Major bank with over 20million customers brings in huge rule change – and it’s a win for your holiday spending

A MAJOR bank with over 20million customers is bringing in a huge rule change – and it’s a win for holidaymakers. NatWest is to introduce introduce a range of new travel, health and lifestyle benefits for Reward Platinum customers from October 1. NatWest is to introduce a new range of travel, health and lifestyle benefits in October Credit: Reuters It’s good news for anyone jetting off on holiday, as customers will not be charged foreign transaction fees when using their Reward Platinum debit card to make purchases abroad or pay in a foreign currency. NatWest currently charges 2.75% on overseas transactions, including paying with card and withdrawing cash. Sign up for the Money newsletter Thank you! For example, a 2.75% charge would add £13.75 to £500 of holiday spending. The fee for paying with card will be scrapped, but it will remain for cash withdrawals. Customers will also receive 5GB of free mobile data to use abroad each year through a travel eSIM. It will be valid for 30 days once activated and could help holidaymakers avoid costly roaming charges. Other new travel perks will include discounts on airport lounge access, fast-track security and airport dining. But customers will have to pay more for the account, with its monthly fee rising from £22 to £23 on October 1. Most read in Money That means the account will cost £276 a year, up from £264 – an increase of £12. The changes apply specifically to NatWest Reward Platinum customers, rather than every customer across the banking group. NatWest said all the updates would happen automatically and account holders don’t need to take any action. What other benefits are changing? Reward Platinum customers will continue to get worldwide family travel insurance, UK AA breakdown cover and access to tastecard discounts. Tastecard will also expand to provide cinema discounts alongside its existing eating out and coffee offers. NatWest is also expanding the account’s mobile phone insurance from individual to family cover. There are also several new health benefits being introduced, including: Access to a virtual GP 24 hours a day for customers and their families Private prescriptions, although prescription charges will apply A round-the-clock mental health and wellbeing helpline Counselling and wellbeing advice Digital fitness and nutrition content Virtual physiotherapy appointments without a GP referral Personalised physiotherapy treatment plans NatWest estimates that the updated package of benefits could be worth up to £1,685 a year if a customer uses them all. However, this figure excludes the monthly account fee, and the actual value will depend on which benefits each customer uses. Customers should also check the terms, exclusions, excesses and limitations attached to insurance policies before relying on them. Reward Platinum customers aged 70 or over will still be able to obtain travel insurance, but the additional annual premium will rise. It will increase from £75 to £100 from October 1 – a £25 jump. NatWest said it would remind affected customers when it was time to renew, allowing them to decide whether the cover remained suitable. Rewards shake-up NatWest is also changing the way customers can earn money through its MyRewards scheme. At present, eligible customers can earn £1 in Rewards each month simply by logging into the NatWest mobile app. This payment will be scrapped from October 1, meaning customers could miss out on £12 a year. Customers will still be able to earn £4 a month by paying two Direct Debits worth at least £2 each. They can also collect additional Rewards by spending with selected NatWest retail partners. The bank said personalised offers would continue to be updated every two weeks and could be viewed through its app or online banking. What are packaged bank accounts? Packaged accounts do exactly what your usual current accounts do - except they offer a range of extras and services thrown in on top. So for example, you might get travel and breakdown insurance thrown in as part of the deal, or in some cases an interest-free or cheaper overdraft. You have to pay a monthly fee to get these benefits but the idea is the perks all come in one handy bundle via your account. So packaged accounts sound great, right? Well, not exactly – as well as paying a monthly fee, you need to be aware of a few things. Firstly you’ll need to work out if the bonuses you’re getting are good value compared to buying the insurance separately. For most of the accounts, you’ll be paying around £15 a month (£180 a year), so you could, for example, get cheaper travel insurance, especially if you only go on one holiday a year. On top of that, the insurance you get with the account might be pretty basic, so make sure the policy will cover you for everything you need – otherwise you could be let down at your time of need. And while many Brits have enjoyed the benefits a package account brings, lots of bank customers were mis-sold them too. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) found that many of the perks which were packaged with the accounts didn’t actually provide cover for customers – banks have a responsibility to make sure the insurance was right for the customer at the point it was sold, while others were “up-sold” the accounts by staff too. If you think you have been mis-sold one, or you didn’t realise you were paying a monthly fee for the benefits, then you should complain directly to your bank. You can use MoneySavingExpert’s free tool to do this. Comment now