Looking to upgrade your bank account? Now that the dust has settled from the departure of both Ulster Bank and KBC Bank, the options for day-to-day banking in Ireland have undoubtedly diminished. For most people, looking for the cheapest banking option is the priority.
For others however, it’s all about the extras – even if they come at a cost.
Here we take a look at some of the offerings on the market – from those you can qualify for by virtue of being a higher earner, to those that you will have to pay for.
Bank of Ireland
If you want a premium banking service from Bank of Ireland, you’ll need to be a high earner. The bank introduced its Premier banking service in 2016, aimed at those with enough income/assets to warrant a targeted service, but not enough to qualify for its private client offering.
Now it’s upped its service again.
According to the bank, to be eligible for the service you’ll need to have a gross annual income of at least €100,000, or a joint income of at least €140,000, and your salary paid into a Bank of Ireland current account. Alternatively, you can also qualify if you have savings or investments of at least €100,000 with the Bank of Ireland group.
What do you get? With its newly rebranded Black Visa Debit card, eligible for customers of Premier banking, the bank is clearly trying to draw some parallels with American Express’s Black card, which is available on an invitation-only basis, with its newly rebranded Black Visa Debit card, eligible for customers of Premier banking. The card gives you free access to the executive lounge in Dublin, Shannon and Cork airports for up to two visits a year, and also offers access to emergency cash if your card is lost or stolen while abroad. It has a €1,300 daily withdrawal limit, compared with about €700 on a typical card.
Another incentive is access to a priority banking service, with someone available to chat on the phone Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm. In a world of chatbots and online help, the ability to speak to an actual person has increased in value.
The bank says it also offers discounts and pricing on personal loans, home, car insurance and foreign exchange, while it also promises access to “surprise and delight” seasonal events, experiential offers and competitions.
If you’re looking for a home, you might also be interested in the bank’s recently launched property service, which is aimed at those looking for a home in Dublin with approval for a mortgage of €500,000 or more. It also offers an “off-market” service, helping to source properties that haven’t been listed for sale, but you’ll need to be looking for a home worth at least €1.5 million to get this help.
Cost There are no additional fees for Bank of Ireland’s premium service, so typical cost is a flat fee of €6 a month (€72 a year).
Revolut Metal account
Internet bank Revolut’s premium account is called Metal, and the card comes in a variety of colours.
What do you get? The card offers cheaper fees on a number of services, as well as free extras, such as insurance. For example, you get a higher ATM allowance of €800 a month in free withdrawals, with a 2 per cent fee thereafter with Metal. You can also look after your children’s banking needs with the account, as it allows you to set up five under-18s accounts.
If you’re a frequent traveller to the UK or other non-euro zone countries, the card may help you keep costs in check as you can spend, exchange and transfer unlimited amounts of money in more than 29 currencies with no fees. You can also trade US stocks, with free unlimited trades, and invest in precious metals and cryptocurrencies, at 0.25 per cent and 1.5 per cent markup, respectively.
Insurance is the big offering with the account. You’ll get purchase protection on up to £10,000 a year (€11,411) whether your goods are damaged or stolen, while you can be reimbursed for ticketed events of up to £1,000 (€1,141). You’ll also get emergency medical and dental cover when travelling abroad, as well as for delayed flights and baggage insurance. This is offered by Revolut Travel.
You’ll also get cashback with the card – 0.1 per cent in Europe, and 1 per cent outside – but there is a maximum cashback allowed of €13.99 per month. If you’re typically Europe based, then spending €1,500 a month will generate just €1.50, so it may be difficult to even reach this limit. Booking certain accommodation abroad may also entitle you to cashback of as much as 10 per cent.
It’s worth noting that the general account offered by Revolut in recent weeks has also improved. This is because Irish account holders now have an Irish Iban – before this a Lithuanian international bank account number was used. While this shouldn’t have been an issue, in practice it was, because some utility companies and others wouldn’t accept payments from a non-Irish Iban. With an Irish Iban this should no longer be an issue.
Last year Revolut was authorised as a bank in Lithuania, which means that deposits from Irish customers are covered under that country’s €100,000 deposit protection scheme.
Cost €13.99 a month/€167.88 a year or €135 a year, if you pay full cost upfront.
N26 Metal
German bank N26′s premium offering is also called Metal.
As one might expect, with this product you’ll get all the typical day-to-day banking services such as delivery of a physical card as well as specific N26 perks, such as free ATM withdrawals abroad.
But what are the extras?
What do you get? To start with, you’ll get more free ATM withdrawals – eight a month with Metal, after which a fee of €2 each time will apply. You can also get to pick the colour of your metal debit card: black, silver or rose gold.
It’s not cheap, however, at more than €200 a year.
The big offering with this account is a variety of free insurance products. When it comes to travel insurance, for example, you’ll get free coverage with Allianz, which offers up to €1 million for medical emergencies; up to €10,000 if your travel is cancelled or cut short; and up to €500 for flight delays.
You’ll also get so-called “lifestyle insurance”, which gives up to €20,000 towards car sharing, e-scooter and e-bike rental damages; up to €2,300 for winter sports accidents; and up to €1,000 to cover damage/theft to your mobile phone.
Access to “unique experiences” is also included: a spokesperson for the bank was unable to tell us just what these might be.
Lower fees on crypto trading might be attractive to some. Irish customers have been able to buy and sell almost 200 cryptocurrencies in the N26 app since earlier this year. Normally, a transaction fee of 1.5 per cent for bitcoin, and 2.5 per cent for other currencies, applies, but Metal customers get a reduced 1 per cent/2 per cent transaction fee.
Perhaps the biggest perk with a Metal account – especially for anyone who has run into difficulties before – is that by paying for an account with N26, you’ll get the privilege of speaking with a real person as it offers a seven-day priority phone line for Metal customers.
A business metal account is also available. This is aimed at the self-employed and entrepreneurs, and offers a 0.5 per cent cashback on all card purchases. So, spending €1,500 a month will give €7.50 back a month, for example, which will help to reduce those charges.
Cost €16.90 a month/€202.80 a year.
AIB Platinum Visa card
Although AIB doesn’t offer a halfway home between day-to-day and private banking a la Bank of Ireland, it does have a Platinum Visa card, which is aimed at middle income earners.
To qualify for the card, you’ll need to have a minimum salary of €40,000.
What do you get The big advantage of qualifying for this card is that you’ll benefit from a cashback programme, although it is fairly limited.
To earn a cashback, you’ll have to spend at least €5,000 on your card in a year, in which case you will get 0.5 per cent of that amount back. So, should you spend the minimum of €5,000, you’ll get €25 back. Not quite enough to move credit card providers, perhaps.
If you are a big spender and reach the maximum €50,000 a year, you’ll get the maximum allowed under the scheme of €225.
You’ll also get to participate in the Visa Luxury Hotel collection, which offers incentives such as an automatic room upgrade, $25 daily food or drink allowance, and a 3pm checkout, upon request, at 900 hotels around the world. These include the Cliff House Hotel in Co Waterford and the Westbury and the Shelbourne in Dublin.
Cost The card has an APR of 17 per cent, which is not the cheapest on the market (AIB’s Click credit card, for example, has an APR of 13.8 per cent). It does offer a special introductory rate of 3.83 per cent on purchases and balance transfers in the first 12 months, but again, you can find zero per cent offerings elsewhere.
