Rich folks dont have to wait on line at local bank? (mortgage, credit card)

[jamie1219]

Apparently at HSBC in patchogue there is a separate line that premium bank customers can go on instead of waiting on line like regular customers. To be a premium bank customer I was told that you have to have over $100,000 in your savings account. Is this a fair policy? Is it just me or is this ridiculous?!

[hotkarl]

whaaaaaaaaaaaaat?

[Peter B]

Awesome! Wish my bank had that feature.

[hotkarl]

Uh oh...sounds like economic profiling to me...

[TeamExit]

oh well... i guess its sorta a VIP thing. like when u pay for VIP at a club (or just happen to actually be a real VIP), or pay for the VIP pass at six flags great adventure to skip the regular lines

[AlexisT]

HSBC Premier. It's a worldwide thing (I've banked with HSBC in two countries and know their drill). The separate line isn't the big feature (in the UK there are actually Premier-only branches, and HSBC got some flak when they closed a couple of regular branches in favor of being Premier-only). Some of the features are neat, especially if you do international banking or relocate (your credit doesn't transfer between countries, for example, so HSBC Premier will get you a credit card and mortgage in your new country, plus have all your banking ready for you before you arrive). It's not entirely free, either; you pay Premier fees.

The only novel thing about it is that it's a high street/mainstream bank and they're offering it to relatively low-value customers. Private banking has existed for the really wealthy for hundreds of years.

[Alex Libman]

You get what you pay for - how could this possibly be "unfair"?

[totallyfrazzled]

Originally Posted by jamie1219

Apparently at HSBC in patchogue there is a separate line that premium bank customers can go on instead of waiting on line like regular customers. To be a premium bank customer I was told that you have to have over $100,000 in your savings account. Is this a fair policy? Is it just me or is this ridiculous?!

Chase Bank had the same thing for at least a few years but discontinued it about a year or so ago.

Not sure why they discontinued the special line for Chase Select customers, perhaps there were complaints but IMO it's more likely that they decided it wasn't cost-effective to have a separate teller just for that.

Nowadays their top tier is called Premier Platinum. No special tellers but there are other perks such as no-fees for pretty much anything, free safe deposit box, yadda yadda, plus you get a quarter-percent off whatever the interest rates otherwise are for mortgages and home equity loans.

As for the 'fair/unfair' aspect, I don't think it's unfair to give perks to high-volume customers (or in the case of banks, high-level depositors). After all, many businesses give volume discounts, so why shouldn't a bank do the same kind of thing?

[newtoli]

You do more business with them, you get more perks.

I have "elite" status with a certain hotel I do a lot of business with, I get a special line and a bunch of extra stuff.

Just like when you have elite status with an airline, you get to board first.

[iGlenn]

Originally Posted by jamie1219

Apparently at HSBC in patchogue there is a separate line that premium bank customers can go on instead of waiting on line like regular customers. To be a premium bank customer I was told that you have to have over $100,000 in your savings account. Is this a fair policy? Is it just me or is this ridiculous?!

Since when does having over $100,000 make one rich?

I see nothing wrong with this practice. The more profitable customers get special treatment. Nothing new with that. Your free to switch banks if you feel you're not receiving adequate service.