Free (UK) lounge access

NatWest Bank have finally started toi catch up with the other banks.
They have notified me that they have added some enhancements to the Advantage Premier account, which includes free lounge access if you book your travel with the Premier Travel Service (which is run by Air Miles) it says access to 13 UK lounges. Still, its a welcome start!

[Nottingham Nick]

Alan

Isn't there a monthly fee to the advantage premier?

I am just in the process of moving my current account from NatWest to Lloyds TSB. After 20+ years with NatWest I am finally sick of their derisory interest rates. Don't tell me I have jumped too soon[:I];)

Nick

quote:Originally posted by Nottingham Nick
Alan

Isn't there a monthly fee to the advantage premier?

I am just in the process of moving my current account from NatWest to Lloyds TSB. After 20+ years with NatWest I am finally sick of their derisory interest rates. Don't tell me I have jumped too soon[:I];)

Nick

Nick,
no i think you still have made the right descison
Looking at the new terms and conditions, whilst they have enhanced things like free car` breakdown, limited lounge access, home emergency services, accidental death benefit, reduced mortgage rates etc.. they have increased for new customers (and Iwould imagine eventually to us) the annual fee to £195 (or Black card holders £170

Nick

quote:I am just in the process of moving my current account from NatWest to Lloyds TSB.

Hmmm, and I'm just moving from LTSB to Intelligent Finance

Cheers

Michael

Nick,

I moved my account from Natwest last year after 15 years with them, one of the best things I've done. Finally got fed up paying for a premier service and being rewarded with miserly interest and non-premier service. The whole process was a lot more painless than I'd imagined, and I wouldn't hesitate to move banks again if I felt their service was slipping.

VSlf

[Nottingham Nick]

I shopped around on the This is money site

http://tinyurl.com/56oxt

and came up with the Llyods TSB Classic plus current account that pays 4.89% gross if you pay 2K in each month.

A word of warning to anyone who wants to do this - DON'T try to apply on line if you want to open a joint account - their software can't cope with it and their helpline doesn't inspire confidence.

Nick

I'm still with Barclays [:(]

Even with migration packages its never easy to move all your DD's standing orders etc

First Direct & Smile seem to have good reviews
the traditional banks have the worst service and rates..

I use Cahoot for my savings and have never had a problem

Offsetting your savings against your mortgage is the most efficent of course but that would involve loosing my 25yr capped mortgage..

All I can say is look at what services you need and select an account that offers them with the highest rate.

Jonathan,
I still have an account with Barclays. I had awful service from them, so I keep about £30 in the account as anything under £100 AFAIR costs them to administer

quote:Jonathan,
I still have an account with Barclays. I had awful service from them, so I keep about £30 in the account as anything under £100 AFAIR costs them to administer

I left 37p in a Natwest current account for 7 years .I tried to switch to First Direct a couple of years ago but they cocked everything up so I stayed put with the Halifax.I bank with Barclays Business Direct for work who have always been very good.

I've had accounts with Natwest and Barclays for years and they're both pretty guilty of providing poor service. Barclays branches tend to have the worst-trained cashiers of the two - watching them loafing around behind the glass chatting about their weekend, instead of serving customers, makes me mad - but Natwest annoy me with the junk mail they send and their constant attempts to sign me up for "premium account services" (super-advantage-gold-premier-advanced...)which are overpriced rip-offs.

I like Barclays online banking better (it can pay instantly to Barclays accounts and Barclaycards if you transfer during a working day, and it works perfectly on Mozilla Firefox and Pocket Internet Explorer).

there is an article in today's papaer that the Halifax Bank of Scotland now take six days to clear a cheque. They reckon banks make £60 Million on cheques and electronic payments interest in the time between processing and the money arriving in your account.
The fulllist they had was:

Halifax Bank of Scotland 6 days
Nationwide 4 days
HSBC 4 days
Llyds tSB 4 days
NatWest 3 days
Royal Bank of Scotland 3 days
Barclays 1 day (unless the cheque is more than £1,000 then its 4 days )

Six days to clear a cheque is pretty scandalous. Electronic payments should be instant - nothing less, considering it's just data moving about. Cheques, i think a day or two is reasonable bearing in mind someone somewhere has to tap in some data.

The reason Barclays looks the best on that list is their "Instant access to cheques" scheme which allows you to draw on cheques before they clear, on the understanding that you expect them to clear. Thus they are actually treating their customers like adults unlike the rest...

[mitchja]

It also takes Halifax at least 4 days to process online bill payments too [:(!]

What does it takes in Finland (or some where like that in Europe):
3 -4 hrs!!!!

That's rip-Off Britain for you!!!

Regards

[Decker]

knew there was a reason I've stuck with Barclays for nearly 25 years now . Actually as has been said, with business accounts you can get EXCELLENT service and this spills into the personal.

[RichardMannion]

I was with Barclays Premier, and then Barclays Private Clients - moved away from them as the service went downhill. Moved over to Clydesdale Private Banking, as we have a branch at our office - on the whole they are good - not that I use my account too much - My AmEx account on the otherhand....

I'm with FirstDirect too, which seem perfectly reasonable too for a 'free' service.

Thanks,
Richard

Hi,

Just to let you know I'm not inovled in the rtail banking side ( I'm in Corporate so do not deal at all with the accounts):D

Regards

TBS

Hmmmm - I switched from NatWest last year to Nationwide, who have been nothing short of excellent ever since.

[RichardMannion]

That is until the Spanish take over the operation - have you ever been in a Spanish bank? Talk about laid back

Thanks,
Richard

quote:Originally posted by RichardMannion
That is until the Spanish take over the operation - have you ever been in a Spanish bank? Talk about laid back

Thanks,
Richard

It's Abbey that is being looked at by the Spanish bank. I'm (partly) with Nationwide and can recommend them.

OT this but they provide commission-free cash withdrawals overseas (and a good exchange rate). I don't bother taking cash abroad, just transfer to the Nationwide Flexaccount and withdraw as and when I need.

Regards,

Sahajesh.