With its N26 Go membership (formerly N26 You), N26 offers a current account that stands out with a personalized coloured Mastercard (you can choose from five colours) and, above all, travel insurance coverage. But what real added value does the N26 Go account offer, and how good are its insurance benefits?
If you open an N26 account as a new customer by October 15, 2025 and sign up for the Go or Metal membership, you can register for a promotion where you’ll receive 1% cashback on travel expenses for 30 days!
Cashback is paid on transactions with a merchant category code in the travel sector, provided the merchant uses the correct code. This includes airlines, hotels, cruise operators, travel agencies, tour operators, bus companies, trains, car rentals, and so on. The cashback is credited 30 days after the promotion ends.
Additionally, all Go and Metal customers (including existing customers) benefit from 1% cashback on foreign spending outside the European Economic Area, the UK, and Switzerland – for example, the USA or Thailand. This cashback is paid for up to 12 months but can be terminated with 14 days’ notice at any time. It is credited every 30 days.
Unlike the free N26 Standard account, N26 Go requires a monthly membership fee of €9.90, with a minimum contract term of 12 months. This equates to €118.80 per year if paid monthly. Alternatively, you can pay upfront for a full year for only €95 (€7.90/month) or €56.40 every six months (€9.90/month).
Benefits
- Physical Mastercard: You receive a free physical card (normally costs €10 with the Standard account) and can choose from five colours.
- Virtual Mastercard: You immediately get a virtual Mastercard upon opening your account, which can be used with Apple Pay or Google Pay straight away.
- No foreign transaction fees: N26 does not charge any fees for payments in foreign currencies.
- Five free ATM withdrawals per month: In euros, you can withdraw cash up to five times per month for free; after that, withdrawals cost €2 each. Outside the euro zone, there are generally no fees. (Standard and Smart account holders pay 1.7% for foreign currency withdrawals.)
- Travel insurance: Includes extensive travel insurance such as trip cancellation, trip interruption, supplementary health insurance abroad, luggage insurance, delay insurance, travel accident insurance, and medical repatriation. For example, the trip cancellation cover reimburses up to €10,000.
- Little or no deductible: Most included insurance policies have no deductible. Only trip cancellation insurance has a manageable €20 deductible per person. Other premium credit cards often charge at least €20 or more.
- No card payment requirement: Unlike many credit cards, N26 insurance does not require you to pay for your trip using the card. Therefore, even trips paid by bank transfer or on arrival are covered.
- High coverage amounts: Trip cancellation and interruption insurance covers up to €10,000 per trip. Buying such insurance separately would cost far more than €119 per year.
- Family covered: Children (up to age 25 if still in education) and spouses or partners are also insured.
- Sub-accounts (Spaces): Create up to ten Spaces to save for goals such as holidays. Shared Spaces can be shared with up to ten other N26 users, ideal for house shares. These do not have their own IBAN.
- Contactless payments: Pay amounts up to €50 contactless without PIN.
- Apple & Google Pay: Both the virtual and physical Mastercard can be linked to Apple Pay or Google Pay for easy, PIN-free payments.
- Joint account option: You can open a joint account with another person, with its own IBAN, in addition to your personal account. Unlike Shared Spaces, both are full account holders.
- Lounge access for €30/visit: You can buy Dragon Pass lounge visits for €30 each through N26.
No foreign currency fee for cash withdrawals
Go customers do not pay the usual 1.7% fee on foreign currency withdrawals. However, you would only recoup the €9.90 monthly fee if you withdraw roughly €7,000 per year abroad.
Insurance details
To know if N26 Go is worth it, it’s important to look at its insurance coverage in detail. It is extensive:
The following is a summary and may change or be misinterpreted. Always check official policy terms.
- Trip cancellation: Covers cancellation costs up to €10,000 per trip abroad, with €20 deductible per person.
- Trip interruption: Covers additional return travel costs and unused portions of your trip up to €10,000 per trip abroad. Economy class return without limit and up to €300 for additional overnight stays (max €100/night, max three nights). No deductible.
- Supplementary health insurance abroad: Covers medical costs abroad up to €1 million per trip for illness or accident. Dental emergencies covered up to €250. No deductible. This is supplementary to your existing health insurance.
- Luggage insurance: After four hours delay, essentials are reimbursed up to €500 per trip. Lost, stolen, or damaged luggage is covered up to €2,000 per trip (€750 max for valuables). Many exclusions apply (e.g. visible items stolen from cars). No deductible.
- Delay insurance: For delays over two hours, €100 is paid per additional hour, up to a max of €500. Covers all transport types (not just flights) and causes such as strikes, quarantine, natural disasters, lost/stolen documents. No deductible.
- Medical repatriation: Covers return to a hospital at home or repatriation in the event of death (no limit). Search, rescue, and recovery costs covered up to €2,300 per trip. No deductible.
- Travel liability insurance: Up to €500,000 per trip. No deductible.
- Travel accident insurance: Compensation in case of death or disability due to an accident during the trip. No deductible.
- Travel document insurance: Covers up to €500 for replacement of damaged, lost, or stolen travel documents (passport must be valid for at least six months at the time of claim). No deductible.
- Travel assistance: 24/7 support for personal emergencies abroad.
Generally, private trips abroad up to 90 days are covered. For domestic trips, pre-booked accommodation and distance of at least 100km from home are required.
Disadvantages
Despite solid benefits, there are drawbacks:
- No real credit card: The Go Mastercard is a debit card, meaning payments are deducted immediately from your account. There is no credit limit, which can cause issues with car rentals.
- Contract term: While many providers charge annual fees, N26’s monthly pricing is tied to a mandatory 12-month term. After that, you can cancel monthly.
- One account per person: You can only have one N26 account. You cannot open an additional business account alongside your personal one. However, joint accounts are possible.
- Update: Since January 2025, private customers can open an additional N26 Freelancer account (for sole traders/freelancers). The Go membership also covers this account.
Conclusion
The included travel insurance, mostly without deductibles, high coverage amounts, and coverage without needing to pay with the card make N26 Go an attractive product. Only car rental insurance is missing. The absence of foreign transaction fees and free ATM withdrawals outside the Eurozone round out the package.
It’s a good upgrade for existing N26 customers at a fair price, easily activated via the app. The mandatory one-year term makes sense for insurance, but it doesn’t quite match N26’s brand image of banking flexibility.
Translated by Ditmar