Barclays Premier Current Account

Ozzig

Ozzig said:

tracyyi said:

Ozzig said:

tracyyi said:

flaneurs_lobster said:

From "Barclays tariff for personal customers, Our bank charges explained, September 2022" page 4

https://www.barclays.co.uk/content/dam/documents/personal/current-accounts/barclays-tariff-for-personal-customers.pdf 

Eligibility and fee for Premier Banking

To be eligible for free Premier Banking, you’ll need to have a Barclays current account and either, pay in an annual gross income of £75,000* or more into that account, or hold at least £100,000 in savings with us and/or in personal Barclays UK investments. There’ll be a monthly fee of £20.00 for Premier Banking if you don’t meet this. We’ll review your eligibility for free Premier Banking regularly and if you don’t meet this we’ll contact you to explain your options.

confused.

Premier Current Account is different?

https://www.barclays.co.uk/premier-banking/current-accounts/

Details here ...

https://www.barclays.co.uk/content/dam/documents/personal/important-information/FeeInformation-PremierCurrentAccount.pdf

Oh, okay. Not mention in the main page, only mention in T&C.
I have to forget about this Premier current account.

I had one a decade or so ago, fancy black debit card was nice and shiny, didn't benefit from any other benefits.
Then the shares I had that qualified me for the account plummeted, I thought nothing of it, but the next time I called the Premier helpline I was politely asked to use the normal number in the future.

Followed by a rather condescending letter explaining I was normal again but could keep the fancy black debit card. 

Most of the financial / wealth management advice was all SJP products so I never took them up on any of their advice.  

Also just to add, I didn't apply for it, they approached me and I only said yes because it was free :

[Deleted User]

I have a thread about an overdraft at Barclays 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6416497/how-long-before-barclays-can-offer-you-an-overdraft#latest

They told me my free account could not have an overdraft and I'd have to upgrade. So there let are two types of Premier account?

Pleb Premier £20 a month

and real Premier?

I was the pleb!

diystarter7

Hi
Some years ago when we worked ie me and Mrs Diy, they offered it to us and we took it. The only advantage i found was the card looked better and easier to get through to help link to uk site. We we took early retire at just over 50 income dropped well below that ie about 9 years ago. Recently they contact us about charging 20 quid a month - i told they to   ....... - they said no to worry as we keep the prem account until card expires sometime in 2026 and the account reverts to standard account

Thanks

[Deleted User]

diystarter7 said:

Hi
Some years ago when we worked ie me and Mrs Diy, they offered it to us and we took it. The only advantage i found was the card looked better and easier to get through to help link to uk site. We we took early retire at just over 50 income dropped well below that ie about 9 years ago. Recently they contact us about charging 20 quid a month - i told they to   ....... - they said no to worry as we keep the prem account until card expires sometime in 2026 and the account reverts to standard account

Thanks

They did the same to my old folks when they retired.

Most of the Premier products were very poor value and moving to a competitor product was much better value anyway. 

Saver101101

Deleted_User said:

diystarter7 said:

Hi
Some years ago when we worked ie me and Mrs Diy, they offered it to us and we took it. The only advantage i found was the card looked better and easier to get through to help link to uk site. We we took early retire at just over 50 income dropped well below that ie about 9 years ago. Recently they contact us about charging 20 quid a month - i told they to   ....... - they said no to worry as we keep the prem account until card expires sometime in 2026 and the account reverts to standard account

Thanks

They did the same to my old folks when they retired.

Most of the Premier products were very poor value and moving to a competitor product was much better value anyway. 

Barclays Premier used to be really good, back when you got Free Wine, Free Tea and Cake, Free Thornton's Chocolates at Christmas etc, Free English Heritage etc, but one by one they have all gone, so besides having a black debit card, UK Call Centre and a £2k Daily ATM Limit there is no real advantage anymore, I don't pay for it because I meet the income requirement, but if I didn't I certainly wouldn't pay £20 a month for it.

Marchitiello

Saver101101 said:

Deleted_User said:

diystarter7 said:

Hi
Some years ago when we worked ie me and Mrs Diy, they offered it to us and we took it. The only advantage i found was the card looked better and easier to get through to help link to uk site. We we took early retire at just over 50 income dropped well below that ie about 9 years ago. Recently they contact us about charging 20 quid a month - i told they to   ....... - they said no to worry as we keep the prem account until card expires sometime in 2026 and the account reverts to standard account

Thanks

They did the same to my old folks when they retired.

Most of the Premier products were very poor value and moving to a competitor product was much better value anyway. 

Barclays Premier used to be really good, back when you got Free Wine, Free Tea and Cake, Free Thornton's Chocolates at Christmas etc, Free English Heritage etc, but one by one they have all gone, so besides having a black debit card, UK Call Centre and a £2k Daily ATM Limit there is no real advantage anymore, I don't pay for it because I meet the income requirement, but if I didn't I certainly wouldn't pay £20 a month for it.

This, the Premier Rewards had real value,  however aside of the ATM limits and direct and quick access to UK customer service, the other benefit for me has been  access to Premier Mortgage rates, which are on the level of better of those only offer through mortgage brokers. The other benefits for me is access to Premier Avios Rewards, as I make great return from my Avios earning across many different avenues. 

If you are a genuine Premier profile, arguably HSBC premier offers a better package as it comes with free travel insurance for the whole family (age restriction apply) and your child accounts are linked to your Premier status and get some additional benefit themselves. 

They have recently amended the qualifying criteria from a strict £75k income or £100 saving to a paying in at least £3300 per month or £40k per year (this takes into consideration taxation and more importantly higher pension contribution and/or salary sacrifice. However if they do upgrade you, the welcome letter states (as reported here and elsewhere) something like giving you a year before they assess you again for the qualifying criteria.

diystarter7

Deleted_User said:

diystarter7 said:

Hi
Some years ago when we worked ie me and Mrs Diy, they offered it to us and we took it. The only advantage i found was the card looked better and easier to get through to help link to uk site. We we took early retire at just over 50 income dropped well below that ie about 9 years ago. Recently they contact us about charging 20 quid a month - i told they to   ....... - they said no to worry as we keep the prem account until card expires sometime in 2026 and the account reverts to standard account

Thanks

They did the same to my old folks when they retired.

Most of the Premier products were very poor value and moving to a competitor product was much better value anyway. 

Thanks. As per my previous post, the only benefit we ever used was their quick to respond to help line based in the uk and nice debit card.

We don't borrow money or take up offers etc.

Thaks

Perksy5

I dont qualify for Premier at the moment but I'm due to remortgage next year. I was contemplating if signing up for prem before I start my mortgage application would help me snag the Premier rate which would more than offset the £20 per month cost. Will have to compare the rates next year to see if its worth while or not

tracyyi

Perksy5 said:

I dont qualify for Premier at the moment but I'm due to remortgage next year. I was contemplating if signing up for prem before I start my mortgage application would help me snag the Premier rate which would more than offset the £20 per month cost. Will have to compare the rates next year to see if its worth while or not

once we secure Premier mortgage rate, can we cancel Premier £20?

WillPS

[Deleted User] said:

I have a thread about an overdraft at Barclays 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6416497/how-long-before-barclays-can-offer-you-an-overdraft#latest

They told me my free account could not have an overdraft and I'd have to upgrade. So there let are two types of Premier account?

Pleb Premier £20 a month

and real Premier?

I was the pleb!

To be eligible for Premier, you need to have a salary of £75,000 or investments worth £100k with Barclays.

To keep your Premier account fee free, you need to either maintain that investment with Barclays or pay in £3300 per month or £40k a year (which is a significant bit of wriggle room on the £75k salary but allows for any PAYE deductions you might have going on). If you don't do these, you'll be charged £20/month.

There's no option to join Premier as a 'non-eligible but fee paying' customer.