually, the guide mentioned above says:

The Offer lasts for a set period and starts from the date you select it. 

General_Grant

OceanSound said:

colsten said:

The offer period does not start until June 1. The first payments won’t happen until July.

Have you seen the Guide to changes:

The Offer starts on the day you select it and lasts for a minimum of 12 full months. For example, if you select the Offer on 10th November 2020, it will end on 30th November 2021. If you spend £500 on your debit card from 10th – 30th November 2020, you will receive the Offer for that month. 

No mention of 'you will receive the Offer for that month the next month'. Anyway, I've paid in at least £1,500 and spent £500 on the debit card before 31st May. 
Saying the offer period doesn't start until 01 June, someone could easily infer the pay in and spend doesn't need to happen until on or after that date, in which case he would only receive 11 payments (provided he sticks to the conditions and the offer runs only until the original end date and is not extended with another offer or otherwise).

Actually, the guide mentioned above says:

The Offer lasts for a set period and starts from the date you select it. 

The "offer" runs to the last day of the calendar month.  In order to receive the reward for that you have to wait till early the following month as it has to be established that the conditions for receipt had been met.  Starting on 1 June, the 12th time that the reward is payable is July of the following year.  The conditions do not have to be met in the month of receipt.

Yorkshire_Pud

OceanSound said:

colsten said:

The offer period does not start until June 1. The first payments won’t happen until July.

Have you seen the Guide to changes:

The Offer starts on the day you select it and lasts for a minimum of 12 full months. For example, if you select the Offer on 10th November 2020, it will end on 30th November 2021. If you spend £500 on your debit card from 10th – 30th November 2020, you will receive the Offer for that month. 

No mention of 'you will receive the Offer for that month the next month'. Anyway, I've paid in at least £1,500 and spent £500 on the debit card before 31st May. 
Saying the offer period doesn't start until 01 June, someone could easily infer the pay in and spend doesn't need to happen until on or after that date, in which case he would only receive 11 payments (provided he sticks to the conditions and the offer runs only until the original end date and is not extended with another offer or otherwise).

Actually, the guide mentioned above says:

The Offer lasts for a set period and starts from the date you select it. 

Hope you had two direct debits paid out in May as well or you won’t get your £2 never mind the £5 that clearly won’t be paid until July, the month after the new reward scheme starts which is June for most existing customers who opted in by the deadline.