My recent 50/50 move to the UK & DK has put me in the position of hunting for a UK bank account & credit card. With no UK Electoral Role or Utility Bills for the past decade this puts me in the no man's land of banking.
Amex ported my charge & credit cards to UK no problem, but FX on anything other than EUR goes via USD first.
HSBC Premier are happy to port my IOM account to the UK with Premier privileges - which as far as I can tell amounts to a different coloured card and the dubious privilege of sitting in a goldfish bowl. And ugg, HSBC.
Santander offered me a Basic account despite being a Private Banking Customer in ES.
Yorkshire bank also offered a basic account.
Nationwide have provided me with a FlexPlus account which when paired with their "Select" Visa card offers a nice combo of no charges on foreign ATM withdrawals on debit, and no charges on foreign Credit card purchases, albeit the Visa exchange rate is not as nice as Mastercard. - My preferred option. I don't want to trust Revolut with too much money just yet.
In all other countries that I have worked in I have either been given debit and credit cards no problem, with the occasional need to block a few grand to secure the credit card. This apparently is a no go in the UK.
My Nationwide branch manager is assuring me that with the volume I will be putting through my current account, their behaviourial scoring will soon indicate that I am eligible for an overdraft, which is their internal clue that I should then apply for a credit card. As to how soon, they are not clear.
Does anyone have any experience with this and is it worth waiting out a few months for Nationwide or shall I bite the bullet and opt for the HSBC porting? Are there other banks that I should consider?
Need for credit card is based on purchase protection, car rental & hotels, not to carry a balance.
I have asked my accountant and was not much help. HSBC or wait and see.
Oops, meant to post in Acc/Leg
Amex ported my charge & credit cards to UK no problem, but FX on anything other than EUR goes via USD first.
HSBC Premier are happy to port my IOM account to the UK with Premier privileges - which as far as I can tell amounts to a different coloured card and the dubious privilege of sitting in a goldfish bowl. And ugg, HSBC.
Santander offered me a Basic account despite being a Private Banking Customer in ES.
Yorkshire bank also offered a basic account.
Nationwide have provided me with a FlexPlus account which when paired with their "Select" Visa card offers a nice combo of no charges on foreign ATM withdrawals on debit, and no charges on foreign Credit card purchases, albeit the Visa exchange rate is not as nice as Mastercard. - My preferred option. I don't want to trust Revolut with too much money just yet.
In all other countries that I have worked in I have either been given debit and credit cards no problem, with the occasional need to block a few grand to secure the credit card. This apparently is a no go in the UK.
My Nationwide branch manager is assuring me that with the volume I will be putting through my current account, their behaviourial scoring will soon indicate that I am eligible for an overdraft, which is their internal clue that I should then apply for a credit card. As to how soon, they are not clear.
Does anyone have any experience with this and is it worth waiting out a few months for Nationwide or shall I bite the bullet and opt for the HSBC porting? Are there other banks that I should consider?
Need for credit card is based on purchase protection, car rental & hotels, not to carry a balance.
I have asked my accountant and was not much help. HSBC or wait and see.
Oops, meant to post in Acc/Leg
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