I was quite annoyed when I discovered the watered down versions of financial products included as “benefits” in the Halifax’s fee paying premium current account, the Ultimate Reward Account. Now I’m sure that the Halifax is not the only bank doing this, but as I bank with them, I had a close look at their offering.  I’ve now had a think about how banks could improve such products for customers.

I’d like to see a pick and mix flexible approach, where you can select your own benefits from standard stand-alone financial products, instead of the hotchpotch of products with diluted benefits. The bank could set  a monetary limit on the benefits you could choose.

For example, I’d like to have the standard Halifax travel insurance policy which includes Travel Disruption Cover (missing from travel insurance offered with the premium account) and a standard home insurance policy with includes Home Emergency cover up to £500 (this limit is halved to £250 in their premium account).

So come on banks, give your customers a better deal, tailored to their needs on your premium current accounts, instead of this rag bag of bits and pieces.

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