The added extras you can get with fee-charging packaged bank accounts
Which current accounts are worth paying a monthly fee for?
Some current accounts come with a monthly fee in exchange for added benefits. These are known as packaged accounts and around one in five UK adults have one.
The most common extras include travel insurance, car breakdown cover and mobile phone insurance, but providers also add other sweeteners.
Costs can range from £6 to £25 a month. So if you’re in the market for a packaged account you will want to make sure you’re getting value for money and making use of all the benefits.
Here’s a roundup of the current accounts that might be worth paying a fee for.
M&S Premium Current Account
First up is the M&S Premium Current Account.
It’s not your typical packaged account as it doesn’t focus on insurance policies and instead has more targeted benefits for M&S shoppers.
For £10 a month you can get M&S loyalty points that turn into M&S reward vouchers when you shop with your debit card at M&S, £40 a year in M&S vouchers, £45-worth of treats and delights vouchers, £127-worth of hot drink vouchers for the M&S Café, a birthday gift worth £10, access to exclusive M&S offers, a £100 interest-free overdraft, fee-free ATM transactions abroad and access to the M&S regular saver account paying 6%.
For £17.50 a month you can get worldwide multi-trip family travel insurance with winter sports added into the mix.
If you open either account you will get a £50 M&S gift card. You'll get another £50 M&S gift card plus 12 monthly vouchers for 20% off clothing and homeware when you switch your banking using the Current Account Switch Service.
Verdict: Not one for everybody, but certainly a generous account if you shop at M&S regularly.
Barclays Bank Account
With a Barclays Bank Account you can build a package to suit you by customising the account with ‘Packs’.
The Home Pack for example costs £6 a month and provides cover for your satellite and TV equipment, extended warranty on domestic appliances and a concierge service.
The Tech Pack costs £7.50 a month for UK mobile phone insurance and gadget cover.
The Travel Pack costs £8.50 a month and includes RAC breakdown cover in the UK, European family travel insurance and Card Secure protection.
Once you add a Pack to your Barclays Bank Account you will be eligible to apply for a £200 interest-free overdraft.
Other features you can add for free include a personalised debit card, mobile banking, text alerts and Barclays Pingit.
Verdict: An account you can make sure works for you with adaptable extras and a decent fee-free overdraft.
Nationwide Flexplus
Nationwide has one packaged account called FlexPlus, which costs £10 a month.
This will get you worldwide multi-trip family travel insurance including winter sports, worldwide mobile phone insurance, UK and European breakdown cover, extended warranty on household electrical goods and identity theft assistance.
Plus you also get 3% in-credit interest on balances up to £2,500, a three-month fee-free overdraft with a £100 fee-free limit after this period as well as free cash withdrawals abroad.
Verdict: Great value for money considering the extent of cover from the policies.
NatWest/RBS Select
NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland have three packaged accounts you can go for.
The NatWest/RBS Select Silver (£10 a month), NatWest/RBS Select Platinum (£16 a month) or the NatWest/RBS Select Black (£24 a month).
All three will get you cashback on debit card transactions with Cashback Plus and preferential rates on travel money.
With the NatWest/RBS Select Silver you get European multi-trip travel insurance with winter sports (for you and joint account holder), mobile phone insurance, identity theft assistance, a £10 interest-free overdraft buffer as well as three LOVEFILM DVD rentals a month and five HMV digital downloads a month.
With the NatWest/RBS Select Platinum you get worldwide multi-trip family travel insurance including winter sports, UK mobile phone insurance, UK car breakdown cover, a £100 interest free overdraft plus two family passes for National Trust days out and tastecard membership.
While the NatWest/RBS Select Black will get you worldwide travel insurance, mobile phone insurance, UK and European car breakdown cover, identity theft assistance, and a £500 interest-free overdraft as well as worldwide airport lounge access, travel services, a black ticket service, home emergency service, 24/7 concierge service and a private black card.
Verdict: Accounts offer more ways to save with extra sweeteners.
Halifax Ultimate Reward
The Halifax Ultimate Reward costs £15 a month normally, but if you pay in £750 a month, have two direct debits set up on the account and keep in-credit it will cost £10 a month.
For the fee you get worldwide multi-trip family travel insurance including winter sports, UK breakdown cover, worldwide mobile phone insurance, home emergency cover and card protection. You will also get a £50 interest-free overdraft buffer and preferential rates on travel money.
Plus if you switch to the account you will get a £100 welcome bonus.
Verdict: A good value account if you can fund it with £750 a month.
Clydesdale/Yorkshire Bank Signature Current Account
The Clydesdale and Yorkshire Signature Current Account costs £13.50 a month.
For the fee you get worldwide multi-trip family travel insurance with winter sports, worldwide mobile phone insurance, UK breakdown cover, worldwide gadget insurance, access to credit reports to protect your identity, My Signature Rewards which has discounts on leisure as well as preferential rates on savings account and overdrafts.
Verdict: Comprehensive cover and your tablet gets protection too.
HSBC Advance
HSBC Advance costs £12.50 a month.
For the fee you get worldwide multi-trip family travel insurance with winter sports, UK breakdown cover, identity theft assistance, fee-free ATM transactions abroad, emergency cash abroad, preferential rates on overdrafts, savings, loans and mortgages, a dedicated specialist on hand 24/7 and access to Advance Benefits for a range of discounts.
Verdict: Decent benefits for travellers, but you will have to sign up to a 12-month contract.
First Direct First Directory
The First Directory is available for £15 a month.
As well as the benefits of the free 1st Account like exclusive deals and a £250 interest-free overdraft you get worldwide multi-trip family travel insurance with winter sports, UK breakdown cover, UK mobile phone insurance, identity theft assistance, commission free travel money and fee-free ATM transactions abroad as well as leisure offers like savings on hotels and days out through Directory Benefits.
Verdict: Good value but you will have to sign up for a 12-month contract.
Post Office Packaged Account
The Post Office Packaged Account costs £8 a month.
With the account you’ll get European multi-trip family travel insurance, UK breakdown cover, identity theft protection which monitors your credit profile and 7.5% discount on holidays and travel with the Post Office Travel Booking Service.
Verdict: Good for the holiday savings but only available in 29 branches in East Anglia at the moment.
Lloyds Bank/Bank of Scotland/TSB
Lloyds Bank, TSB and Bank of Scotland offer the Silver (£9.95 a month), Gold (£12.95), Platinum (£17) or Premier (£25) as upgrades to existing Classic or Added Value customers.
All offer travel insurance, breakdown cover, mobile phone insurance, card protection and an interest-free overdraft. But they differ when it comes to the levels of protection on offer and the size of the interest-free overdraft (up to £500 with Premier). The Premier account also comes with home emergency cover.
Verdict: You’ll get the best benefits from the Premier upgrade but it will cost you £300 a year.
Santander 123 Current Account
The Santander 123 Current Account isn’t a traditional packaged account as it doesn’t come with any insurance policies.
But you can get up to 3% cashback on your household bills and up to 3% in-credit interest on balances up to £20,000.
You have to pay a monthly fee of £2, but the rewards quickly outweigh this charge.
Verdict: A super cheap fee-charging account that can end up paying you!
Should you get a packaged current account?
Packaged current accounts are certainly not for everybody. In fact, many people who have them are actually wasting their money as they are failing to make the most of the added extras.
Before signing up for one it's worth sitting down and working out which of the added perks you'd actually use, and how much it would cost you to get them separately. Only then can you work out whether the account is worth the fee you'll be paying each month.
More on current accounts:
How to switch your current account in 7 days
Current accounts: short-term gains vs. long-term value
Comments
Be the first to comment
Do you want to comment on this article? You need to be signed in for this feature