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Took them 16 days to come back to me.
Despite having a hsbc account for 20 years and living at the same address for 10 years, they claim something didn’t match and I have to go to a branch with ID and proof of address.
Losing the will the live now!
I am impressed / think you are crazy 🙂
Took them 16 days to come back to me.
Despite having a hsbc account for 20 years and living at the same address for 10 years, they claim something didn’t match and I have to go to a branch with ID and proof of address.
Losing the will the live now!
Be prepared that at the branch they might be equally reta****, I mean silly and claim that you don’t meet the criteria, or find some other “issue”. When I did it, it took me in total 3 months to upgrade.
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.
I am just wondering, if you dealt with a Premier advisor in branch or just any advisor? When I upgraded a long while ago, it could not be done online and I had to book a meting in branch with a Premier advisor who was very knowledgable about the products and requirements… a small building only insurance would have also suffice but then would have needed to be renewed every year, whilst the £100 investment account is a more sustainable set up.
The debacle continues. I think, at this point, I’m only continuing out of nothing more than curiosity as to exactly how bad this process can be.
Having concluded the complaints process (they did pay me 50 quid for the trouble, to be fair to them) and wasted time trying to upgrade online, I finally got an appointment in branch this morning. Some light at the end of the tunnel!
Having driven 30 mins to my nearest branch and paid to park, it turns out the mandatory branch appointment is to… book a telephone appointment to do the upgrade. Yes, that’s right. You need to phone HSBC to book a branch appointment whose sole purpose is to book a telephone appointment. Lady in the branch was lovely and was clearly as frustrated as I am that she couldn’t just do it in branch, like she used to pre-COVID.
Next available phone appointment is 18th July.
How this bank still has customers is absolutely beyond me.
Do you have 100K or more on salary? If so, apply for HSBC Expat/ Jersey, you qualify for Premier. Then you also qualify for HSBC UK Premier because Premier in one country qualifies you for Premier in another country. That’s how I did it.
Longer story: had HSBC Expat first, and then went to HSBC UK to apply for HSBC UK Premier. “Sorry we can only open a normal account in branch but you can upgrade to Premier after the account is open.” True but what the internal rule that the frontline branch doesn’t know is – you need to wait for 3 months to be upgraded from standard account. Waited for 3 months, then you can make an appointment to make another actual phone appointment to open a premier account. Think most branches no longer have dedicated Premier teams. Premier accounts are open by a dedicated phone team, which needs to be pre booked. Yes an appointment for an appointment…
Yes the staff are clueless and HSBC is just like the Ministry of Finance ie a bureaucracy. Sometimes you also can’t blame the front staff tho – if you look at the software they have to open accounts, it’s like the 90s has never left. It’s LITERALLY a windows 97 user interface. If you don’t fill in this blank, then the continue button is greyed out and the staff also can’t go to the next step. Hence the answer of “sorry there’s nothing we can do because my system is XXX.”
In their defence, not to sound like I have Stockholm syndrome, HSBC Premier’s main selling point is for global citizens ie if you have multiple countries banking needs. Non dom living in the UK who need a UK bank account but salary goes through expat account, and then also flies around say the US or his home country (one of the countries that HSBC still operates in) etc. Then the global view/ transfer really works and is unique. To my knowledge no other bank has such an elaborate global footprint (tho HSBC is also shrinking yes). Think only AMEX’s global migrant programme kinda comes close in terms of uniqueness. Not StanChart or Citi…
Wanted to check the exact steps to “upgrade” an existing HSBC account (Advance / Bank Account) to Premier as I had met the savings requirement recently.
From the previous posts, does it mean that the least hassle way (without having to go to a branch / call the hotline) is to fill up the online application form for a new account? The website says that the form is for customers who don’t already have an account with HSBC so am not sure if there are any repercussions for going this route. What happens next if you go ahead with the online application for a new account, for existing account holders?
Wanted to check the exact steps to “upgrade” an existing HSBC account (Advance / Bank Account) to Premier as I had met the savings requirement recently.
From the previous posts, does it mean that the least hassle way (without having to go to a branch / call the hotline) is to fill up the online application form for a new account? The website says that the form is for customers who don’t already have an account with HSBC so am not sure if there are any repercussions for going this route. What happens next if you go ahead with the online application for a new account, for existing account holders?
In short, yes open a new account. Once that is open, you will see your existing account magically morph into premier also, so you now have 2 premier accounts. You can then earn an easy £200 by switching the brand new, unused premier account to NatWest premier… 🙂
Seriously, you guys have to link to the master HSBC link. There you will encounter the horrors of all,our combined experiences of the past 4-t years.
You are talking dark ages here.
Best way is to down load forms, or have them post them to you at least 3 times, til you get them. Try submitting them at least 3 times by mail, until you finally give up and go to a branch.
There you will have them scan them literally in front of you, insist on watching them, and finally you will get your upgrade/downgrade.Worth it if you travel a lot, and don’t want to pay an Amex plat fee. Plus you get the additional card for £60, v g value. Worth persisting tho…
But be extra careful at renewal time re your bonus. You must start the process at least a month before….
Seriously, you guys have to link to the master HSBC link. There you will encounter the horrors of all,our combined experiences of the past 4-t years.
You are talking dark ages here.
Best way is to down load forms, or have them post them to you at least 3 times, til you get them. Try submitting them at least 3 times by mail, until you finally give up and go to a branch.
There you will have them scan them literally in front of you, insist on watching them, and finally you will get your upgrade/downgrade.Worth it if you travel a lot, and don’t want to pay an Amex plat fee. Plus you get the additional card for £60, v g value. Worth persisting tho…
But be extra careful at renewal time re your bonus. You must start the process at least a month before….
This thread is about hsbc premier current ac… you appear to be talking about the credit card?
Wanted to check the exact steps to “upgrade” an existing HSBC account (Advance / Bank Account) to Premier as I had met the savings requirement recently.
From the previous posts, does it mean that the least hassle way (without having to go to a branch / call the hotline) is to fill up the online application form for a new account? The website says that the form is for customers who don’t already have an account with HSBC so am not sure if there are any repercussions for going this route. What happens next if you go ahead with the online application for a new account, for existing account holders?
In short, yes open a new account. Once that is open, you will see your existing account magically morph into premier also, so you now have 2 premier accounts. You can then earn an easy £200 by switching the brand new, unused premier account to NatWest premier… 🙂
I have just gone through the online account opening process… and the application was “referred” (not surprised at all) – might be because it detects that I have an existing account. Let’s see where this takes me and I will report back to provide a data point.
HSBC seem to be very backwards with upgrades.
I’m also a current HSBC customer wanting to upgrade to Premier, I have met their criteria. But even so, I was asked to go into a branch – something which I don’t plan to do. So I’ve given up.
I can’t understand what is so special about a HSBC Premiere Account that makes all of the aggravation being faced worthwhile. Can somebody point out what I am missing?
I can’t understand what is so special about a HSBC Premiere Account that makes all of the aggravation being faced worthwhile. Can somebody point out what I am missing?
The Premier account (which is free) offers family travel insurance which is probably overall all better than Amex Plat insurance (which you effectively pay for) and you need the Premier Account to get a WE card which for many is a good one.
JDB succinctly summed it up.
The travel insurance makes the account worth having (not necessarily as your main account). The WE is also good when you are in hiatus with AMEX!
HSBC Premier is not my main account, in fact I hardly use it as I got it primarily for the travel insurance which having claimed twice on so far and been paid out with no quibble I think is well worth the 0 fee…
Fwiw, I persisted and finally got the upgrade. Then applied for the (free) credit card. Took 3 months from start to end.
The travel insurance is great and the Loungekey (now Priority Pass) has some limited uses. Not bad for zero fee, even if I did lose some hair in the process.
Re not being your main account @sloth. HSBC wouldn’t progress the application until I moved my salary to them. Is it that they don’t check if you subsequently move your salary away?
I have just gone through the online account opening process… and the application was “referred” (not surprised at all) – might be because it detects that I have an existing account. Let’s see where this takes me and I will report back to provide a data point.
They rejected my application when I tried this. I had to attend branch to book a phone appointment to upgrade the account. Worth a try, though
Fwiw, I persisted and finally got the upgrade. Then applied for the (free) credit card. Took 3 months from start to end.
The travel insurance is great and the Loungekey (now Priority Pass) has some limited uses. Not bad for zero fee, even if I did lose some hair in the process.
Re not being your main account @sloth. HSBC wouldn’t progress the application until I moved my salary to them. Is it that they don’t check if you subsequently move your salary away?
I can only say that I have never paid my salary into hsbc, it has always gone elsewhere, however I do pay in £3k/month and remove it the following day… never been an issue and apart from channelling funds to their regular saver and bonus saver it’s pretty much unused
I can only say that I have never paid my salary into hsbc, it has always gone elsewhere, however I do pay in £3k/month and remove it the following day… never been an issue and apart from channelling funds to their regular saver and bonus saver it’s pretty much unused</quote>
Thanks. I was doing very similar but they were adamant I had to put my salary there to qualify. I will move it back elsewhere and go back to using it as a transit account for bills
Had a similar experience trying to upgrade to a premier account in the U.K. met the criteria but two separate applications were rejected ‘because I didn’t have the 50k invested’.
I gave up.
But then I walked into an Hsbc in KL to open an account and…. After providing copies of all my pay slips, work permit and contract, had a premier account opened then and there.
Called the U.K. hsbc premier team and pretty much said you will upgrade my account and I don’t want to listen to any of your nonsense. U.K. team asked for the email address of my hsbc Malaysia relationship manager and within a few days my account was upgraded.
Conclusion is the U.K. hsbc team are amateurs.
Ironically as a new customer to HSBC, there were no issues. Sounds like it’s just an upgrade issue.
Online form to open an account had an open Premier account in 2 weeks. Premier CC took another 3 weeks.
A bit slow but otherwise unremarkable.Even got the £200 switching bonus while also being a FD customer.
Wanted to check the exact steps to “upgrade” an existing HSBC account (Advance / Bank Account) to Premier as I had met the savings requirement recently.
From the previous posts, does it mean that the least hassle way (without having to go to a branch / call the hotline) is to fill up the online application form for a new account? The website says that the form is for customers who don’t already have an account with HSBC so am not sure if there are any repercussions for going this route. What happens next if you go ahead with the online application for a new account, for existing account holders?
In short, yes open a new account. Once that is open, you will see your existing account magically morph into premier also, so you now have 2 premier accounts. You can then earn an easy £200 by switching the brand new, unused premier account to NatWest premier… 🙂
I have just gone through the online account opening process… and the application was “referred” (not surprised at all) – might be because it detects that I have an existing account. Let’s see where this takes me and I will report back to provide a data point.
Was successful! After getting the “your application was referred” screen, I did not get any acknowledgement of the application, via email, text or snail mail. When checking my online banking around a week after, I noticed that the premier account had been set up (still no communication!). The next day an email arrived saying my premier account is now open. As what @sloth said, my existing current account transformed to a premier account as well a couple of days after.
All in all, managed to get it done without speaking to a human thanks to this forum 🙂 As a data point: I don’t qualify under income criteria, but qualify under the savings criteria. My salary however do go into the existing current account with HSBC (before I got my premier). Also tried to ensure that all my details match up to my existing information with HSBC to the letter when filling up the online account opening form, but not sure if that made a difference.
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