New HSBC Advance or Premier current account £200 switch incentive

adindas

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/80029113#Comment_80029113

Because 1st direct is a subsidiary of HSBC so good to compre the two terms. Same as Natwest Group, LBGs.

Also it might happen what mentionedd on T&C might be different with other people personal experience, so asking people personal experience.

Bendo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/80029163#Comment_80029163

Yes, but their terms are completely irrelevant to switching to HSBC.

adindas

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/80029176#Comment_80029176

I would not call it irrelevant. The same with Natwest Group, Ulsters, Natwet RBS, where people disucss RBS but also cover Natwest, Ulster. People get incentive 3X. I ams also asking people personal experience.

vickymaykim

pfpf said:

Johntea said:

I've just applied and been told they need to do some 'important checks' which may take up to 10 days, assume I've been approved for the account though as presumably it would have declined otherwise at the stage after carrying out the credit checks

exactly my 1st text from them. hard credit check on the 20th and a couple more texts. nothing since sunday.

I got the same text today and thought it's due to identification as I'm not British - I didn't apply overdraft or credit card or anything. How did you find out they are running a hard credit check? I'm planning to do another switch soon, wondering if this will be affected.

pridehappy

Okay, HSBC does give you £200. Although when you look at their products, customer service rating, reputation and involvement in unethical trading and politics, I wouldn't personally be going for them. Probably better off with NatWest or a British/European bank.

FFHillbilly

I applied on May 2nd, got a text saying "thanks for applying, we'll be in touch within 10 days"
May 4th: another text "we're busier than usual..."
May 4th: another text "thanks for applying, we're reviewing your application and will be in touch soon"

so I've not heard anything for over 2 weeks now, Is this consistent with others?

ircE

ircE said:

Fresh off the glory from getting a NatWest bonus I'm not actually eligible for, I'm going to give this one a go too. I've never held a HSBC current account before, but I switched into First Direct for their offer last autumn (and promptly switched out). This should mean I'm ineligible for this offer but who knows? I'll give it a try and report back, though given the timescales I may [not] receive the bonus until after the offer is pulled.

IT WORKED!!!

Late last year I opened, switched into, received bonus from, and switched out of a First Direct account. That should have made me ineligible for this HSBC switch offer.

22nd April - applied for and opened an HSBC account successfully, switch date set for 9th May, set up 2 x £1 SO's on outgoing (NatWest) account to my main current account and a savings account (both at Nationwide)

26th April - card received

28th April - PIN received

4th May - set up Telephone Banking, Mobile Banking and Online Banking, set up Digital Secure Key, and transferred in 2 x £750

9th May - switch completed successfully

20th May - money received

Good luck all.

Johntea

I have heard zilch from HSBC since a text on 5 May after doing the identity checks "Hello, it's HSBC.  Thank you for uploading your documents.  We're reviewing them and will be in touch"

So I've chased it up today to see what they come back with, I have never had a new account / switch process go this painfully slow!

FFHillbilly

Johntea said:

I have heard zilch from HSBC since a text on 5 May after doing the identity checks "Hello, it's HSBC.  Thank you for uploading your documents.  We're reviewing them and will be in touch"

So I've chased it up today to see what they come back with, I have never had a new account / switch process go this painfully slow!

I applied on the 2nd, had a few texts, last one on the 4th.
phoned up today to see what's happening and spoke to some of the dimmest people I've ever had the misfortune of dealing with, they just went round and round in circles asking me the same questions and repeating themselves and shifting the blame onto another team who they were waiting for to tell the what to do, and at the end there's no conclusion. after 30 minutes they could see my application and it was approved but were trying to get to the bottom of why I hadn't had any letters, but then 30 minutes later they need to find out why it's not been approved and maybe it's because I've had an account with them previously, then 20 minutes later it was approved but I had to go in with my ID (nearest branch is 30minutes away) then they said I didn't need to go and they would look into it and let me know.
hour and half listening to hold music whilst trying to get some work done. they seem to think its something to do with the fact that I have previously held an account...?

pridehappy

£200 seems like a lot but when you look at HSBC's product offer, customer service and ethical rating, there's not that much to cheer about. My few years with HSBC were some of the most uninspiring and restricting I've ever had, customer service advisors who don't really know what they are doing, branch staff more interested in having a chat, extremely unethical, literally no interest (other than a few restrictive savings accounts), extremely poor rewards and nothing else to shout about. A plain boring card. Expensive overdraft. I'd rather go for NatWest or even give Nationwide a try, at least their product offerings and customer service is better and with Nationwide, hopefully, get £100 each year, not just £200 as a one-off.

The only way I'd use it is to switch for the £200 and then immediately away again, although hard to do as I believe you need to setup an overdraft which could be tricky or harm your credit score when setting up Advance or Premier.

Also, just to make it clear, from my Premier years, the service is definitely not premier in any way. Even the phone lines marketed as "Premier" now just redirect you back to the main phone centre, with a slightly faster wait time of like 10 minutes instead of 30.