Spotlight: Abbey Reward Bank Account

Abbey has launched a new packaged current account. Costing £10 a month, the Reward Bank Account is available to new and existing Abbey customers.

It pays an in-credit interest rate of 6 per cent, fixed for 12 months, for balances up to £2,500 as long as £1,000 is credited to the account each month. Balances over this will earn 0.1 per cent. Customers also get a £100 interest-free overdraft. The account also includes a range of benefits, which Abbey claims to be worth more than £400 per year, such as motoring assistance, worldwide travel insurance, discounts on dining out and hotel accommodation, and £50,000 worth of legal cover for identity protection.

However, whether the £10 monthly fee is value for money depends on which of the benefits you'll use, as there are other great current account deals available with no fee.

Abbey's Preferred In-Credit Account, for example, also pays a rate of 6 per cent on balances up to £2,500 as does Alliance & Leicester's Premier Direct Account.