Just to flag, Which magazine aren’t massive fans of the Virgin account, although I’ve not personally used it and it depends on your individual needs of course. They say…
False economies
Virgin Money’s Club M account was the cheapest packaged bank account we analysed.
But its breakdown cover remains very limited, with no cover in Europe, and no alternative travel and accommodation if your vehicle breaks down.
The account’s travel insurance also received the lowest policy score in our analysis, with no cover if your airline or holiday provider goes bust.
If you’re paying for a FlexPlus account you’ve also likely met the criteria for a few £100 payouts from them too - while it’s obviously not a given that they’ll continue, it does soften the blow a little.
Has something changed or is Which mistaken? The policy documentation indicates this is included. Can live without European cover, will get a separate policy if I plan a trip outside the UK, as it stands in 10 years of driving I’ve only driven in England & Wales so far.
Fine for me, we don’t fly, and to be honest Travel Insurance is the least useful part of the trio for me - it has taken the edge off a couple of cancelled hotel stays but other than that it’s not much use for UK holidays.
I think it could have changed, as the Which comparison was last year and the Virgin Insurance Product Information Document looks like it was updated 02/24. But they could have just made a mistake.
I’m going to get rid of flex plus. I used to save £2/ month by having flex plus and monzo perks vs monzo max plus family upgrade but now the same combo will cost £3 more per month vs having monzo max plus family upgrade. I think the key benefits are the same so may as well save the money…
Yeh, I’m certainly considering my options. I think if the cost hike had been small and incremental over time (as others have mentioned) I probably would have accepted it. However another £5 a month / £60 a year is quite a jump.
I’ve been trying to find options for alternatives. The biggest benefit for me is the mobile insurance and it covers 4 phones. All the other polices I’ve seen so far cost more than the increased cost and that’s before you add in breakdown cover etc.
Received an email about the increase and naturally jumped in here to see what alternatives people are looking at. I’ve honestly found it hard to beat and even at the higher price I probably won’t find a compelling alternative. If you use the worldwide travel insurance and have a joint account it still seems like good value. If you’re using it solo, maybe less so
Another benefit of nationwide compared to others is that I believe it covers pandemics. So if say the FCDO says you can’t travel to somewhere due to a pandemic, you are insured for losses, whereas with say Lloyds you aren’t I believe.
Just got this email from Virgin Money regarding our business account. Nationwide are buying Virgin Money. I wonder what’s happening to my business account as Nationwide don’t have a business portfolio?
That’s one of the main reasons why they purchased Virgin Money, to get a foothold in that market.
My guess, and it’s just that, is that your accounts will stay where they are (with Clydesdale Bank plc, which is being retained) and all that’ll happen is a rebranding at some point before the Virgin license expires (which is end of 2030, if all goes to plan!)
