The new Extra, Perks and Max packages cost between £3 and £17 a month
Monzo is now offering three new account tiers to replace sthe current plans, Monzo Plus and Monzo Premium.
Plus and Premium, which cost £5 and £15 a month, have been retired in favour of Extra, Perks and Max, priced at £3, £7 and £17 a month.
There’s also been some significant changes to what’s being included in the plans. So let’s get into it.
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What’s Monzo?
Monzo is a digital bank that launched in 2016. It’s been a big hit with millennials who went wild over its hot coral card and its modern approach to banking.
Initially Monzo only offered a prepaid card but over the years it’s developed more and more features to help customers manage their money. It now offers a current account, savings, borrowing and investing products plus account upgrades, Plus and Premium.
For more on Monzo, read our full review.
The new Monzo upgrades
Monzo is now offering three new package upgrades Extra, Perks and Max. Here’s a breakdown of what each tier offers – and we’ll go into more depth soon:
Monzo Extra
Think of this as the plan for people who want more insight into their spending.
For £3 a month, Monzo’s Extra plan offers additional tools to help you manage your money and see where it’s going. It includes:
- Custom spending categories – to show you where your money is going
- Virtual cards – for budgeting and security
- Advanced roundups – Monzo will roundup your spend and put 2, 5 or 10 times the spare change aside for you
- Auto-spreadsheet – records your transactions in a Google Sheet
- Free withdrawals in the UK and European Economic Area (EEA) – fee-free withdrawals up to £200 every 30 days elsewhere. Beyond that, there’s a 3% fee of whatever you withdraw.
This plan comes with the coral debit card and if you’ve already got the free Monzo account, you’ll use the same card. If you’ve got Plus or Premium, you can keep your holographic or metal card until it expires.
Monzo Perks
Much like the name suggests, Monzo’s Perk plan focuses on rewards.
It costs £7 a month, includes all the features of Extra, as well as:
- A higher interest rate – 4.6% on your Instant Access Savings Pot and Cash ISA (it’s 4.1% on Monzo’s free plan and Extra)
- Free Greggs every week – includes a sausage roll, regular hot drink, doughnut or muffin
- An annual Railcard – which usually costs £30 a year and cuts the cost of eligible train travel by a third
- Free withdrawals in the UK and European Economic Area (EEA) – fee-free withdrawals up to £600 every 30 days elsewhere. Beyond that, there’s a 3% fee of whatever you withdraw.
- 3 fee-free cash deposits – every 30 days (£1 per deposit after this)
- Discounted investment fee – when you invest through Monzo
If you care about the colour of your debit card, you’ll be pleased to know you get a new ‘bold coral’ card with this plan which Monzo says is like the original coral card, but ‘with the dials pushed up’. You’ll be charged £5 to replace your card if it’s lost or stolen.
If you’re a Plus or Premium customer, you can keep your card until it expires.
If you order the Railcard and cancel Perks within 12 months, you’ll be charged £1.92 a month to keep the Railcard for the remaining time.
If you want an account that gives you more bang for your buck, we’ve explored the top reward accounts.
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Monzo Max
Max is the most expensive plan and starts at £17 a month. It feels a lot like your standard packaged bank account which often includes insurance and breakdown cover.
You’ll get all the features of the Extra and Perks plans, plus:
- Worldwide phone insurance – covers phones worth up to £2,000 and accessories (such as headphones and chargers) up to £300 against loss, theft and accidental damage. Assurant is the provider, the excess is £75 and you’re limited to two claims a year.
- Worldwide travel insurance – multi-trip cancellation cover up to £5,000, medical bills up to £10m, lost valuables up to £750, winter sports, car hire excess waiver up to £3,000. It’s provided by Zurich and there’s a £50 excess.
- RAC breakdown cover (UK and Europe) – includes at home assistance, onward travel and vehicle recovery. If travelling outside the UK you must’ve had the plan for at least 24 hours before making a claim.
Unlike most other packaged accounts (including Monzo Premium) this only covers the account holder. You can extend your phone, travel and breakdown cover to your family for an extra £5 a month.
Insurance is notorious for exclusions buried in the small print, so be sure to check the terms and conditions.
Max comes with a ‘burnt coral’ debit card. You’ll have the original coral colour on the back of the card and a ‘darker, smokier’ colour on the front, if that’s important to you. If you lose the card, or it gets stolen, you’ll be charged a £5 replacement.
To be eligible for Max you’ve got to be between the ages of 18 and 69 and you must sign up for at least three months.
If you order the Railcard and cancel Max within 12 months, you’ll be charged to keep the Railcard for the remaining time. It works out at £1.92 a month. Or you could downgrade to Perks instead.
What if I’ve already got Plus or Premium?
Plus and Premium are no longer available to new customers – Monzo has stopped selling them. If you’ve already got them, you can keep using them. But if you cancel – even accidentally – you won’t be able to go back.
First thoughts: Are Extra, Perks and Max worth it?
Amelia’s analysis
I’d think very carefully before opting for any of these plans.
Personally, I’d say £3 a month for some additional tools and insights with Extra is steep. If you want to keep an eye on your money, Monzo’s free account gives you spending categories, pots and basic roundups already – so I don’t think you’re getting much more for £36 a year. Unless you think you really need an automated spreadsheet.
The rewards of the Perks plan could lure you in, but be mindful of wether you’ll use them. A weekly sausage roll from Greggs works out around £4.80 a month and it’s about £2.50 a month for a Railcard (RRP £30). This totals £7.30 a month, covering the Perks fee.
However, it’s only valuable if you’re a regular train passenger and make the most of your weekly Greggs. Plus you can often get deals to cut the price of a railcard by a third, if not more.
In terms of the other perks, you can beat Monzo’s 4.6% instant access rate, with other providers paying up to 5.2%, and we’ve found much higher ISA rates, including those from Plum and Chip.
The free overseas cash withdrawals might be a perk for you, but there are other current accounts, such as Chase, that give you this perk for free.
And finally, Max. I think £17 a month for a bank account, or £204 a year, is a lot. If you’re trying to compare if it’s cheaper to buy the insurance separately, you’ll need to consider your circumstances. For example, the cost of travel insurance depends on multiple factors, such as your age, where you’re going and what’s covered. But for a 30-year-old, an worldwide, annual, multi-trip Coverwise Gold policy is around £61 and for a 40-year-old it’s around £50.
The cost of phone cover, again, depends on things like what phone you have, but if you’ve got an Iphone 15 128GB it could cost about £6.97 a month, or £72.55 a year, according to comparison site GoCompare.
Then you’ve got RAC cover which, again, will depend on your circumstances, but UK and European breakdown cover starts at £16 a month, or £192 a year.
Now, these are just rough figures, but you’re already looking at an insurance package worth £325 plus the Railcard and weekly Greggs.
However, if you don’t need these add-ons, it’s money wasted. Packaged bank accounts are one of the most complained about financial products out there, so be sure to work out if it’s worth it for you, before getting one.
What customers think of Monzo
Monzo scores 4.94 out of five on our sister site, Smart Money People, based on almost 18,000 reviews. Customers say it’s easy to use and the app gives them everything they need.
I upgraded to Extra today (having opened my Monzo yesterday). The key feature for me is the virtual cards which I think is a great tool for budgeting.
I have a pot set up for Subscriptions with a virtual card and another to cover my Travel costs.
This way I can put aside money into those pots when I am paid.
I was about to go to Plus, but now Monzo have given me the feature for £2 less… so win win for me