Barclays Premier

danco

I set up a Barclays Premier account in November, largely because of their £400 switch offer.

I've not actually been using the account, other than to put an amount in and take it out almost immediately, and have no plans to use it significantly. Looking at their benefits it is clear that I will never use most of them, either because they do not interest me at all or because I already have better options. Apple TV seems to be the only one I might use, but I find I have not actually been using it.

My other bank accounts are better for me (benefits I actually use). So I am inclined to close the Barclays account. I am wondering if there are any disadvantages in doing so

Brie

Have you got the £400?  If not how long til you get that?  If yes is their anything in their T&Cs that suggest they might want it back??

AltruisticPie1544

Don't close it. You might instead consider switching it to the next bank with a switching offer. After you've collected the £400 of course.

flaneurs_lobster

Apple TV is well worth holding the account for (well it's the only reason I do).

danco

Thanks for the replies. Yes, I got the £400, and I didn't notice anything in the T&C saying they could claim it back, but it's always possible there is such a clause and I just failed to notice it.

I did a lot of switches last year, and I'm doubtful if there are any I would be eligible for, not for a while and possibly not ever.

Yes, Apple TV is useful even though I've not actually used it. And putting £4000 in each month is do-able but somewhat of a hassle even if withdrawn immediately. Actually, one option is not to put any money in and wait till they raise that as an issue

flaneurs_lobster

danco said:

 Actually, one option is not to put any money in and wait till they raise that as an issue

Mentioned elsewhere, Barclays bumped me up to Premier about 8 months ago at their invitation. I haven't a clue why. Since then I've paid nothing into the account. 

Apple telly still works.

RedFraggle

If you'll be wanting a mortgage and have 60% LTV their rates are fab and you can overpayment 25%.

I'm keeping mine until I can get that. 

The cashback rewards adds up too if you opt in and check what is on that month. 

danco

Yes, but I will never want a mortgage. And I have cash back rewards elsewhere.

There's no doubt that there are many more benefits in the Premier account than in my other accounts But for me many of the benefits are items I would never use and most of the remaining ones I have better options elsewhere. I said this in my original post. Others could well find the benefits are really worthwhile.

The question is whether I should retain the three bank accounts I presently have or cut them down to two. If I went down to two, there's no question in my mind that the Premier should be the one to drop.

granta

danco said:

Thanks for the replies. Yes, I got the £400, and I didn't notice anything in the T&C saying they could claim it back, but it's always possible there is such a clause and I just failed to notice it.

I did a lot of switches last year, and I'm doubtful if there are any I would be eligible for, not for a while and possibly not ever.

Yes, Apple TV is useful even though I've not actually used it. And putting £4000 in each month is do-able but somewhat of a hassle even if withdrawn immediately. Actually, one option is not to put any money in and wait till they raise that as an issue

You may as well hang onto it until they contact you to say you aren't meeting their criteria. I got Premier after qualifying briefly and kept it for Apple TV. I've enjoyed some of the series on there but don't watch it so much now I have 'free' Netflix.

It took them many months to write to me to say I don't meet the criteria, and then I started transferring £4k in and out and they wrote to me again to say I could retain the Premier status. I only keep it for Apple.

I guess there's a chance that in future they may introduce other benefits/savings products that might be of interest.

wmb194

danco said:

Yes, but I will never want a mortgage. And I have cash back rewards elsewhere.

There's no doubt that there are many more benefits in the Premier account than in my other accounts But for me many of the benefits are items I would never use and most of the remaining ones I have better options elsewhere. I said this in my original post. Others could well find the benefits are really worthwhile.

The question is whether I should retain the three bank accounts I presently have or cut them down to two. If I went down to two, there's no question in my mind that the Premier should be the one to drop.

You only have three current accounts? I'd keep it for resiliency in case anything happens to the other accounts e.g., temporarily frozen for some reason. The Barclays account doesn't cost anything and you can just let it be downgraded at some point or downgrade it yourself.

danco

wmb194 said:

You only have three current accounts? 

So is it common to have more than two current accounts? I'm not counting cash ISAs, savings accounts, etc, just my current accounts.

I guess simplest is to keep the account but not bother to put any money into it. Juggling with the large sums this account requires is only a small effort but is too much of an effort for me.