IF you were chasing tickets for the next Manchester United match at Old Trafford, seeking an electrician to fix a problem at home or booking a table at a restaurant in New York, would you ask your bank manager for help?

Some of the seven million bank customers who have bothered to open a “packaged current account” do exactly that – calling in the perks of holding privileged accounts which cost them an average £14.92 a month.

David Black, banking specialist at financial research and consultancy company Defaqto, analysed this growing sector. He found 65 products on offer – up from 33 in June 2006.

Fees start at £5 a month for Barclays Current Account Plus, while HSBC Premier costs nothing if applicants meet certain qualifications – or £25 a month if they do not.

There is some free private healthcare included with Santander’s Premium Current Account (£20 a month) which pays for up to £750 a year for outpatient diagnostic tests and surgical procedures through AXA PPP Healthcare.

Ulster Bank’s first private current account (£25) provides a booking service that gets tickets for key events, with discounts up to 25 per cent off standard prices.

However, many critics of packaged accounts are not impressed.

They think many people pay for perks they forget to use. Consumer group Which? even included them in its list of top ten “useless financial products”.

Mr Black says: “The first point to remember is that banks are really keen on operating your main current account as it becomes their key relationship builder with you.

In the case of packaged current accounts, they provide the bank with a guaranteed monthly income.

“For this reason, banks are always keen to up-sell to existing free-in-credit current account customers and migrate them to their packaged current account range. Bank staff are often targeted to achieve sales and customers are invited to switch to a packaged current account.”

The icing on the cake from the bank’s point of view is that it knows exactly when the salaries of millions of account holders land in their accounts.

Lloyds TSB has several million customers on packaged accounts.

The concept has widened since the credit crunch made the banks much more cautious in lending policies. An example of this widening is the loyalty theme, which means assisting customers who buy several products.

Some, such as Barclays, offer discounted mortgage rates to existing customers, while others, such as NatWest, RBS and HSBC, only give credit cards to existing current account holders.

The standard items in many packaged accounts are yearround travel insurance (mostly worldwide, but check whether or not winter sports are included), mobile phone insurance and motor breakdown cover, usually with a subsidised fee for AA or RAC membership. Others include access to VIP airport lounges, holiday or travel-related discounts, other discounts at various outlets, and insurance against identity theft.