Introducing Extra, Perks and Max

Monzo Chat
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1395

After upgrading to Max last week I received my card in the post.
My old “white” metal card was nowhere near white anymore but still offered a premium feel. The new Max cards look great but feel absolutely horrible, the cheapest and lightest plastic I can imagine.

Yes I’d have really loved another metal card but I appreciate that won’t be coming back so I embraced the change.

I’ve been a huge supporter of Monzo and in the stack of my old cards all the way back to the Mondo one this new Max card feels like a huge downgrade. The mastercard sticker looks like I could have made it myself on a printer. It’s by far the least premium looking (apart from the colour which I like) and feeling card in my wallet.

In no way does it look like the “this is my every day banking” card. It feels like cost cutting.

1396

Ja, ik ook

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1397

Was more red, white and blue, not going alt country flag style :joy:

:uk:

IMG_5976

Much better, for the native home land :wales:

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1398

Ook Nederlandstalige

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1399

Who play in the English leagues :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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1400

Doesn’t make me any less Welsh. :joy:

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1402

That must be my forum anniversary because I haven’t disclosed my DOB :slightly_smiling_face:

1404

Wyt ti’n siarad cymraeg?

1406

yn anffodus ddim.

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1407

For years I thought that ‘Ar werth’ must’ve been a very popular estate agent until I realised it meant ‘For Sale’

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1408

Are there plans to add different types of perks, at least a pick and mix. Not eligible for any railcards being over 30 now, and I don’t like Greggs. The 4.6% savings rate is good, but rates of 5% and more are available in a lot of other places (e.g. Plum, Trading 212). So there’s absolutely no benefit for me in upgrading from Plus. Maybe I’m just aging out of Monzo?

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1409

Bear in mind chip, T212 etc arent banks!

1411

Agreed, on the savings rate, definitely better rates out there, I’m also with Santander - 5% (for the time being) and nationwide 5%.

Fixed saver rates are higher - NatWest 6%, first direct 7% and nationwide 6.5%.
Virgin offer currently for newbies is ~12%. All free accounts.

Would be nice to have a “savings and insurance option only” - don’t do Greg’s (unhealthy food) don’t do railcard as unless I go to London (avoid like the plague) we have next to zero usable rail routes for commuting.

1412

Not challenging this at all… I’m well aware they’re covered by FSCS up to 85k, my point was more that Monzo’s business model is that of a bank, rather than T212 etc, therefore what they’re able to offer differs. Monzo has a competitive rate, not the best on the market but better than the vast majority. Everyone should shop around for what’s best for them at the end of the day!

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1413

These higher rates… whats the limitations? My experience of banks offering higher rates is only if you deposit a certain amount per month and up to a maximum value

Natwest - 6% on contributions of 1-150/month - regular easy access rate 1.74% up to 25k
First direct - 7% on contributions of 25-300/month - regular easy access rate 2%
Nationwide - 6%% on contributions up to 200/month - regular easy access rate 2.25%
Virgin - 12% new customers up to 1000 and only for one year - regular easy access rate 2.02%

My point being there’s usually a catch with these higher rates, designed to get customers to switch in the short term and rely on customer inertia not to switch once the rate is withdrawn or maxed out.

There’s definitely value in using these accounts to benefit from the higher rate up to their monthly/annual limits but keep any larger savings pots in an account with no limits but a decent interest rate.

I’m not stating there aren’t better savings accounts out there (i can already hear some karen tapping away at the keyboard) but its a massive positive that the interest applies with no limitations at monzo.

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1414

Agreed, there are limitations on the fixed saver accounts hence that’s why I said you could get higher rates on fixed rate ones after stating my other regular savings were higher (I should have been clearer) I do apologise.

Monzo are competitive that’s for sure, but currently my regular nationwide and Santander savers are both 5% no max monthly as far as I’m aware. I know Santander are dropping there’s so I will likely move over.

I just agreed with the previous persons comment, there are a few places with better interest rates without said limits and then just pointed out the fixed rates for information more than anything (just in case people weren’t aware).

Hence my last point being it would be nice to have a slightly different tier or modular options for those and from the sounds of it, it’s quite a few users who don’t use Greg’s or don’t qualify/or qualify but can’t use railcards but would pay for additional benefits that are more suitable.

1415

Modular didn’t work when they tried it before.

Monzo don’t want you to use everything, that’s how it makes the money. If you can pick Costa instead of Greggs or Prime instead of a railcard, you end up using it all and costing them more money. They want xx% of people to never redeem their free sausage roll because that’s built into the cost. If everyone claimed every sausage roll and every railcard, the prices would be far higher.

Unless you have a lot of money, paying for a higher % doesn’t really make sense. Just move those savings to where you get a better rate.

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1416

Once again

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1417

The comparison you’re making is slightly unfair.

The NatWest, First Direct and Nationwide accounts you refer to are fixed rate regular savers. In this instance 12 months (the Nationwide rate is 8% not 6%)

Yes, these companies also have much lower rate easy access accounts but it’s likely that most people use these just as a portal for the higher rate Regular Savers and are unlikely to leave huge amounts in there at any one time.

There are higher paying accounts than Monzo with no catch or no restrictions at all, which are the better comparison. and which are true ‘Instant and Easy Access’.

Yes, there is much to be said for the convenience of having one’s finances under one roof and missing out on a bit of interest is a reasonable pay-off for many.

1418

The Nationwide regular saver was 8% but it’s now only 6.5% for new customers. Also neither issue is strictly speaking “fixed rate”, the APR is variable and they could lower it. But it is fixed term, ie it gets downgraded to a normal savings account after 12 months - so it’s unlikely the APR will be messed with. And as you mention it is a “fixed monthly deposit amount”.

The First Direct account is fixed rate 7% for the fixed term. However it is less flexible than the Nationwide, it does not allow withdrawals. If you need your money you have to close the account and the interest paid is downgraded to the standard savings rate that FD offer which is awful.

The NatWest account is 6.17% APR, also variable, and it’s not fixed in any way really. It is a continuous account, there is no “maturity date”, it lasts until NatWest decide they want to bin it, of course they will probably just lower the rate. Technically speaking you can also put in more than £150/month by using the Round Ups on the debit card, but it’s not worth the time taken to do that on purpose.

So there are catches. Granted I would say the Nationwide and NatWest regular savers have basically no material catches for anyone who is only saving less than £150/£200 a month. Of course it is possible to have accounts with all of them (including RBS which works same as the NatWest), I do that, I have 8 regular savers and there are some people on the MSE forum with even more than me. But I can’t deny it is a bit of a faff to manage, of course I can work around some of the legwork with standing orders but I do have to make sure I have enough in my current account for them to go out at the start of the month.

There is definitely value in a one roof solution for most people who do not want to put as much faff in as you or I. And the truth is unless you have a small amount (Santander Edge, Barclays Rainy Day) the top paying savings accounts are all with small savings-focused banks, I’m not aware of anywhere where you can see your savings balance and current balance on the same screen (assuming it’s not with a savings provider that does open banking) that pays 5%+ that’s currently available to new customers. (Other than Ulster Bank, who I wouldn’t recommend for anyone outside NI as there is admin faff in opening one, and it also has a minimum balance of £5k which is too high for many anyway).

So in that context, even 4.1% from Monzo’s free is not half bad compared to Big Bank savings rates, 4.6% is pretty okay. It’s better than Starling spaces and TSB pots. Going down the Moneyfacts list of easy access savings accounts, the best I can see with a current account is Cynergy Bank who do 4.95% - although I’ve heard bad things about their customer service and they have no app, I’m not sure the current and savings actually are well connected (frankly never even knew they did a current account). Next lowest after that - Monzo!

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