Nationwide FlexPlus review: what do you get with it?

The Nationwide packaged account includes added insurance for a monthly fee

Nationwide FlexPlus is a packaged bank account, so it’s a paid alternative to the Nationwide Flex Account, costing £13 a month. I won’t go into any detail on the nitty gritty of the bank account. I’ve instead focused on the aspects of the account you’re paying for, including the travel insurance, mobile phone cover and breakdown cover. 

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What do you get with Nationwide FlexPlus?

Here are some details of the benefits of the Nationwide FlexPlus account. In some cases, we’ve added an “estimated value”. For these, we’ve looked broadly at how much similar cover would cost for a family of four using a comparison site, but the actual figures will depend on the makeup of your family and what cover you want. 

Worldwide family travel insurance

• Provided by: Aviva
• Estimated value: £130
  • This is based on quotes we found for a family of four getting a worldwide multi-trip annual insurance policy

The worldwide travel insurance offered with the Nationwide Flex account is pretty decent — it’s got cover for winter sports and you’re covered for travel disruptions. So if your trip is cancelled, you miss your departure, you’re delayed or you need to make alternative arrangements then you’re covered. 

You can also upgrade the insurance if you need it. This might include cover for pre-existing conditions, longer trip cover (you’re covered up to 31 days abroad), extended cruise cover or choosing to go home early.

The cover is for your entire family whether you’re travelling alone or together, including children up to 23 years old as long as they live at your address (being away at university is fine) and aren’t married. To compare, the Virgin Money Club M account only covers up to four dependants and they must be under the age of 18, so this one can get you family cover when they’re a little older.

Cover for pre-existing conditions

If you have pre-existing conditions then Aviva might cover them at no additional charge. You may have to pay a fee to include some conditions. 

Family mobile phone insurance 

• Provided by: Assurant
• Estimated value: £140
  • This is based on quotes we found for four of the latest mobile phones, assuming they were bought in the last year for broadly the same cover as below.

You also get insurance for your phone, your partner’s phone, and any dependent children’s phones. You’ll be covered for loss, theft, damage and any faults. 

The cover is worldwide, it also covers accessories that were lost or damaged at the same time as your phone, and it includes high-value phones so you can get up to £2,000 back per claim. 

Your children’s phones are covered if they are under 19 (or 22 in full-time education) and aren’t married.

UK and European breakdown cover 

• Provided by: the AA
• Estimated value: £110
  • This is based on quotes we found for personal breakdown cover for one person for a year with the AA.

You also get UK and European breakdown cover. This covers any vehicle you’re travelling in and any that you own, even when someone else is driving it. This means it could cover your partner if you owned the car.

Your partner wouldn’t be covered as a passenger or when driving someone else’s car, including hire cars. You can get around this one by getting Nationwide FlexPlus as a joint account. It doesn’t cost anything extra. 

None of the other insurances would be impacted by this decision, as they all cover the whole family, however, you’d both benefit from the waived fees when using your card abroad, detailed below. 

Waived fees when using your card abroad

You won’t be charged when using your debit card abroad, which could save you up to 2.99% on the transaction amount. 

This is more of a bonus to the account and shouldn’t be a decision-maker, as there are plenty of debit and credit cards available to use abroad without extra fees.

	FlexPlus	FlexAccount or FlexDirect
Purchases made in a foreign currency	No fee	2.99% of the transaction amount
Cash withdrawals in a foreign currency outside the UK	No fee	2.99% of the transaction amount
Cash withdrawals in a foreign currency within the UK	No fee	No Fee at LINK ATMs or over-the-counter2.99% of the transaction amount at non-LINK ATMs

How Nationwide FlexPlus differs from other packaged accounts

✅ You get European breakdown cover and UK cover. Most other packaged accounts only offer UK breakdown cover — others with this benefit include Co-operative Bank Everyday Extra and Lloyds Silver
✅ Phone insurance is for the entire family. Again, a lot of the other packaged bank accounts don’t have family cover as standard — the Virgin Club M account includes phones and other gadgets, including laptops for the entire family, making it a contender in this area
❌ Breakdown cover only covers the account holder

Nationwide FlexPlus customer reviews

Customers of Nationwide FlexPlus have given Nationwide FlexPlus 3.89/5 over at our sister site, Smart Money People. Customers love the insurance benefits and feel like it’s great value for money. One customer even referred to it as “magic”.

Some customers feel that the mobile phone insurance isn’t good enough, with some claiming their phones weren’t repaired or came back more damaged than when they were sent off.

Is Nationwide FlexPlus worth it?