I’ve never found this to be the case - in Monzo’s case it probably will be as the deal is a bit rubbish, but for Nationwide’s I think I’d struggle to get all that for £13. High value phone insurance can cost that alone.
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Nationwide is that rare exception. Every other packaged account, charging more for the same, reinforces the rule though.
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I wouldn’t mind paying a few pounds as a one off to chose a different colour, so it could be different from the joint and personal account and or business accounts (assuming the default colour stays as coral).
I think it would be nice if at a certain amount in the account you’d get a different colour card, similar to banks like barclays do with the premium banking.
I don’t care at all for the colour of the card but would love to get on this for other benefits and to support.
Hi all & Monzo in particular,
I don’t normally post on the forum but I wanted to add my 2p about the Monzo Plus offering. It’s nice to meet you all on here!
I previously had Nationwide Flex Plus and absolutely loved all the benefits offered by them. I paid around £13/month but received £5-6 worth of interest back into my account so ultimately the difference became the cost of the benefits.
If Monzo were to offer a similar group of benefits I would definitely subscribe to Monzo Plus at a rough cost of £10-£15/month. Bear in mind the Nationwide benefits were numerous and significant so I don’t mind paying especially if I’m supporting a good cause like Monzo. If Monzo were to offer something a little different like a three tier system with different price points I think that would also allow different people to subscribe at different levels but that would fragment the offering perhaps making it harder to manage.
In summary - I feel that a premium offering should be substantial and in my personal view on that basis that Monzo shouldn’t hesitate to charge a bit more. Nationwide’s benefits are the biggest thing that I’m missing in my Monzo current account and I would love for Monzo to be on par in this sense. Exciting times!
I hope someone from Monzo reads this as it seems to be the only way to offer feedback on Monzo Plus.
Thanks all. 
P.S. Hot coral has done wonders for Monzo branding and recognition by the masses so I’m happy to stay with it. Though if they can find another equally recognisable colour and build a brand around it by all means go ahead.
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Out of interest, why didn’t you keep the Nationwide open for the benefits and just fund it with the fee every month?
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I’m interested as to why you describe monzo as a ‘good cause’
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I really do like the idea of Monzo Plus, I think it’s great from a commercial perspective and also great for an end user perspective with the introduction of fancy features. I know it’s still very early days and it’s all still in the trial and consumer research period but here are my stringent views.
To start, the monthly rate is way too steep for the initial features offered. I am all for the insurance features, this is really what I am looking forward to with Monzo Plus, but solely, travel insurance doesn’t justify the price - I think the addition of gadget insurance would really solidify the cost reasoning.
Card colours are really not a turning point for me but I understand that this would be a big factor for others, so I am all for it. Perhaps down the line there could be an introduction of ‘anniversary cards’ when Monzo hits x amount of years it could release a bronze, silver, gold etc etc metal card. I think this would be a cool idea.
I would really like to see Monzo do some kind of reward scheme (I know this is in dev and planning), the reason I use some of my other cards over Monzo is the rewards it offers such as cashback and discounts - I mean we all love the idea of getting something for less.
However one of the other main, if not the most important for me factors for Monzo Plus is to support Monzo. Monzo is something I am really fond of and will support purely for the fact to further development, I think many others too will have this viewpoint.
I’m a frequent traveller so the increase in withdrawal limits is welcomed. I’m already annoyed I can only take out £200 in Canada in a couple of weeks.
Travel insurance is uber expensive. Although I’ve just checked my Lloyds account and I’m paying £27pm for that account. I get the following:
- £500 overdraft fee free (don’t use this)
- AXA worldwide travel insurance (includes my family) and winter sports
- Mobile phone insurance for three phones
- AA 24-hour Home Emergency Cover
- AA Roadside Assistance, Relay, Home Start, Stay Mobile and AA Accident Management Service.
- Identity Monitor (fraud protection service from Experian)
I think for Monzo Plus to be a success, for me, I would want to include the boring insurances that I don’t want the hassle of taking out elsewhere, like the above. Plus some cool cash back and other purchasing incentives would be nice.
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I really wanted to see my current bank offers within Monzo so I can shift over fully, I use AA road cover (not often hopefully but nice security), iPhone XS insurance and the travel insurance but mine currently includes winter sports… were as Zurich’s doesn’t which is a big let down as I tend to use it solely for that.
It would be amazing it if it was flexible so you could pick say 3 of 6 services for X amount of money, £11 is fine. I currently pay £9.99 with TSB, I did look at moving to monzo and just getting the insurances via the providers direct but it worked out that my mobile phone insurance would be more expensive than the whole TSB monthly cost which put me off then I would need the AA cover etc.
To be honest I would happily move to Monzo plus just for mobile phone and Vehicle breakdown cover as well as the emergency cash and other financial benefits, I can get the travel insurance as and when so it’s not critical, but if someone travels often I can see that being more important.
Edit - Give us a hot coral metal card, made out of recycled metals! 
Everyone is going to have their own idea of what they would like included in an ‘inclusive product’, so why not give that choice to us - and maybe have a list of say 10 different products and you can choose the 3 or 4 which most suit your needs.
Worldwide Travel Insurance
Gadget Insurance
Breakdown Cover
Home Emergency Cover
Worldwide Lounge Access
Higher Fee-Free Cash Withdrawal Limit abroad
Fee-free overdraft
Student Railcard?
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I currently use first directory which costs £15 and has:
Mobile phone insurance (Aviva)
Annual Travel insurance (Aviva)
Car breakdown cover (RAC)
Fee free cash withdrawals abroad
Some other stuff.
https://www2.firstdirect.com/banking/current-account/#first-directory
I would switch to a monzo option if it provided these things for the same or less cost.
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I don’t understand why people seem to want every product they can think of all bundled together.
The more Monzo Plus has in it, the less I’ll probably want it. It’ll become more niche, and less value for money every time.
If you add breakdown cover, it’s instantly overpriced for anyone without a car… if you add travel insurance, it’s unnecessary for probably anyone who doesn’t travel more than once per year.
I have a car that’s never broken down (it did come with free breakdown cover anyway). I wouldn’t ever bother getting cover anyway as it seems to unlikely to happen unless you have an older car (in which case, can you really afford Monzo Plus?). I travel occasionally, and with work so I’m covered on their policy. I’ve also never smashed a phone screen and would likely opt to buy a new phone anyway if I did.
I know the aim isn’t to cater to everyone, but I just don’t want Monzo to limit their market so much by adding so many unnecessary features.
I have an Amex Gold card, which is £140 a year. But the sole reason I don’t mind paying for that, is because I’ve earned £500s worth of points on it in a year, and get the benefit of the free lounge passes etc. If Monzo offer something that allows me to earn back more than the cost of the product, by offering interest or cashback for example I’d be interested. But adding every kind of insurance and cover you can think of, probably not.
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They’re not fee–free. You’re still charged a very legacy ‘non–Sterling fee’ on foreign cash withdrawals.
I couldn’t agree less – with the Nationwide bundled account, it’ll cover all the family’s smartphones for £13 a month. You’d only pay slightly less to cover just one handset elsewhere. So in effect you’re getting vehicle breakdown (valid for any car you’re in, not just vehicles you own) and worldwide family travel insurance for free. It makes no difference if you use these products or not, because you’d still be hard pressed to get a better deal on phone insurance (on the same terms as Nationwide, which are extremely generous) alone.
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I guess it works out if you/you’re family are prone to breaking smartphones, didn’t realise it costs close to £13 for one device. As far as I can remember, no one in my family (or friends for that matter) have actually smashed their phone, I know it’s common but just hasn’t affected me just yet I suppose!
My main issue is I don’t currently spend anywhere near £13 a month or £156 a year for anything included, as I mentioned I’ve not broken a phone, or had a breakdown. So it would’ve been a waste for me personally, if I’d spent that in a year and not had any benefit from it. Yes I have purchased travel insurance, but in the past year I went to Vegas which was covered on my work policy and Barbados which I think I paid something like £20 for.
I just feel like for anyone to benefit from this, you’d need to have broken at least one phone, or at least one breakdown etc. a year and in my life I’d never have used any of the above.
That’s how insurance works. Those who don’t claim subsidise those who do.
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Congratulations. Sounds like because you’re the person who never has a mishap, you won’t ever need any insurance of any kind.
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All I’m staying is it’s probably not worth it for a significant amount of the population, and you wouldn’t want to limit the market like that by bundling too many things in and increasing the price because of it.
Monzo, why not simply offer 5 or 6 benefits attach a value to each one. Customer can choose any 1 or all. Discount for multiple benefits.
Release to everyone and see what sells. Slow sellers, discontinue and replace or discount. Top sellers… You know you’ve done it right.
People will say all they want. They will or won’t pay for this and that. When it comes to it in reality it’s very different. Your trials imo need to be public trials. Get a better sense of what the public will actually pay for. Not what they would pay for.
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I would love to see Monzo plus be a thing, but I do share the feeling of most people here that the offering is too much for too little (though I am aware this is based on what is offered and what the cost is). Personally, I’d love to see a “pick and mix” of perks to choose from which adjust the price that you pay monthly. I would also think that if you chose a custom card, this is something that could just be paid for upfront instead of it being a feature that comes at an extra premium over, say, 12 months.
No problem with me being locked in to 6/12 month commitment especially for certain perks, but I would love the ability to choose how I pay - if I could get a discount for paying quarterly, semi-annually or annually then this would be amazing!
Some things I’d love to see in a premium product like Monzo Plus would be:
- Metal (100% recycled material?) cards
- Phone/device insurance
- Contents insurance
- Breakdown cover
- More colour options (I think and black card & white logo would look great)
I would say that while the above is a list of what I personally as an individual would want in such a product, it of course doesn’t say much for the rest of the public - I second ideas to at least ask people what they would want rather than open the feature to people who are active or fanatic about the bank more than your average Joe.
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