Is it worth adding the fee-paying extra to your Barclays current account?
Barclays customers generally get a poor deal for bonuses and freebies, and the Blue Rewards scheme has been pretty poor compared to other banks.
Since 2022 the bank has offered a 5.12% AER rate on savings for account holders, and now added free Apple TV+ – but it’s taking away the cash reward. I’ve taken a look at whether it’s worth signing up.
What are Barclays Blue Rewards?
Barclays Blue Rewards is an add-on you can choose to put on your Barclays current account. You’ll need to pay a monthly fee, which is currently £5 a month. This makes it one of the most expensive add-ons for current accounts.
Since launch it’s offered a monthly reward if you meet some basic criteria and pay a monthly fee, with extra money back on specific Barclays products (mortgages, home insurance and loans). However this will end in September 2024.
Other benefits, which we’ll go into more detail on, include an exclusive savings account and free Apple TV+ streaming.
Barclays Blue Rewards requirements
First, you have to have a Barclays current account. You can’t get Blue Rewards if you already have Barclays Avios Rewards, though you can change over.
Barclays Premier current account holders can no longer add this to their account, though they’ll get the Rainy Day Saver and Apple TV+.
To get the rewards you need to:
- Deposit £800 into the current account every month
- Pay £5 a month fee
- Register for online banking or app banking (app only for new customers from 4 September 2024)
- Be over 18 years old
It’s worth noting that the £800 doesn’t need to stay in the account, so you can withdraw it to a different current or savings account (or spend it), straight away.
Until the monthly cash reward disappears in September, you also need to have two Direct Debits leave the account each month. I’ve written here about some easy and fast ones you can set up if you’re short of these, though I’ve always put some ongoing charity donations on my account.
What you get
Rainy Day Saver: 5.12% on up to £5,000
This Rainy Day Saver offers an exclusive rate of 5% gross / 5.12% AER for Blue Rewards members. Though you can hold up to £10 million there, you’ll only earn the rate on the first £5,000.
At the time of writing, this makes it a decent paying place to keep your cash, though it can be beaten. Here are some examples of what you’d make over a year:
- Save £500 for 12 months to earn £25.60
- Save £1,000 for 12 months to earn £51.20
- Save £2,500 for 12 months to earn £128
- Save £5,000 for 12 months to earn £250
It’s fully easy access, so you can take out and deposit the money as and when you want. There’s only one account per person, whether that’s in sole or joint names.
To find and open the account in the app, go to the Products tab at the bottom of the screen, click savings, then “see all accounts”. You’ll then see the Rainy Day Saver account to open. You can also open it online, over the phone or in branch.
Interest from savings is paid straight into the savings account, so if you have the full £5,000 saved you’ll want to withdraw the extra on top each month and move it to a better paying account.
Note this is different from the Blue Rewards Saver which pays far less.
Monthly rewards: £5 or more (ends September 2024)
From September 2024, all these payments will end completely. It means you’ll no longer automatically have the £5 monthly fee cancelled out. All the details can be found here.
The main earner used to be the Reward payment. When it launched in 2015 you got £7 back for a £3 fee, worth £48 a year. Then in 2019 the fee increased to £4, leaving an annual profit of £36. And since March 2022 you’ve got a £5 reward.
In addition, you can get extra payments if you have certain Barclays products such as a mortgage or loan.
If you meet all the requirements, the £5 bonus cash and any mortgage or other cashback is not paid directly into your current account. Instead it goes into a digital Rewards Wallet. To access this money you need to transfer it out of your Rewards wallet. You do this via your online or app banking.
Apple TV+ & MLS season pass
A new offer from June 2024 is free Apple TV+, worth £8.99 a month. This alone is worth £107.88 a year, so even with the £60 annual fee you’re in profit.
However, there are regular free passes for Apple TV+, even for previous customers. I’ve had 25 months free in the last 41 months, and have never paid a penny! And even if you’re happy to pay full price for it, there’s really not enough content on there to justify a whole year.
You can also add on Apple’s Major League Soccer (MLS) season pass for free, which if you would pay for normally could represent a decent saving as it costs £99 for a year.
1% cashback
From September to November 2024 there will be 1% cashback on spending with your Barclays debit card. We don’t have any details yet on whether it’ll be capped each month.
It’s a decent offering but since it’s only temporary and can be matched or beaten elsewhere it’s not a reason to sign up for or stick with Blue Rewards.
Exclusive offers
From time to time there are other offers and competitions. The main one to check is up to 15% cashback at selected brands via the Barclays Cashback Rewards feature – though you can also get this for free via a Barclaycard.
Editor’s pick: 4.9% savings
Easy access ISA from Trading 212 paying 4.9%
Are Barclays Blue Rewards worth it?
Andy’s Analysis
Blue Rewards have always been the poor cousin to better schemes from Halifax and Lloyds, and even Natwest/RBS.
The changes in 2024 put not just Blue Rewards, but also Barclays, right at the bottom of the pile. When you look at everything you get, you need to decide if £60 a year is worth it.
I think not.
Yes the 5% savings account could be worth up to £250 a year, but you can get similar or better rates elsewhere, especially when you factor in that monthly fee, which brings the effective interest rate down to 3.8% if you save the full £5,000.
I also don’t think signing up for the Apple TV+ perk is worth it. You’ll save money versus full price, but could pay less by deal hunting and only signing up for the streamer in the months there’s something you want to watch.
How to sign up for Barclays Blue Rewards
First, you need to have a Barclays current account. Once you’ve got this, you need to sign up for Blue Rewards, which you can do from your online banking or the app.
From September 2024 you’ll only be able to sign up via the Barclays app.
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How to cancel Barclays Blue Rewards
If you decide you don’t want to continue with Blue Rewards you can easily cancel it in your online or app banking. I did in on the app in just a few seconds.
- Open up your app and choose Blue Rewards from the home screen
- Scroll down to the bottom of the screen
- Select “Leave Barclays Blue Rewards”
- Tick the box at the bottom of the screen
- Press the “Confirm” button
Any money you have left or pending in the Blue Rewards wallet will be moved to your current account. If you wish to rejoin you’ll have to wait at least two days.
Alternatives to Blue Rewards
Barclays isn’t the only bank to offer extras, and many have benefits without having to save any money. You could choose to switch your account to a different bank (and maybe nab a switching bonus) or you can simply open up extra current accounts.
I’ve gone into detail on the best reward current accounts here, though here are my picks and links to reviews with further details:
- Halifax Reward Account – £5 a month or 12 cinema tickets
- Club Lloyds Account – 6 cinema tickets or Disney+ with Ads
- Natwest Rewards – £3 a month after fee
May I ask, paying in 5k, what interest did they give you ?
Hi, very useful information. Just joined and wondering the £800 that need to go into the account every month, can it come from another bank account in my name ie hsbc, nationwide etc?
Thanks for any help on the matter.
I’m surprised at the number of comments from people experiencing issues with opening the Rainy Day account – I already had Blue Rewards, as part of my Barclays account, and a few clicks later I’d opened the Rainy Day account, deposited £5000, which appear instantly, and the first monthly sum of interest appearing at end of the first month.
As it pays a tiny amount of interest on any sum over £5000, I sweep the interest out of the account on the 1st of each month.
Best interest rate ever !!
May I ask, paying in 5k, what interest did they give you ?
Once you’ve opened the rainy day saver account, do you need to keep the blue rewards open? Or can you close that down and still keep getting the interest rate on the rainy day?
anyone know cut-off times for payments in?
just transferred £1400 into rainy day save (10pm) and it’s dated tomorrow (£0.00 available balance)
Thanks for an excellent article Andy. I was tempted. You mention Barclay’s poor ethics record, so I went and read about it here — https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/money-finance/whats-wrong-hsbc-barclays — and decided it wasn’t for me.
On Blue rewards, do you receive cash back on purchases not related to Barclays products?
Sadly not
Can you please tell me ,when I pay £800,in my blue reward account,by standing order,how many days ,I have got to keep in the account,for me to get, the 5.12% interest in my,rainy day account,?.
Is it worth waiting to see if Barclays launce a switch incentive?
Possibly… I was surprised this interest rate wasn’t dependent on switching
I have cancelled my blue reward on line but noticed they are still taking £5. Fee out every month..I have retried cancellation but there is no option available…
I would mention that Blue Rewards Savings Account now pays 0.40% not 0.15% as mentioned in Previous post
If you leave your rewards in your reward wallet will they pay you interest, like you get with a savings account?
Nope! Sadly it just sits there so you need to transfer it out.
Just tried to join Barclays. I saw there was mention of CASS on the application page which seems to be a bit indirectly located (https://www.barclays.co.uk/current-accounts/bank-account/) – went with “Apply with Blue Rewards”, followed all the way through to successful completion, seeing the option to switch accounts at the end, only to discover it starts up a whole new current account application all over again. On contacting their help I’m told I have to go to a physical branch to complete the switching application. Complete mess and waste of time.
That’s a nightmare. If they want new customers they should make it easier to join, not harder!
Indeed! And I can’t even cancel the application without visiting the branch, which means they could charge their £3 fee in any case, hardly convenient for rural customers. Never had this when opening and switching with other banks.
If you sign up to Barclays Blue Rewards before 29th June 2018 the usual £7 per month reward for paying in £800 per month and having 2 direct debits is doubled to £14 per month for first 12 months. Against the monthly fee of £3, this gives a profit of £11 per month….£132 over the 12 month period. After that it would reduce to £7 monthly rewards against the £3 fee: still a profit of £4 per month.
Its worth mentioning Barclays offer cashback, and an impressive 10% from Currys and Argos, so if you are splashing out on a say a big tech purchase, its worth it. If you are with Blue, it goes up to 11% (whoopee).