Traditionally, packaged and premium current accounts have all offered a similar selection of practical perks, such as travel insurance and breakdown cover.
In recent years, however, the newer, app-based banks have shaken things up by adding more targeted extras for specific customer profiles.
While some are flashy but low-value, like a colourful or metal debit card, others are genuinely useful and money-saving.
So, if you’re in the right demographic, one of these accounts might be well worth the £15-18 a month fee.
We’ve dug into what Revolut, Monzo and Santander’s premium accounts offer to help narrow down which might be best for you.
Revolut Metal (£14.99 a month)
Revolut’s Metal account targets a young, professional audience with perks like WeWork credits and a Financial Times subscription, as well as productivity and learning tools like MasterClass and Perplexity Pro, plus travel-related extras.
The account comes with a metal debit card in your chosen shade: bronze, silver, gold or black.
It also offers “RevPoints” based on pounds spent, which are redeemable for travel rewards, including AirMiles.
Financial perks include:
- No fees on unlimited currency exchanges
- 40 per cent off international transfer fees
- Fee-free international ATM withdrawals up to £800 a month
- 10 commission-free trades per month
Then there is also worldwide travel insurance for trips lasting up to 30 days - though in all cases involving insurance in these deals, we’d recommend a thorough read of terms to make sure you know what’s eligible and when you’re actually covered, as it’s rarely as straightforward as it seems, particularly if you don’t use the card or account in question to book the trip.
Digital subscriptions included are:
- Financial Times
- Uber One
- MasterClass
- NordVPN
- Headspace
- ClassPass (10 monthly credits)
- WeWork (1 monthly credit)
- Perplexity Pro
- Tinder Gold
As an extras, there are discounts on airport lounge passes.
This account offers probably the widest range of benefits of any in the UK, so you might find you don’t need all of them. You can access a more limited selection with Revolut’s Plus account (£3.99 a month) or Premium account (£7.99 a month).
There’s also the Ultra account, costing £55 a month. This includes even more rewards targeted at frequent travellers, such as global data, unlimited lounge access and larger fee-free international ATM withdrawals.
Monzo Max (£17 a month)
Monzo’s premium account targets a younger customer base with freebies from Greggs and Vue cinemas, plus practical discounts on train travel and Uber Eats.
These might seem quite low-value rewards, but even just claiming a free weekly sausage roll and monthly cinema ticket would easily recover the cost of the account, making it worthwhile if these are things you typically spend your cash on.
Financial perks include:
- An additional 1 per cent interest on some savings
- Fee-free international ATM withdrawals up to £600 a month
- Reduced investment fees
The insurance package features worldwide travel insurance for unlimited trips of up to 45 days, phone insurance and UK and Europe RAC breakdown cover.
The digital passes and extras include:
- Uber One
- An annual railcard
- A free weekly treat from Greggs
- A free Vue cinema ticket once a month
Monzo also offers a Perks account, which includes only these extras and the preferential savings rate, but not all the insurance add-ons. This costs £7 a month, which might be ideal if you don’t drive or travel frequently, or the insurance terms don’t meet your needs.
Santander Edge Explorer (£17 a month)
Santander’s premium account is for the more practically minded customer.
Instead of shiny cards and sausage rolls, you can get healthcare services and cashback on your bills if you’re willing to pay the account cost.
Financial perks include:
- 1 per cent cashback on selected household bills, up to £10 a month
- Access to the Santander Edge Saver account, with a bonus rate of 6 per cent APR for the first 12 months
Insurance terms on offer are worldwide travel insurance for trips up to 31 days, phone insurance and UK and Europe Allianz Assistance breakdown cover.
The only extras perk noted is 24/7 remote GP access.
If you’re only interested in the financial perks, these are also available through the Santander Edge account. This costs just £3 a month, so it more than pays for itself if you max out the £10 cashback on your bills - plus, you’ll also get access to one of the UK’s best savings rates.
Are premium accounts worth the money?
Generally, the perks that premium accounts offer have a combined value that’s much higher than the monthly account fee – for example, the combined value of Revolut’s offered subscriptions is over £2,000 a year.
However, they’re only ever worth the money if you’ll get enough use out of them.
If you can find an account that offers access to services you already subscribe to, presenting an immediate cost saving, you’re onto a winner.
Otherwise, take a minute to identify the benefits you’re most likely to use, and look at how much they’d cost to purchase yourself - and whether you’ll keep using them.
When investing, your capital is at risk and you may get back less than invested. Past performance doesn’t guarantee future results.
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