A MAJOR high street bank is making a huge change to its current account fees today - but there are ways to avoid paying more.
NatWest is upping the fees on some of its packaged bank accounts today.
Customers will now be expected to pay an extra £60 on its Reward Black account when the fee rises from £31 to £36 per month.
Some of the perks of the account include worldwide family travel insurance, UK and European car breakdown cover and access to certain airport lounges.
Meanwhile, the fee on the Reward Platinum account will rise from £20 to £22 per month - an extra £24 over the course of a year.
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There will be no changes to any other NatWest accounts.
A NatWest spokesperson told The Sun: “We’re making some changes to the monthly fee with some of our packaged accounts.
"The cost of providing the benefits associated with these accounts has risen considerably in recent years, and we have frozen our prices for the last five years."
The bank said the main drivers of the fee increases are the insurance associated with these accounts and the claim rate experienced by its third-party providers, particularly with respect to travel, car breakdown and mobile phone claims.
It has also seen increased costs driven by inflation for other benefits, such as Concierge and Airport Lounge access.
NatWest isn't the only bank hiking its fees.
The monthly cost for both the Lloyds silver and platinum club accounts will be going up on Monday (July 1).
Customers will soon be expected to pay an extra £18 per year for the accounts.
These are the changes Lloyds has confirmed:
- Club Lloyds Silver is now £10 a month (plus a £3 Club fee unless you deposit £2,000 each month) will rise to £11.50 a month from July 1.
- Club Lloyds Platinum is now £21 a month (plus a £3 Club fee unless you deposit £2,000 each month) will rise to £22.50 a month from July 1.
There will be no changes to any free Lloyds account with no fees.
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What can I do about the account charge increases?
Customers can downgrade their account to an account with a lower monthly fee or to a non-fee account.
You can do this on the NatWest app, on the website or by heading into their local branch.
Customers unhappy with the change can also close or switch their account to another bank.
There are some switching offers available at the moment which which means you could make this move and get some extra cash.
The Sun had rounded up all the banks offering cash and freebies if you switch current accounts – and what catches to look out for.
What other packed bank account options are there?
The term packaged bank accounts refers to accounts which usually have a fee but allow customers to save money in other areas like through insurance, subscriptions or cashback and overdraft perks.
Even without the fee increases the Club Lloyds accounts ranked poorly in comparison to other packed bank accounts on the market.
The Virgin Money Club M Account has a monthly fee of £12.50 a month (£150 a year) but includes family mobile phone and gadget cover, world family travel insurance (max age 74) and UK & European breakdown cover for account holders.
New customers who switch to this account will get 12% interest on up to £1,000 saved in the account for 12 months.
Meanwhile, the Nationwide Flex Plus account has a monthly fee of £13 a month (£156 a year).
The account covers family mobile phone cover, world family travel insurance and UK & European breakdown cover for account holders.
When considering a packaged bank account it's always worth assessing which of the following if any perks would benefit you.
- Mobile phone insurance
- Travel insurance
- Car breakdown cover
- Gadget insurance
- Other perks such as an interest-free overdraft or cashback at selected retailers
Paying for these perks individually without the benefits of a packaged bank account may end up being cheaper.
So you should work out the yearly cost of all the perks you want individually before opening a packaged bank account.
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