Danske Bank Prestige Account

[LeinsterNordie]

Hi folks, Im thinking of changing to the Danske Prestige Account and was looking for some feedback on it here. I would be looking at opening a joint account with my partner. The fee is €125 for the year however with the comprehensive travel insurance and Priority Pass I feel its worth the money as I would make use of both those things (and at the moment both myself and my partner are paying €49 a year for multitrip insurance!).

I have a couple of questions:

• How are Danske to deal with, slightly wary that they have no branches
• Is there a minimum income requirement or anything else I should know about to qualify for the account?
• Are the perks of travel insurance and Priority Pass worth it? Or are there catches that make them not as good as they seem
• Do you know which Priority Pass they give out? There are a few different levels and I dont think it would be worth it if I had to pay into the lounges

Thanks for the help!

 

[MrEarl]

Hello,

I am a customer for a few years now, have this current account package and I'm very happy with it.

So, to try and answer your questions:

.....

How are Danske to deal with, slightly wary that they have no branches

I never used branches of banks very often, so for me it's not a problem. Their internet banking is excellent, the have full services (cheque book, credit cards, debit card etc) and all work well ..... I've only had to use their phone service a couple of times and when I did, it was good. The odd time I need to lodge a cheque for example, I use their service through An Post and it works perfectly, so I'm very happy.

.....
Is there a minimum income requirement or anything else I should know about to qualify for the account?

No, simply open the account, the fee is deducted quarterly from your current account .... thereafter, it doesn't matter if you only have a cent in the account.

.....
Are the perks of travel insurance and Priority Pass worth it? Or are there catches that make them not as good as they seem

When I opened the account, I spent a little time comparing the T&Cs from VHIs Travel Insurance package (which I had been paying for) and the T&Cs from Danske's offering ... I was satisfied that the cover was adequate for my use and cancelled the other cover I had. To date, thankfully, I've not had to try and claim on it but I'd expect it will work fine if ever needed ....

The Priority Pass is very handy, if you travel a bit - free access to lounges worldwide and to date, I've always been able to sign a guest in for free along with myself.

.....
Do you know which Priority Pass they give out? There are a few different levels and I dont think it would be worth it if I had to pay into the lounges

It's this one: http://www.prioritypass.com/

 

[LeinsterNordie]

MrEarl thanks for taking the time to reply. Based on what you have said and also some other googling I have done I'm probably going to go with this account. I have 2 more questions that I hope you would be able to help me with:

On the Priority Pass website I don't see any card level that gets a guest in for free as well as the card holder. Do you know which one you have?

I am wondering about the MasterCard interest charges. I I have say 1000 on the card and I pay off 900 at the end of the month is interest charged on the 100 remaining on the card or on the original 1000? I signed up for a PTSB card a while back and it turns out the charge interest based on the balance on your statement unless you completely clear the card every month (which I think is insane, you are being charged interest on something you don't owe!)

 

[gunnerfitzy]

Hi,

I also have this account and I'm very happy with it. One or two points to note:

There is no minimum income level for opening a Prestige account that I am aware of however the Priority Pass card and travel insurance are tied to the MasterCard Platinum Credit Card that is applied for separately to current account. When I opened my account around a year ago I was told that it is bank policy that you must have your current account open for six months BEFORE being considered for any credit facility including credit cards. When I asked could this be waived I was told that a case could be made to head office which I requested . The credit card was approved shortly after the I opened the current account. There is no minimum credit limit on the Platinum Card but I imagine they will have some income / disposable income requirements. Just remember no MasterCard Platinum = no Priority Pass & travel insurance.

The Priority Pass card issued allows for unlimited complimentary visits by the card holder and one guest. There is no mention of that on the Priority Pass website. I think that it is a special feature for this particular credit card. Only one card can be issued per account. I was hoping to open a joint account and get two cards but unfortunately no. It is an excellent perk and was the main reason along with the travel insurance that I opened this account.

I can't advise you on the interest question you posed as I pay off any balance before interest payments kick in.

Edit: Like the OP I asked advice of the fine ladies and gents of AAM prior to switching. Some additional information in that thread http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=168456

 

[LeinsterNordie]

So, just an update. I rang up today and applied for the account. They took me through a relatively lengthy application process over the phone (35 minutes) where they took loads of information, even down to the nitty gritty of how much I spend on food per week. The credit people will be back in 2 to 3 days to confirm if I get the credit card. There was no mention of a 6 month waiting period.

And also just to confirm according to the guy on the phone the priority pass does get both the card holder and a guest into the lounges with no charges for either person.

Thanks everybody for the help and answering the questions

 

[MrEarl]

So, just an update. I rang up today and applied for the account. They took me through a relatively lengthy application process over the phone (35 minutes) where they took loads of information, even down to the nitty gritty of how much I spend on food per week. The credit people will be back in 2 to 3 days to confirm if I get the credit card. There was no mention of a 6 month waiting period.

And also just to confirm according to the guy on the phone the priority pass does get both the card holder and a guest into the lounges with no charges for either person.

Thanks everybody for the help and answering the questions

Hello,

Sorry I do not know the answer to your question about the interest charged on the credit card, as I also make a point of clearing my card every month. Perhaps there is something on their website to answer the question, or they can tell you if you ask them directly (would be good to learn the answer, so if you do find out can you please post the information here ?) ?

When I opened my Prestige Account, I already had a Homeloan with Danske (then NIB) so I was not told anything about having to wait six months, before applying for credit but perhaps that was because I was an existing customer ?

Their website seems to suggest that anyone who opens the current account, can have the Priority Pass from what I can see (would have thought that there would need to be a footnote on the website regarding this, if it was conditional on they providing you with the credit card):

[broken link removed]

Finally, you may be able to avail of a discounted homeloan - if you have this current account product (but obviously a lot depends on your current circumstances, to see if this would be of benefit to you or not).

 

[10one10]

What is Danske banks customer service like? with names like Prestige and Gold account I would expect them to go above and beyond your average service. Say for example I had a problem with a transaction and wanted to do a chargeback, how accommodating would they be?

Does anyone know what the difference between the Gold and Prestige account is? Is it just Priority Pass or do you get a better customer service with a Prestige account?

Thanks.

 

[Willy Fogg]

They're just different products, not different service levels. You deal with the same people irrespective of which product you have. That said, my experience of them was always reasonably good.

Re: chargebacks the rules are pretty much the same for all banks (as they're part of the underlying Visa/Mastercard schemes). The biggest variable is who you deal with in any organisation i.e. you could find someone not all that knowledgable in Danske as easily as you could in Avantcard, BOI etc)