| Requirements | Charge of £4 per month Pay in £800 per month |
| Interest rate | Zero (see rewards) |
| Benefit: | Blue rewards: £7 cash rewards per month for up to two Direct Debits (£3.50 each) Additional cash rewards if you have a Barclays mortgage, loan, life insurance or home insurance |
I switched to a Barclays Blue Rewards current account after a year-long project of switching bank accounts to bag their new customer incentives (I earned about £800 from this).
The Barclays account was the last one I switched to because it offered the lowest immediate cash incentive, however over the long term, it would be the most profitable. This was because of the Blue Rewards. Although the account would cost me £4 per month, I would have two Direct Debits coming out of it each month, which would earn £7. That’s a £3 profit. In addition, my mortgage is with Barclays, which gave me an additional Blue Reward of £5 per month. This would be a NET of £8 per month or £96 per year.
When I first opened the account, the banking app was a bit crap but now it has improved somewhat. Originally, when I switched between apps on my phone it would log me out. I’m glad to say this has now been fixed. It’s a bit of a pain to login on my laptop because I have to put my details in, then login on my phone app to get a code that I type into my laptop. Obviously, it is for security reasons, but I don’t have to do this with my Lloyds account.
I use my Barclays account as my business account to keep my business finances separate from my personal finances.
Verdict
The Barclays Blue Rewards Current Account is a decent account, especially if you have other products with Barclays. It doesn’t pay any interest and has a monthly fee but does pay cash rewards every month. These can be earned by setting up two Direct Debits and having other products such as a Barclays mortgage or life insurance. With just two Direct Debits, you can earn £3 per month after the fee, which will beat most interest rates on current accounts (dependent on balance) but there are other current accounts available with incentives that may be more valuable depending on circumstances.
| Good points | Not-so-good points |
| Barclays Blue Rewards | Monthly charge (£4) |
| Decent customer support | Banking app a bit rubbish |