Halifax | Ultimate Reward Account
Fantastic Account
20:46 13-07-2017
via Choose Wisely
Brilliant account. Call centre easy to get through with helpful staff. Claimed 3 times for phone insurance (myself and my wife) and all times was dealt with well. AA comes in handy as does the travel cover. Also have an accojnt with HSBC who are truly awful so well done Halifax.
Adam Neeves
Value for money
22:09 05-06-2017
via Smart Money People
I find it value for money, if I don't use my overdraft then I only pay £10pm if I do use it I pay £15. I've used the services a number of times and never had an issue. Love the banking app, very easy to use and understand, I'm able to transfer money in an instant and pay bills on the go.
karen Clohessy
Not the phone insurance you might expect
21:26 16-06-2017
via Choose Wisely
I have only made use of the phone insurance. Surprised at how lacklustre it is compared to my experience when I was with Natwest. With Natwest, I paid the excess, and within 24 hours, a courier took my phone, and exchanged it for another, Job done. I have damaged my iPhone, using it in a heavy downpour. Having contacted Hallfax, I was expected to print out a pdf, package it myself, and do all the snail mail stuff myself. Hilariously, their main means of communication of the progress is by mobile, so I had to give my wife's mobile number. Three days after posting the phone, they called my wife to confirm receipt, and would spend three days inspecting the phone (I already told you I broke it!). I have now been over a week without a phone. It was way simpler with Natwest.
Steven Chippendale
The app is great, packaged account value for money
20:24 24-05-2017
via Smart Money People
I have used both the Travel Insurance and Phone Insurance benefits without disappointment.
Cara Marsden
Best all rounder account
10:28 03-02-2017
via Choose Wisely
Having had this account for around 3 years I think this is one of the wise decisions I have made in opening a bank account. Mobile Phone Insurance- I have claimed 4 times since having this account the claims handling was smooth, fast and efficient servicing. AA Break down cover- This is a life saver as I have used this quiet a few times for myself and my friends. Home Insurance - Claimed this once and yeah 5 start service. Apart from this there are a few additional benefits that comes with this account like over draft up to £300 and World wide travel insurance all this for just £12 and if I would have taken them seperately I am sure it would have cost me more than this.
hari
Grate bank
07:58 08-05-2017
via Smart Money People
I love my Halifax account all the benefits I need from a current account plus more for 15 pounds a month but I only pay 12 pounds because I get a three pound reward every month plus worldwide travel insurance plus mobile phone insurance plus a brake down cover and home emergency cover. Plus you get a three hundred pounds interest free overdraft and the staff are really friendly
Anonymous
Poor unhelpful unresolved complaints handling and resolution. Broken Online Annual and Quarterly Statements. Unreliable Mobile Phone Insurance.
11:36 02-05-2017
via Smart Money People
I was until recently with Halifax for ten years. My arm was forced to switch from them recently due to their very painful unhelpful and time wasting complaints handling and resolution. To be as concise as I can, ten months ago their online quarterly and annual statements feature in online banking stopped working. As a result of being encouraged by them to become totally paperless, this hindered me from working out my finances correctly. E.g working out whether my overdraft facility was value for money. Those familiar with the Ultimate Reward Account will know how that works and with all the changes to the terms and conditions of that and the account features in general of which there have been many in recent years would give you a reward too I feel. Anyway, in October I also had a problem adding a new phone I bought to my Mobile Phone Insurance, dealt with by a third party company called Lifestyle Services via Halifax's Online Banking. By Christmas, I had made five calls to the company to get the details of my new phone added correctly. On one occasion the rep. deliberately changed the last digit on my IEMI number after the call to invalidate my policy. Why?! Just an example of the trouble I had with them. And the reason I had to keep calling them was because they were no longer updating the phone selection list online and were intending to remove that facility forcing you to call them up. What a nightmare when you did! You're not even allowed to request the same colour of phone any more. "You get what you're given!" I ended up calling Halifax in January about all the issues I had been having. Each of the three times I called up I was passed pillar to post for up to three hours on the phone getting no-where. I got the impression they were on target not to escalate complaints to customer relations and refusing to log complaints or take feedback. It was a nightmare. In the end after six months and multiple phone calls I got my complaint, one of them at least, escalated and it was like getting blood out of a stone for them to take feedback about the third party mobile phone insurance company Lifestyle Services they use. They were refusing to take ownership of it. During all this, last month, I had to go into my local branch to close an ISA. I waited ages for someone to appear that I had to go to the cashier and ask if I could do it with them. I was the only person in the branch at the time. They said they could. Then I explained the reason why I had to close it and they said they couldn't give me advice on such things. I wasn't asking for advice! I was giving my explanation as per procedure as to why I had to close the account. They just looked blank at me not knowing what I was talking about. It then boiled down to broken promises of getting the Online Banking System problems sorted out with the customer relations rep over the phone which weren't resolved up to the day I switched. I'd sent them clear screenshots of the issues I was having. They were admitting initially there wasn't a problem, to it was an ongoing problem they were aware of, to there wasn't a problem. The Customer Relations Rep was arguing black is white with me saying I didn't need access to my own account information to make an informed decision about whether any of the account benefits were value for money for me. Imparticularly the overdraft which as anyone with this account knows you currently pay an extra £3 per month if you use it by a penny even for one day. And that's just up to the initial 'free first £300.' It's an extra £1 per day on formal overdrafts above that. They argued that I never used my overdraft so it didn't matter. That was a complete lie! I did occasionally. When I was last called by the rep I asked her not to call me again and she said she would be closing the complaint then. I don't think she had the legal right to do that under FCA rules but I had already made my decision that she had forced my hand to switch banks. Do you want to pay £12/£15 per month for service like this?!
Jim Gilroy
Great account
16:45 20-04-2017
via Smart Money People
Easy to use app, local branches very helpful
Tim Talbot
All in all, a decent product
23:00 09-02-2017
via Smart Money People
Gives a wide range of benefits however they have put the monthly price up that you pay for these benefits
Craig Dickinson
Fantastic account with great benefits
20:09 03-02-2017
via Smart Money People
The ultimate reward account offers great benefits such as travel insurance, mobile phone insurance and AA breakdown cover, Halifax are friendly and helpful over the phone and offer fantastic customer service.
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Our review of Halifax | Ultimate Reward Account
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The Ultimate Reward Current Account from Halifax does come with a variety of benefits. Breakdown cover is provided by the AA, and you are covered as both a driver or passenger in any eligible vehicle if you breakdown both at home or on the road. The worldwide family insurance also provides cover for winter sports and golf trips, pre-booked UK accommodation for two nights or more and personal money up to £750. The monthly fee for the account is quite steep at £15 per month, but it does decrease if you stay within credit, pay at least £750 into your account monthly and have at least two Direct Debits set up from the account.
Accessing the Halifax Ultimate Reward Current Account is simple and can be done by either logging in online or using the dedicated mobile app. If you have an iPhone you can link the app with your phone security and access it simply with your thumb or finger print, rather than having to log in with passwords and memorable information. You can also use both of these methods to set up payments, transfer money to friends or other accounts, check your balance and transactions and even request a higher overdraft.
Halifax have received a disappointing rating of ‘bad’ on TrustPilot. This isn’t just for their Ultimate Reward Current Account as there are no specific reviews online, but instead is for the bank’s total product and service offering. Although there are often two sides to every story, negative reviews mention poor organisation, disheartening overdraft charges and cards being blocked seemingly for no reason.
Overall verdict: Despite poor online reviews Halifax are one of the most well-known banks and their Ultimate Reward Current Account although pricey, does offer some benefits that customers may find appealing. It’s worth considering using this as your main account if you do decide to go with Halifax, as then you can make sure you meet the criteria for a lower monthly fee.
Highlights
- £100 when you switch to Halifax
- Family travel insurance
- Mobile phone insurance
- AA Breakdown cover
- Home emergency cover
- Earn cashback
- Manage the account with online, mobile and telephone banking
Minimum criteria
- You must be aged 18 or over
- You need to be a UK resident
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Find out moreAbout Halifax | Ultimate Reward Account
The Halifax Ultimate Reward Account has a monthly fee of £15, however, if you have paid in at least £750 and paid out two Direct Debits from the account and haven’t dipped into your overdraft in the previous calendar month, then this will decrease to £10. By paying this monthly fee, customers can benefit from worldwide family travel insurance, mobile phone insurance, AA breakdown cover and home emergency cover. Customers will also receive £100 when switching to the Halifax Ultimate Reward Account which will be deposited into the account before the end of the seven days that it takes to switch.
Customers may be granted an overdraft when opening their Halifax Ultimate Reward Account, although this exact balance will depend on your personal circumstances and financial history, so it isn’t standard practice for all customers. You can apply for more once you have used the account and proven that you can stay within your means or are earning enough to pay it back. There is an overdraft buffer, and the first £50 doesn’t incur a fee, but if you go further into your planned overdraft then you can pay between £1 and £3 each day depending on your overdraft balance – for unplanned overdrafts there is a daily charge of £5.
Customers can access their account to set up standing orders, view their balance, make payments or apply for overdrafts using the Halifax mobile app or by logging in via the website.