Martin Lewis' MSE warns Barclays customers to 'ditch' bank account

25 June 2024 , 09:03

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Barclays announced last week that it was axing its Blue Rewards £5 monthly payments (Image: Getty Images)

Martin Lewis' MoneySavingExpert.com (MSE) website has warned Brits to ditch their Barclays bank accounts after it announced a major overhaul.

Last week, the high street bank announced that it would scrap the monthly £5 cash payments customers could get as a Blue Reward member from September 4. And even though Barclays has added a few more extra perks to its loyalty plan, MSE says the changes would likely lead to an exodus of Barclays customers.

Blue Rewards is an optional add-on to a Barclays current account, To get it, you need to pay £800 or more into the current account each month, sign up for online/mobile banking and pay £5 monthly fee. MSE explained that you would be able to claim the £5 loyalty reward if you set up two direct debits with your Barclays current account plus the following:

• £5 for life insurance with critical illness
• £3 for a mortgage
• £1.50 for life insurance without critical illness
• £1 for a loan

Martin's MSE team said if you currently get the £5 reward, then you are technically you were getting the rewards for free as the rewards cancelled out the fee. Anything on top - such as the 5.12% interest on the Rainy Day Saver account - would be a "net gain". The MSE team said: "But this will no longer be the case from September 4 2024, as you'll still have to pay the fee but won't get a cash reward to cover it. So you'll be paying £60 a year for Blue Rewards – and this is unlikely to be worth it for most people."

From September, you will instead be offered 1% cashback on debit card spending up to £5 a month, although only until November 20. MSE noted that you would need to spend £500 a month to get the £5 monthly reward - and even you'd simply be breaking even with the £5 Blue Rewards fee..

Martin Lewis’ MSE website shares tip to get free £175 and 7% interest on savings

Alongside this, it has also introduced an Apple TV membership perk alongside a season pass (February to October) to Major League Soccer (MLS). The MSL is a "top flight" football league in the United States and Canada. MSE noted that with these changes Barclays customers would "effectively" be paying £5 a month for Apple TV+ and the MLS.

MSE says this could be worth it for some as Apple TV+ normally costs £8.99 a month, while the MLS season pass costs £14.99 although AppleTV+ customers can get it for £12.99. MSE says you can also get it for a little bit less if you prepay for the eighth-month season. This costs £99 for a non-appleTV+ at around £12.38. Overall, it could potentially be worth it for some, but for others, the MSE team said they would be better off "ditching" the account.

Ruby Flanagan