Santander vs Barclays

[AJB88]

Hi All,

Been with Barclays since I was little.

I currently have a current account with them that has some ad-dons that I pay for monthly such as tech pack and travel pack (I use both).

I see Santander offer cash back on their accounts but don't appear to offer the extras such as tech pack and travel pack, can these sort of things be added to 1-2-3 accounts?

I fancy Santander so I can add it to Android Pay etc as Barclays seem to be behind in the tech department.

[Craikeybaby]

I closed my Santander 123 account as the fee went up and the interest went down. I wasn't overly impressed by their customer service either.

[ZOLLAR]

AJB88 said:

Hi All,

Been with Barclays since I was little.

I currently have a current account with them that has some ad-dons that I pay for monthly such as tech pack and travel pack (I use both).

I see Santander offer cash back on their accounts but don't appear to offer the extras such as tech pack and travel pack, can these sort of things be added to 1-2-3 accounts?

I fancy Santander so I can add it to Android Pay etc as Barclays seem to be behind in the tech department.

I'm with Barclays and have been for close to 10 years, I dropped the tech pack a month or two ago as they changed what it covered and didn't suit me.
I've signed up to blue rewards and it's the only payment I make for the account, I pay £3 and they pay me £7 (they put it into a separate section where it builds up, you can move the money as you please in the app)
It comes with other benefits but I can't really recall what, I just do it for the money I get back.

The Barclay app I find is very easy to use and every time I've had to ring them they've been really helpful, I've never been with Santander but my father is (They purchased or took over a bank that he was with about 15 years ago so just stayed with them) and he seems happy with them.
Either way you'll probably get a decent service, if you do go Santander can you post back about their APP? I consider the usability of companies APP quite important these days.

[AJB88]

Yeh I use bluerewards as well, looking I don't think Santander offer any packs unless your in their Select programme.

[Craikeybaby]

I thought the Santander App was OK, it seemed easier to use than First Direct's, but not as good as NatWest's.

[Ozzie Osmond]

In my experience,

• Barclays pay lousy interest but they are at least capable of running a bank with something resembling "customer service",
• Santander offer interest on current accounts but couldn't organise their way out of a paper bag....

[audidoody]

I'm with both (to keep business and personal money separate)

Santander all the way.

[Classy6]

I tend to flick about a lot between banks now, more so mainly our joint account what with all the offers on etc and the switching service is superb so I've got no issues moving for a deal.

Personally I used to be a long term Barclays customer, left to go to Santander mainly because of the cashback & interest. If you've got up to 20K sat around it's still the best interest rate (since last time I checked) to have your money in. Santander also have a lot of cashback offers on at various retailers, things like 1-20% off pubs, big retailers, hotels etc etc etc. I'm managing a few quid back a month off these in just general spending on beer and food, nothing massive but better than a kick in the teeth! Coupled with cashback on bills you can usually wipe out the fee (£5) per month and make a few quid on top.

The other reason I left Barclays is because my local branch just turned into a load of machines! They had about 2 members of staff in there with an ridiculous que (that's now become standard!) and the rest machines?! I feel this was a completely pointless move on Barclays behalf, with the exception of cashing cheques, depositing & withdrawing cash - 90% of the stuff you can do on the "in bank" machines you can do at home or via the app. Other banks have done the same, but fortunately kept the staff.

When I go into the Bank it's usually to speak to someone about something I can't do online so it's quite frustrating having to que a stupid amount of time because there are no staff left.

Regarding the apps Barclays I remember was very good, nice layout / usability, also had Pingit (mobile to mobile payments) which I started using a lot. There web/online accounts are also very good, lots of info on categorising spending, budgets etc etc. Santander's app is alright, does everything I need it to do and I have no issues with it. Don't really use the budgeting stuff etc myself and Santander may even do it themselves.

[GTIAlex]

Joined Santander this year for the 123 account but currently deciding what to change to as the interest has gone donw and the fee has gone up.

The app is OK and I find the payment system clunky and dont like the way the online statements are laid out.

[kiethton]

Try nationwide?

£10pm gives me tech, travel insurance, breakdown etc and a decent (for a CA) interest rate

[Craikeybaby]

kiethton said:

Try nationwide?

£10pm gives me tech, travel insurance, breakdown etc and a decent (for a CA) interest rate

They also do a £100 each offer if you refer someone.

[kiethton]

Craikeybaby said:

kiethton said:

Try nationwide?

£10pm gives me tech, travel insurance, breakdown etc and a decent (for a CA) interest rate

They also do a £100 each offer if you refer someone.

Didn't actually know that - happy to try and get us both £100 if you do it

[pmanson]

Craikeybaby said:

kiethton said:

Try nationwide?

£10pm gives me tech, travel insurance, breakdown etc and a decent (for a CA) interest rate

They also do a £100 each offer if you refer someone.

Yep. Even though I bank with them and we have our joint account with them (+ savings and mortgages) I was still able to refer my wife for her own account

[BigLion]

AJB88 said:

Hi All,

Been with Barclays since I was little.

I currently have a current account with them that has some ad-dons that I pay for monthly such as tech pack and travel pack (I use both).

I see Santander offer cash back on their accounts but don't appear to offer the extras such as tech pack and travel pack, can these sort of things be added to 1-2-3 accounts?

I fancy Santander so I can add it to Android Pay etc as Barclays seem to be behind in the tech department.

Barclays has started offering Android Pay - log into mobile banking and you can get it from there.

[The_Doc]

Ozzie Osmond said:

In my experience,

• Barclays pay lousy interest but they are at least capable of running a bank with something resembling "customer service",
• Santander offer interest on current accounts but couldn't organise their way out of a paper bag....

Santander 123 was the best 100% safe financial product of the last few years.

£2/month fee for 3% gross interest on up to £20,000 AND money back on bills.

That beat all ISAs and all current accounts.

But,,,,,, now they've got everybody's business, they're tightening the screw.

£5/month for 1.5% interest.

the million dollar questions is where to flee to now? First Direct, LLoyds ??

I don;t think anyone will do a better rate than the S123. Santander drops, the other follow

I was very happy with S123, but I did have Santander Select, which needs about £4,500 input each month. Fantastic service from UK based staff, who used each call to gently try and sell me something else. ("sorry Santander Select Telephone Person, I'm just going back into the operating theatre, do you want to hold?")

Edited by The_Doc on Sunday 18th September 12:59

[anonymous-user]

The_Doc said:

Ozzie Osmond said:

In my experience,

• Barclays pay lousy interest but they are at least capable of running a bank with something resembling "customer service",
• Santander offer interest on current accounts but couldn't organise their way out of a paper bag....

Santander 123 was the best 100% safe financial product of the last few years.

£2/month fee for 3% gross interest on up to £20,000 AND money back on bills.

That beat all ISAs and all current accounts.

But,,,,,, now they've got everybody's business, they're tightening the screw.

£5/month for 1.5% interest.

the million dollar questions is where to flee to now? First Direct, LLoyds ??

I don;t think anyone will do a better rate than the S123. Santander drops, the other follow

I was very happy with S123, but I did have Santander Select, which needs about £4,500 input each month. Fantastic service from UK based staff, who used each call to gently try and sell me something else. ("sorry Santander Select Telephone Person, I'm just going back into the operating theatre, do you want to hold?")

Edited by The_Doc on Sunday 18th September 12:59

totally agree, if you have £20k in there you get £50 a month interest which cannot be beaten. Then they put the monthly fee up to £5, and come November 1st will be paying 1.5% instead of 3%. Take off the £5 charge and they are paying the equivalent of 1.2%. Sad fact is, you would still struggle to do better unless you are happy to put the money in a notice account.

[oyster]

OP, why not have Santander AND Barclays?

I have 11 current accounts on the go right now.

[AJB88]

BigLion said:

Barclays has started offering Android Pay - log into mobile banking and you can get it from there.

Not really because you still have to open the barclays app.

I just want to walk upto a store, tap phone walk away. not have to faf around opening barclays.

[BigLion]

AJB88 said:

BigLion said:

Barclays has started offering Android Pay - log into mobile banking and you can get it from there.

Not really because you still have to open the barclays app.

I just want to walk upto a store, tap phone walk away. not have to faf around opening barclays.

That sucks - do other providers let you just tap the phone without having to open the app?