What is the point of a packaged bank account during COVID-19 lockdowns?

Penelopa.Pitstop

I considered downgrading my account, after getting payment from Travel Insurance. I don't care about phone insurance, but roadside assitance was in past better than one offered by manufacturer, so I kept the account. Also, I'm afraid, that if I downgrade, Nationwide will came up with some limitation for new policies, when  people upgrade back in future. They may change cover for new account holders.

[Deleted User]

Penelopa.Pitstop said:

I considered downgrading my account, after getting payment from Travel Insurance. I don't care about phone insurance, but roadside assistance was in past better than one offered by manufacturer, so I kept the account. Also, I'm afraid, that if I downgrade, Nationwide will came up with some limitation for new policies, when  people upgrade back in future. They may change cover for new account holders.

The account isn't particularly good value if you aren't using all/most of it's functions plus I doubt upgrader/downgraders are something they worry about as they aren't giving you the account for free.

jimjames

darkh0rse said:

eskbanker said:

 I don't recall any providers offering pro rata refunds, do you have examples?

They may not have been that much busier - after all, travel insurance doesn't pay out in cases where the buyer has/will receive a refund. Most airlines, providers, etc have refunded their customers.

Ah yes, found the info about pro rata refunds here.
Got travel insurance you're sure you won't use? Many insurers will now pay out a refund if you cancel (moneysavingexpert.com)

Well it would seem it's just me that think we should be offered a token of some sort on these accounts, thanks for your inputs

It's easy. If you don't have any use for the benefits then change to an account you're not paying for. 

I have a Flexplus account and it's still useful for me. I still use my car although less and all my family mobile phones are covered. If I wanted to stop it's very easy to downgrade and then change back again so I don't really understand what the issue is. It's nothing like a car insurance policy where you are tied in for 12 months.

jbrassy

With all these packaged bank accounts, it's up to you to determine whether they constitute good value. I personally wouldn't get the Nationwide Flex Plus account because I don't own a car, so I wouldn't get the full benefit out of it. 

This is true of all financial services. I contemplated cancelling my annual travel insurance policy around this time last year because I didn't think I would be able to go away (in the end I didn't cancel as I managed to get away to Iceland and Italy in July). Surely you should have had similar thoughts last year when you saw £13 being taken out of your account every month?