N26 You Review – Best Card for Travelers?

The N26 You card is the premium card from the German mobile bank N26. It’s main benefit is no fees for ATM withdrawals in foreign currencies.

In 2019 the N26 bank replaced their premium N26 black card with the new N26 You card. The revamped offer from N26 comes with some new features and changes within the N26 insurance package. Read our N26 You review to find out more about the changes.

The N26 You (former N26 Black) card comes with an annual subscription and monthly fee of € 9.90. You can open the N26 bank account within 10 minutes and upgrade to the N26 Black through the N26 mobile app.

The N26 You card is the primary card I use to pay for my expenses when traveling. I ordered the card more than a year ago as I am regularly spending the winter in Thailand and I do not want to pay any ATM withdrawal fees.

Long Story Short

The N26 You card is currently the card with the best value for anyone who is withdrawing more than €500 in foreign currencies per month.

Keep reading my N26 You review to find out more about the features of the premium N26 card.

Just in the UK alone, travelers are wasting £1.3bn a year on fees. I saved more than €70 on ATM fees since I started using the N26 You card.

The standard N26 Mastercard charges 1.7% of any ATM withdrawal in a foreign currency (not Euros). In Thailand, you are better off with cash as most of the places don’t accept cards and if they do, there is a hefty fee of at least 3% per transaction. Paying with cash is the least expensive payment method in Asia.

Read more about my experience with the N26 cards in my comprehensive N26 review.

  • no fees when paying your bills abroad
  • best currency exchange rate (market rates)
  • only 1.7% fee from ATM withdrawals in foreign currencies

Before you continue reading, note that the N26 You card is currently available only to users with a permanent residence in the following 22 countries:

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, Switzerland and Australia

N26 You Card Rating

n26-black-card
Overall Score
83%
Opening a N26 Account
95%
N26 Banking App
90%
N26 Fees
97%
N26 Customer Support
50%

Note that the score for some of the features was adjusted to fit the product. Find out more in my N26 review.

All features of the N26 You card

In my in-depth N26 review I already mentioned all of the features that come with the N26 app. There are no additional features within the N26 mobile app that will be unlocked with the N26 You card.

The N26 premium card offers however additional travel insurance and no fees for ATM withdrawals in foreign currencies. Your deposits with the N26 bank are protected up to € 100.000 by the European statutory deposit protection scheme. 

If you travel abroad and plan to withdraw more than €532 in a foreign currency per month you will save money with the N26 You card.

Pros and cons of the N26 You card

  • Free unlimited cash withdrawals
  • Free unlimited card payments worldwide
  • Functional and user-friendly banking app
  • Additional travel insurance
  • World Elite Membership does not include access to airport lounges
  • The travel insurance is covering only trips of max. 90 days
  • The mobile theft insurance won’t cover the full price of your mobile device
  • You will be only covered if you pay all your travel expenses with the N26 Black card
  • € 9.90 monthly fee
n26-black card
Insurance Package

N26 You

9.90
monthly fee
free ATM withdrawals within Euro-Zone
free ATM withdrawals in other currency than Euros
free worldwide card payments

Can I rely on the N26 travel insurance?

You might want to order the N26 You card to replace your travel insurance when traveling abroad. Before you take that decision, let’s have a look at what is being covered with the N26 You card insurance and how much excess you need to pay from your own pocket.

The N26 insurance is provided by CLARK insurance based in the Netherlands. All insurance-related requests need to be discussed with the insurance company. N26 won’t answer any travel insurance-related topics.

The insurance company is targeting its offer to frequent travelers and globe-trotters. I strongly recommend reading their updated insurance policy if you want to get the N26 You card only because of their comprehensive insurance package.

Remember that you can only make an insurance claim if you can access the internet. I highly suggest getting a data plan that will work in the country you plan to visit. Simpackers.com is a great website that will help you compare the best and most affordable data plans abroad.

  • The travel insurance that comes with the N26 You is valid only for trips that don’t exceed the duration of 90 days.
  • In addition to that, you will be covered abroad only if you pay the flights (transport) to the destination as well as a return ticket and the accommodation with the N26 You card.
n26-insurance-min
n26-insurance-baggage-delay-min

What is covered by the N26 insurance policy?

Insurance Claim Max. Coverage Excess
Delayed Flight (+4 hours) € 100 / hour (max. € 500) none
Delayed Baggage (+4 hours) € 500 (if missing up to € 2.000) none
Trip Cancellation € 10.000 10% - 20% (min. € 25 )
Trip Interruption € 5.000 10% - 20% (min. € 25 )
Medical Expenses Abroad € 150.000 none
Emergency Transport € 2.500 none
Car Rental Excess Deduction € 750 none
Accidents € 50.000 none
Accidents Caused DuringTransportation € 500.000 - € 4 Mio. none
Mobile Theft € 1000 unknown
Mobility coverage for vehicle rentals € 20.000 unknown

Considering that the insurance comes as an add-on to a debit card, the insurance coverage is pretty solid.

The insurance that comes with the N26 You card is not suitable for long-term travelers as its only valid for trips that don’t exceed 90 days - the insurance company will ask for documents such as flight tickets to prove the duration of your trip. You can make an insurance claim through the N26 app. Learn more about it here.

Users that signed up to N26 You after the 13.11.2019, will benefit from the new insurance policy which includes an increase for mobile phone protection from € 300 to € 1.000, increased coverage for delayed flights by €100, added coverage for missing luggage to € 2.000 as well as increased coverage for trip cancelation.

Important: If you are an N26 Black card user, the new insurance policy does not apply to you. You are still covered according to the old terms and conditions. You still can use cash theft protection as well as an extended warranty for purchased consumer products. On the other hand, increased insurance coverage, as well as the added rental vehicle insurance, does not apply to you.

If you travel abroad for a longer period, don't rely on the insurance that comes with the N26 You. In case of an emergency, insurance companies such as Safetywing and Worldnomads offer much better services. 

FAQ about the N26 You card

How much is the N26 You card?

N26 You, the premium Mastercard from the German mobile bank N26 comes with an annual subscription which is paid monthly. N26 You costs € 9.90 per month. The fee will be automatically deducted at the beginning of your 30 day period.

What is an N26 Black card?

The N26 You is the premium Mastercard from the digital bank N26. It’s available in 22 European countries, including the UK and Ireland. The You Black card offers additional travel insurance coverage and no fees on ATM withdrawals in foreign currencies.

How to upgrade to the N26 You?

You can upgrade to the N26 You card through your N26 mobile app. Open the tap Upgrade to order your N26 You. Be aware that the first monthly fee will be deducted as soon as you make the order and not when the card is shipped to your home.

Conclusion of the N26 You review

The N26 You is overall a great deal. People who frequently travel and withdraw cash in foreign currencies will save money on fees with the N26 You card.

The travel insurance that comes with the N26 is not a replacement for anyone who is traveling long-term, but that’s also not its main feature. Members of the N26 You plan have also the possibility to personalize their N26 app, order more cards and create additional sub-accounts.

Apart from the monthly fee of € 9.90 you can use your N26 You debit card almost everywhere in the world.

It is always recommended to have at least one spare card in case of a loss. Revolut could be a good option for you. Read my comparison between N26 and Revolut here.

 

Want to find out more about free cards for travelers? Read my article about best digital banks for travelers and digital nomads.

2 Comments

  1. March 30, 2021 at 10:12 am

    Hi dear. Thanks for the great article. I would really like to do it, but I can’t see anywhere if there are limitations in the countries it can be used in. I would like to do it to work in Iraq and therefore receive my salary in dollars there and then withdraw. Do you know if it really works worldwide? Cause I could not find anything on the site! Thank you so much

    1. April 2, 2021 at 9:51 am

      That is tricky, you can perhaps try the Wise borderless account. N26 is only for Europeans.

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