Banks are battling to lure customers with large nest eggs and decent salaries – and to entice them are offering accounts with high-end perks such as free physio visits and airport lounge access.
The accounts also come with swish cards that show you’re in the premier banking club when you flash them.
But which are the best?
Premier accounts are offered by HSBC, NatWest, Lloyds and Barclays. They typically require you to have about £100,000 in savings or an annual income of £100,000, although the exact requirements vary from bank to bank.
HSBC’s Premier account comes with worldwide family travel insurance provided by Aviva. The policy covers the account holder, partner, children and grandchildren. You must be under 70 when the trip begins and children and grandchildren must be under 18, or under 23 if still in full-time education.
To entice customers, some banks are offering accounts with high-end perks such as free physio visits and airport lounge access
Rachel Springall of financial experts Moneyfacts says: ‘It could be more cost-effective to get travel insurance through the Premier Bank account rather than purchasing the benefits elsewhere.’ A plan of this type bought direct from Aviva could cost up to £300 a year.
With an HSBC Premier account you can apply for the HSBC Premier World Elite credit card. It comes with a £290 annual fee but has a wide range of travel perks, including fast-track airport security, free airport lounge access and reward points that you can convert to air miles with all the major long-haul airlines. To buy a Priority Pass membership for access to airport lounges would otherwise cost £377 a year.
Andrew Hagger says: ‘The HSBC card is worth it if you’re a serious jet-setter because it allows you to apply for the HSBC Premier World which is a good credit card deal and has a wide range of travel perks.’
Lloyds Premier offers GP and wellbeing services provided by Bupa. The Bupa Family GP subscription service provides access to online GP and nurse consultations, online physiotherapy sessions, online mental health treatment sessions and fitness classes and is worth £600 a year.
HSBC’s Premier account also offers online health services provided by Square Health, worth a similar amount to the Lloyds offering. It provides unlimited digital GP appointments, eight remote physiotherapy sessions, one health check per policyholder per year and counselling sessions.
Lloyds offers a £1,250 discount on solar panel installation with its Premier account. The standard price of an eight-panel solar system with a battery is about £8,500 with Effective Home, the installer Lloyds has partnered with, including installation. It means you could get solar panels installed for £7,250.
However, not all extras are worth having. For example, NatWest Premier offers 3.5 per cent interest on balances between £250,000 to £3million for 12 months – higher than the 2.28 per cent it offers non-Premier customers on the same balance.
But you can earn a much higher rate by shopping around. For example Spring Savings by Paragon Bank pays 4.3 per cent on savings kept in its account.
On a balance of £250,000, you would earn £10,964 in interest after a year compared to £8,892 with NatWest.
Also, you may not want to have all your savings with one provider. The maximum Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) cover – which protects your money if the bank fails – is still limited to £85,000, even if you are a Premier customer.
If your circumstances change and you no longer meet the minimum income requirement you may be downgraded to a normal current account. HSBC will give you 60 days’ notice before downgrading you. Lloyds won’t change your account without telling you.
