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Hey folks,
Looking for some advice from those with HSBC Premier. Eligibility criteria on HSBC website (https://www.hsbc.co.uk/current-accounts/products/premier/day-to-day-banking/bank-account/) appears to say that you need ONE of these things to qualify:
1. “Individual annual income of at least £75,000 AND 1 of the following with HSBC UK: a mortgage, an investment, life insurance or a protection product”
OR…
2. “Have savings or investments of at least £50,000 with HSBC UK”
HFP (https://www.headforpoints.com/2023/04/07/review-hsbc-premier-mastercard-credit-card-2/) summarises point 1 as:
“Alternatively, if you earn over £75,000, you qualify if you just have a HSBC mortgage or any investment or insurance product. The minimum investment in an ‘investment product’ is just £100”
I meet the salary criteria and have a small (150 quid) nominal investment account with HSBC for the sole purpose of qualifying for Premier.
However… I cannot get HSBC to upgrade me. I was told by 2 agents on the phone that you need 75k salary AND 50k of investments. After I asked to speak to a supervisor twice, she said the criteria was unclear but agreed that the HFP article sounded correct. However, you can’t upgrade online so she booked me an appointment at a branch. Having gone into the branch for the appointment, they are back to taking the stance that you need 75k salary AND 50k of investments, so won’t upgrade me.
Are all HSBC staff clueless, or is the HFP article wrong? Has anybody managed to get HSBC to upgrade them to a Premier account without 50k of investments with HSBC? If so, how did you get around this craziness?
Thanks
Whilst I’m by no means an expert on HSBC Premier, I have had it for over 3 years now and I’m therefore inclined to say this is absolute nonsense.
Before getting a Premier account, I was only a mortgage customer of theirs. So when I went to apply for Premier, I was credit checked and my application was referred so had to go in to a branch. But that was all. They simply wanted to do an ID check (passport basically) and there was no mention of investments with them.
Whilst I’m by no means an expert on HSBC Premier, I have had it for over 3 years now and I’m therefore inclined to say this is absolute nonsense.
Before getting a Premier account, I was only a mortgage customer of theirs. So when I went to apply for Premier, I was credit checked and my application was referred so had to go in to a branch. But that was all. They simply wanted to do an ID check (passport basically) and there was no mention of investments with them.
Thanks rum. Having a mortgage seems to be another qualifying criteria and I wouldn’t be entirely surprised if they only vetted the criteria on joining and not if it subsequently changes.
I’ve logged a complaint with HSBC with the hope of finding somebody with some sense who can clarify the criteria and, if we’re lucky, fix the website to make it more clear. Will report back if I get anywhere.
Right down at the bottom, the text on HSBC’s website clearly indicates it’s one of the criteria, not all
If you can find a branch that has brochures/leaflets advertising the product, try and get one of those as well, just to demonstrate that it’s not simply a mistake on their website.
Yes it’s nonsense and no not all HSBC staff are clueless, just 95% of them… although I did find an amazingly helpful lady in their Malta branch of all places!
All you need to do is make a new application for the premier account and then you will be accepted. This is what I did and I had £100 in the investment ac only. You will end up with 2 accounts and you will find eventually your existing account will be converted automatically. That will then leave you with a spare premier account to do with as you please
Yes it’s nonsense and no not all HSBC staff are clueless, just 95% of them… although I did find an amazingly helpful lady in their Malta branch of all places!
All you need to do is make a new application for the premier account and then you will be accepted. This is what I did and I had £100 in the investment ac only. You will end up with 2 accounts and you will find eventually your existing account will be converted automatically. That will then leave you with a spare premier account to do with as you please
Thanks for the confirmation. So just apply for a new account online rather than trying to convince them to upgrade the existing one?
You have to remember that hsbc work like a government bureaucracy in an emerging market country. Teams don’t talk to each other. Each will insist on rules that exist only in their imagination. If you are pretty sure you need their product, accept how they work and keep trying. I was refused premier at a branch and accepted at another next day.
Many of the staff are good, just that customer satisfaction or going the extra mile is completely absent. The product might work well and you might just like it as long as you don’t have to visit the branch again.Or just switch to first direct for a much better experience overall 🙂
(Minus the good credit cards)
On a related note (general rant here) wondering if I am missing something. I have some HSBC funds currently held in a Lloyds Share Dealing account that charges a £40 per year account fee.
HSBC charge 0.25%!? So if you have over 16k it makes more sense to hold a HSBC fund with Lloyds than it does to hold it in HSBC. Which is IMHO madness.
Or just switch to first direct for a much better experience overall 🙂
(Minus the good credit cards)
I have an FD account – they’ve been nothing but fantastic to deal with. I’m slowly losing the will to live with HSBC but I’m persisting for the free travel insurance and LoungeKey (as the DragonPass I have from Barclays is a bit limited). It’s a battle of wills, at this point
On a related note (general rant here) wondering if I am missing something. I have some HSBC funds currently held in a Lloyds Share Dealing account that charges a £40 per year account fee.
HSBC charge 0.25%!? So if you have over 16k it makes more sense to hold a HSBC fund with Lloyds than it does to hold it in HSBC. Which is IMHO madness.
Isn’t it 0.25% every 3 months (so 1% a year)? I’m no particular expert on share dealing but each fund you invest in usually levies a charge on you, as well as the charges from the share dealing account provider. Worth checking this too
I have an FD account – they’ve been nothing but fantastic to deal with. I’m slowly losing the will to live with HSBC but I’m persisting for the free travel insurance and LoungeKey (as the DragonPass I have from Barclays is a bit limited). It’s a battle of wills, at this point
I’ve read similar stories to yours from people on here with HSBC Premier over the years and have steered clear. I’ve generally decided that my sanity is more important than certain benefits. Although it looks like our next mortgage may be with Barclays and that terrifies me as having to deal with them on my club account + Avios card + mortgage may tip me over…! 🙂
Yes it’s nonsense and no not all HSBC staff are clueless, just 95% of them… although I did find an amazingly helpful lady in their Malta branch of all places!
All you need to do is make a new application for the premier account and then you will be accepted. This is what I did and I had £100 in the investment ac only. You will end up with 2 accounts and you will find eventually your existing account will be converted automatically. That will then leave you with a spare premier account to do with as you please
Thanks for the confirmation. So just apply for a new account online rather than trying to convince them to upgrade the existing one?
Correct, will be fine
Also once you get the account open and up and running it will be fine. Just need to get past the beauocracy in the first place
I have an FD account – they’ve been nothing but fantastic to deal with. I’m slowly losing the will to live with HSBC but I’m persisting for the free travel insurance and LoungeKey (as the DragonPass I have from Barclays is a bit limited). It’s a battle of wills, at this point
I’ve read similar stories to yours from people on here with HSBC Premier over the years and have steered clear. I’ve generally decided that my sanity is more important than certain benefits. Although it looks like our next mortgage may be with Barclays and that terrifies me as having to deal with them on my club account + Avios card + mortgage may tip me over…! 🙂
If it makes you feel any better, my current mortgage is with Barclays. I don’t recall any particular issues arranging it, it shows up in the barclaycard app along with the avios card and premium account and I get a few extra Avios each month for having it. No particular complaints but I’ve never had to speak to them
On a related note (general rant here) wondering if I am missing something. I have some HSBC funds currently held in a Lloyds Share Dealing account that charges a £40 per year account fee.
HSBC charge 0.25%!? So if you have over 16k it makes more sense to hold a HSBC fund with Lloyds than it does to hold it in HSBC. Which is IMHO madness.
Why not iweb? No annual fees at all.
For full broker comparison, see this:
https://monevator.com/compare-uk-cheapest-online-brokers/Yes it’s nonsense and no not all HSBC staff are clueless, just 95% of them… although I did find an amazingly helpful lady in their Malta branch of all places!
All you need to do is make a new application for the premier account and then you will be accepted. This is what I did and I had £100 in the investment ac only. You will end up with 2 accounts and you will find eventually your existing account will be converted automatically. That will then leave you with a spare premier account to do with as you please
Thanks for the confirmation. So just apply for a new account online rather than trying to convince them to upgrade the existing one?
Do you have any luck with apply new premier account as an existing customer?
HSBC complaints team just called me back and confirmed the criteria is as we all think it is. He’s calling the branch to explain it to them.
HSBC complaints team just called me back and confirmed the criteria is as we all think it is. He’s calling the branch to explain it to them.
Fixing HSBC’s uselesness, one member of staff/branch at a time 🙂
On a related note (general rant here) wondering if I am missing something. I have some HSBC funds currently held in a Lloyds Share Dealing account that charges a £40 per year account fee.
HSBC charge 0.25%!? So if you have over 16k it makes more sense to hold a HSBC fund with Lloyds than it does to hold it in HSBC. Which is IMHO madness.
Why not iweb? No annual fees at all.
For full broker comparison, see this:
https://monevator.com/compare-uk-cheapest-online-brokers/Pricey on a per trade, but £100 one off is very tempting Vs £40/year for a relatively static portfolio. Good shout
As mentioned above, the stress free way of upgrading as an existing customer is simply to apply for a new premier account. You can do this online, and within a day or 2 of the new account opening your existing accounts will be upgraded to premier automatically.
You can then use the new account you opened for a switching offer at another bank.Does this trigger a new credit search?
Does this trigger a new credit search?
Opening a trading/ investment account? No, as you aren’t borrowing.
As mentioned above, the stress free way of upgrading as an existing customer is simply to apply for a new premier account. You can do this online, and within a day or 2 of the new account opening your existing accounts will be upgraded to premier automatically.
You can then use the new account you opened for a switching offer at another bank.Thanks – not a bad idea. I applied online – just awaiting acceptance.
As mentioned above, the stress free way of upgrading as an existing customer is simply to apply for a new premier account. You can do this online, and within a day or 2 of the new account opening your existing accounts will be upgraded to premier automatically.
You can then use the new account you opened for a switching offer at another bank.Thanks – not a bad idea. I applied online – just awaiting acceptance.
Good luck, please let us know once your account get upgraded. Just wondering how long will it take?
As mentioned above, the stress free way of upgrading as an existing customer is simply to apply for a new premier account. You can do this online, and within a day or 2 of the new account opening your existing accounts will be upgraded to premier automatically.
You can then use the new account you opened for a switching offer at another bank.Thanks – not a bad idea. I applied online – just awaiting acceptance.
Good luck, please let us know once your account get upgraded. Just wondering how long will it take?
The existing account is auto upgraded a couple of days after the successful application of the new premier ac
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