Not exactly the most exciting PSA, but thought some might find it useful.

I’m just about to upgrade my Nationwide account to a FlexPlus. Never really considered paying for a bank account before (particularly since I only use this account for travel)…but was in the branch the other day for something else and spotted this, seems really really good value.

For £10 a month….

UK and European breakdown cover (including onward travel and hire car etc)
Worldwide mobile phone insurance for whole family
Worldwide travel insurance for whole family (including winter sports)
Extended 12 month warranty on many purchases (laptops, white goods etc). You’re still covered if you bought them before you took out the account!
Few extras like commission free withdrawals abroad etc.

Thought this might be useful if, like me, you seem to spend a load on individual policies. I’ve had a read through the various t&cs and they are not off market, I’d even go as far to say that they’re quite favourable.

I’ve banked with Nationwide for years now (not as my main account mind you) and have found them to be a pretty good bank to deal with overall.

Their standard (free) current account includes travel insurance (not winter sports, but I paid £25 for travel insurance to cover that for two of us), phones are likely covered on home insurance – stand alone policies are a con, and basic AA membership is £28.

You’re right, if you’re someone who genuinely exploits all of those benefits it can be good, but it’s £120 a year for benefits worth less to many.

Aye, it’s only worth £120 to you if you’d get the use out of the polices.

Basic AA doesn’t provide onward travel or accomodation or a hire car etc. My home insurance for mobile phones is quite limited. And our annual, worldwide, winter sports included policy is more than £120 a year alone (which is what got me thinking about this, since it’s due for renewal while I’m away next week).

Just to add…

I topped up the cover offered to regular account holders to cover me biking abroad, at a cost of £40 for the year.

After a helicopter ride off a mountain, 5 days in Albertville Hospital, re-arranged flight home (with bike) and a taxi from Gatwick to Exeter, i can safely say they were very easy to deal with, covered all travel angles and paid out on the claim i made once home without issue.

Renewed the cover the year after and it was still only £40 even after all that.

Breakdown cover looks good but doesn’t cover any parts required.

It’s not for me I don’t think.

UK and European breakdown cover (including onward travel and hire car etc)

Company car, so irrelevant.

Worldwide mobile phone insurance for whole family

Covered by the house insurance.

Worldwide travel insurance for whole family (including winter sports)

Handy, but can be had for a lot less than £100 / year.

Extended 12 month warranty on many purchases (laptops, white goods etc). You’re still covered if you bought them before you took out the account!

EU warranty is two years on electrical goods, so unless it’s an extended 12 month warranty on top of that (so three years in total) it’s worthless. Plus, the SoGA can cover you for six years in some cases.

Few extras like commission free withdrawals abroad etc.

Could be handy in an emergency I guess, but I use a FairFX card these days.

I don’t know if it’s still available but flex plus got us a much better mortgage rate too. Well worth having.

I topped up the cover offered to regular account holders to cover me biking abroad, at a cost of £40 for the year.

How did you do this Burchy? Is it the Hazardous Activities upgrade? Must admit I’ve not really read through the travel cover letters they’ve sent me very carefully.

EU warranty is two years on electrical goods, so unless it’s an extended 12 month warranty on top of that (so three years in total) it’s worthless. Plus, the SoGA can cover you for six years in some cases.

You’re misinterpreting 1999/44/EC.

How so?

They have an app to use now that gives you cash off shops ect.

How did you do this Burchy? Is it the Hazardous Activities upgrade? Must admit I’ve not really read through the travel cover letters they’ve sent me very carefully.

Yep, thats it. The number to ring is in the T&C’s booklet/letter I think.

Cheers. Found it in the FAQs online.

Looks like you also have to send a form back to them to actually activate the cover. I should probably do that 🙂

How so?

1999/44/EC requires member states to provide for a minimum limitation period of 2 years. A limitation period isn’t a guarantee or warranty. It’s a time bar on a right to redress. SOGA provides limitation period of 6 years, so 1999/44/EC requirements have been more than satisfied in that respect.

To be fair, if something breaks after 18 months and you want your money back/repair/replacement, just repeatedly emailing the company with whatever rights you feel you have (whether its under EU directive or national law) is generally sufficient. Many reputable companies pay out to maintain brand reputation/customer base, rather than because they may be legally required to anyway.

But…and it’s a big but…if they tell you to bugger off, it’s not exactly a walk in the park from that point to getting your money back.

Claiming on a warranty is generally much, much easier.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think extended warranties hold a particularly high value in most cases, but when you get them for free/cheap (ie John Lewis, FlexPlus) it’s a welcome bonus.

We’ve got it as a joint account (£10 for both of us) and I think its good value. The rate of interest isn’t too bad either, so it costs us less than £10 a month. Over a year it’ll cost us about £80 to 85.

What willyboy said – get it as a joint account for his and hers cover. Also ISTR the account doesn’t have to be ‘used’, just paid for so make sure it has enough in it to cover the fee. I only use mine when its holiday time and I load it up for fee free withdrawals. Annual worldwide family is what did it for us – everything else is a bonus.

2 trips driving in France and an anual family ski trip a year meant it was a no brainer for me. Had the flex plus account for a year or so now.

Like has been said though, only worth it if you use the benefits.