flexplus fee going up to £18 a month
Discussion
thebraketester said:
What’s the average cost of breakdown cover these days? We will probably stick with ours but I agree that the % increase does seem a little lofty.
I guess the more pertinent question might be “what would it cost to replace the benefits I use?” If you’re in the USA on a regular basis and drive your car on the continent then it’s probably worth keeping on, if you do 1 trip to the Costas every year and don’t take the car abroad then sufficient cover should be possible for far less than £216/year.CantDecide said:
I wasn’t happy to see the increase either, but they did give me £200 (£100 each) on our joint account for being members earlier in the year and last year as well so that pretty much offsets the cost for a year.
You get this with the Flex direct account too though. I'm going to be weighing up the value now compared to separate policies. There is also a convenience factor compared to managing 3 more insurances though.
Tigerj said:
The aa cover alone comes in at 25 quid a month for us. I think the 5 quid increase in one go is a bit of the micky take but still up over all.
It was the same for me. The cost of the account is still only marginally more than I was paying for AA membership and I don't have to pay for separate travel insurance either. I probably wouldn't pay for the other perks but they're useful to have if the need arises.Overall, it's still a good deal for me at the increased price.
AdamC28 said:
It still works out good value for me when you consider the cost of those insurances separately.
As you have said though, if you don't make use of them then it's harder to accept the increase.
It is a painful increase, like when Disney+ decided to bump prices around 40%. We dropped them like a stone!As you have said though, if you don't make use of them then it's harder to accept the increase.
However….the alternatives are really no cheaper: virgin money do one (with less breakdown cover), but they are being taken over by Nationwide!
Everything has gone up, & this fee hasn’t increased since 2017! It works out at about a 5% annual increase since 2017….
We have had cause to claim on holiday insurance once (a Covid booking - £400 paid with no issue) & car breakdown twice (once abroad, the other here arrived within 15minutes!)…
I did some quick searching and I think the cost of those two items (breakdown including Europe & travel insurance including winter sports) would easily exceed £300 for us, so it will still make sense here.
Not forgetting the mobile phone cover we have never claimed on!
I'll probably stick with it for the time being, covers two cars, phones and holiday insurance. On balance probably is still not a bad deal....however I've only ever claimed for a couple of phones on it! As others have said a circa 35% increase in premium does bite a bit, any higher and I'll certainly be considering my options.
macron said:
How TF are people paying £25 pcm for the AA?
Top cashback every time, got RAC full fat cover for £265, with £165 cashback and a free MOT. Don't care who it is tbh, switch every year if the deal is good enough.
I agree with not paying AA/RAC every month - always a cheaper way…Top cashback every time, got RAC full fat cover for £265, with £165 cashback and a free MOT. Don't care who it is tbh, switch every year if the deal is good enough.
So: full fat cover?
Comprehensive?
From TCB, looks like £212, with 27% cashback, so £155. Don’t see any mention of a free MOT?
ComprehensivePlus is £347, so even more. Still no mention of any MOT there.
Add some worldwide travel insurance (quick check for us was around £140-200+ for a year), a bit of phone cover, & that is way above the £216 that costs us with Nationwide.
Zero faff factor: two (or three, if you take phone cover) fewer things to wrestle with each year!
Plus the ability to get a regular saver extra (currently 6.5%, but only £200pcm) for another bit back.
Every little helps
But…..if you are a low travel insurance risk, perhaps not a couple, I am sure you can beat their monthly fee.
They are all at it
re-evaluting the cost of providing these services.
HSBC have just changed the criteria fro Premier. No fee with this but effectively free annual travel insurance for the family. There was a fee for the mastercard but that came with an avios point conversion 2:1 and unlimited Priority Pass access so it worked for us. Fee just gone up and criteria for the current account up to £100k pa min or £100k invested with them. Think we will be off now ....
re-evaluting the cost of providing these services.
HSBC have just changed the criteria fro Premier. No fee with this but effectively free annual travel insurance for the family. There was a fee for the mastercard but that came with an avios point conversion 2:1 and unlimited Priority Pass access so it worked for us. Fee just gone up and criteria for the current account up to £100k pa min or £100k invested with them. Think we will be off now ....
macron said:
How TF are people paying £25 pcm for the AA?
Top cashback every time, got RAC full fat cover for £265, with £165 cashback and a free MOT. Don't care who it is tbh, switch every year if the deal is good enough.
How are you getting the same cover for £265. For family cover. With onward travel it’s quoting me £471, £364 without European cover.Top cashback every time, got RAC full fat cover for £265, with £165 cashback and a free MOT. Don't care who it is tbh, switch every year if the deal is good enough.
Edit: from the RAC that is.
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