Move from Co-op premier account ?

bullinn1

For various reasons I’m thinking of moving banks, I have a privilege account which costs money but there are benefits, free overdraft trave and gadget insurance car recovery etc, can I better it . I’m 70 retired with a small pension income and no savings. 

eskbanker

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/compare-best-bank-accounts/#perks has Nationwide's FlexPlus as the best packaged account, although doesn't actually list any others....

bullinn1

cheers eskbanker, I’ll check it out.

WillPS

Halifax Ultimate Reward is potentially £1 cheaper, if you can put £500 worth of transactions through the debit card each month (note - not necessarily 'spend'...). Differences in who provides the insurance and excesses - Halifax also provides Home Emergency cover.

[Deleted User]

Virgin are about to launch a Club M account but not sure if it's better or worse.

The elephant in the room is your age as some providers have a limit and others may require a payment supplement .

PRAISETHESUN

I'd have a look at which of the extra perks you actually use and shop around to see if you can get them cheaper separately. If you don't use any of them then it's a no-brainer to switch to a fee-free account (or you could downgrade to a standard Co-Op account if you don't want to change banks). If you want the simplicity of a single packaged bank account then I'd probably also recommend the Nationwide account, but do check to make sure it's suitable for you - particularly in the fine details about age, existing health conditions, etc.

Although it's probably the best of the packaged accounts out there, last time I did the maths I found that it wasn't really competitive for me though, but being younger most of my standalone quotes are probably a bit cheaper. If you have a partner then it's a much more compelling argument as a single monthly fee on a joint account would cover both of you, effectively halving the cost per person.

bullinn1

Good of you all to comment so knowledgeably... yes “praisethesun” I am a “couple” so we do share some of the benefits, holiday cover, car breakdown etc. and I see the co-op doesn’t seem to offer this account anymore, I don’t know why possibly because it’s “value” is too good so I should be loathe to leave if the benefits are worth more than the fees ... maybe I should do some more research, though, of course we’re not talking about a fortune per month ! ... in addition of course in the many years I’ve had the account I have never “claimed” but that’s insurance !