Fix energy now?, Martin's 0% masterclass, £9 travel ins, free property protection tool, £15/mth fibre b'band, £13 Covid travel tests

Plus... Amazon £5 off £20?, FREE £2 pea milk, £115 No7 £25, get paid to borrow, £4 razor set

                                                           

12 January 2022 | View in browser

Banking & Savings Household Bills Deals Insurance Cards & Loans Mortgages Income Reclaim

 

THE TOP TIPS IN THIS EMAIL Martin's 'slash debt costs' masterclass - 35mths 0% balance transfer - Shift store card debt to 0% - Earn £130 switching to a 0% overdraft - Can you slash loans interest to 2.8%? - In debt crisis? Get free debt help Booking a hol? Get travel insurance ASAB - from £9/week Ends today (Wed). Get paid to borrow: 24mths 0% + £25 cashback Free tool to protect your property against fraudsters Martin: Energy price cap to rise 50% - should you fix now? Ends Sun. Cheap fibre broadband '£15/mth' 'Day two' Covid travel tests from £13 Stream a song to get £5 off £20 at Amazon - can you get it? Veganuary deals, including FREE £4 plant-based meat, FREE £2 pea milk £115+ of 'mystery' No7 beauty for £25 'I'm saving £450/year after Virgin haggle' £4 razor & refill starter kit (normally £8) Five ways to slash BIG BILLS £14.50 Abel & Cole veg box for £8 This week's best buys, including £150 bank bribe, 5GB Sim '£4.34/mth', 1.36% 1yr savings Should my mates pay me back for Glastonbury tent booking? BEST BUYS & TOOLS Cheap Energy Club, incl Pick Me A Tariff MSE Cheap Mobile Finder Credit Club incl free credit report 0% Balance Transfers Compare Broadband deals Cheap Car Insurance Best Bank Accounts Top Savings Accounts Credit Cards for Bad Credit Credit Card Eligibility Calculator Loans Eligibility Calculator Mortgage Comparison Free online complaints tool - Resolver Compare Travel Money Best Sim Only Deals

Martin's Jan 'slash debt costs' masterclass Overdrafts, cards, loans, store cards, BNPL & more Can't afford to clear your debt? You can't afford not to try to move it to up to 35mths 0% (the longest since 2018) and save £1,000s Debt is often depressing, dangerous and debilitating. When I used to do TV money makeovers, one of the first things I'd do was total someone's debt. Often it caused them at best a sharp intake of breath, and at worst tears. However, while they felt things had just got worse, I explained actually things had just got better. Leave debt to fester and it rots - interest keeps accruing and things get worse. Stopping new borrowing and tackling it head on means you can reduce the cost and ultimately the debt. So as it's January, we're in a cost of living crunch, and New Year debt bills are being received by millions, it's time for my annual interest-cutting masterclass. My aim's to show you how to save £100s or even £1,000s by reducing the interest you're paying (though if you're in debt crisis, jump straight to one-on-one help).  1. CREDIT CARD DEBT: Balance-transfer it for up to 35mths 0% (the longest debt-shift deal since 2018) I touched on this last week, but it's such an easy way for many to save, so no apology for the repeat - especially as deals may be pulled any moment. A 0% balance transfer is where you get a new card to repay debt on old cards, so you owe it instead but at 0%. Your repayments then clear the debt rather than just mostly cover the interest. John emailed: "Used your site three times to gradually get all my credit card debt to 0% cards. It's now saving me £190/mth in interest, which I'm using to pay off the debt as quickly as possible. Many thanks." - Don't do hit & hope applications for new cards. That puts a negative mark on your credit file. Instead use our Eligibility Calculator to see your acceptance odds for top cards without affecting your future ability to get credit to home in on the best to apply for. - Go for the lowest fee (including cashback) in the time you're sure you can repay. Unsure? Play safe and go long. And right now the longest deal we've seen in a good few years is available... Top newbies' 0% balance transfers Card Key 0% info How good is it? Virgin Money Best: check acceptance odds (pre-approval available), or apply* direct. - 35mths 0% - 2.94% fee - 21.9% rep APR after 0% ends Longest 0% balance transfer by far. The standout if you need the longest time to clear your debts, better still it's not an 'up to', so all accepted get the full time at 0%. HSBC Best: check acceptance odds, or apply* direct. - 31mths 0% - 2.7% fee (min £5) - £25 cashback if shifting £100+ in first 60 days. - 21.9% rep APR after 0% ends Long 0%, fee offset by cashback. All accepted get 31mths 0%. Yet if you can repay within the time, the fee's lower than above and there's cashback, in fact transfer under £900ish and the cashback's bigger than the fee cost, so you're up. Sainsbury's Bank Best: check acceptance odds (pre-approval available), or apply* direct. - Up to 21mths 0% - NO FEE - 20.9% rep APR after 0% ends Longest NO-FEE 0%, so good if you can repay quicker, but an 'up to'. You could be accepted and offered just 17mths or 13mths at 0%, (unless you're pre-approved, see link on the left). HSBC Best: check acceptance odds, or apply* direct. - 20mths 0% - NO FEE  - 21.9% rep APR after 0% ends Longest definite 0% NO-FEE card. Similar to Sainsbury's, but all accepted get the full time at 0%, so if our eligibility calculator shows you've good odds, it's a strong contender. Always follow the Balance Transfer Golden Rules: a) Never miss your min monthly repayment, or you can lose the 0%. b) Clear the card before the 0% ends, or you pay the higher APR. c) Don't spend/withdraw cash. It usually isn't at the cheap rate. d) Usually you must transfer within 1-3mths to get the 0% deal - check. e) You can't transfer between two cards from the same banking group. Full help and info in Best balance transfers (and see APR examples). 2. STORE CARDS: Shift these to 0% just like credit cards Store cards are just credit cards you only use in one store chain, but usually with far costlier interest, eg, New Look is 28.9% rep APR, Argos 34.9%. In the old days I used to call them the devil's debt, but that was before payday loans came along. If you've got them, you can usually balance-transfer store card debt too, so just follow the help above. 3. OVERDRAFTS: DANGER 40% rates are now standard - yet you can earn £130 switching to a 0% overdraft Overdrafts really scare me. I had a caller on This Morning recently who had paid off card & loan debt from her bank account, so was now heavily overdrawn. Yet overdrafts are the bigger danger. Almost all major banks now charge about 40% for overdrafts, double the interest of many high street credit cards. That means the right thing to do for most is to pay the minimum on the credit card, to reduce the overdraft, not vice versa. Do see our 10 overdraft cost-cutting tips, but here's the key info... a) Can you switch to a 0% overdraft? Two banks currently offer 0% overdrafts - and they'll even pay you to switch to them... - First Direct. Switchers get a free £130 and many get an ongoing £250 0% overdraft* (40% EAR above that). So if your borrowing's under £350ish, the £130 will clear some debt and the rest is interest-free. See First Direct's eligibility criteria first to see who can get it. - Nationwide FlexDirect. Switchers get a free £100+ and many get a year's 0% overdraft, the amount of which depends on a credit assessment. For some it can be larger than First Direct - so use its eligibility tool to get an indication before you apply. Only use this as a route to clear the overdraft within a year, or it rockets to 40% EAR. See Nationwide's eligibility criteria first to see who can get it. b) Or use a 0% money transfer credit card. For larger overdrafts, a few specialist cards also allow 0% money transfers for up to 18mths - where for a small fee the card pays cash directly into your bank account, clearing your overdraft, so you owe it instead. c) Treat overdraft borrowing like any other debt - repay it. Try and repay a set amount each month, eg, £50 (so you should start the next month with a £50 smaller overdraft than the one before). 4. PERSONAL LOANS: Can you slash interest to 2.8%? Loans are (relatively) dirt cheap right now, but with interest rate rises that may change, so a simple question you should ask is... can you get a new loan to clear your existing one and pay less? Yet the answer is more complex, as it's not just about finding a cheaper APR, as there can be a couple of month's early repayment fees. Full help in Cut existing loan costs, but here's a brief A B C... A) Ask your current lender for a 'settlement figure'. For instance, how much it'll cost to clear your current loan, including any early repayment costs (which tells you how big a new loan you'll need to get to clear it). B) Find the cheapest loan for the 'settlement figure' and if you can get it. Our Loans Eligibility Calculator shows your odds of acceptance for many loans - it's really worth checking that before applying. Full current cheapest rates are in Cheapest loans (APR examples), but in brief... - £1,000 - £3k: Hitachi* 9.8% rep APR (card loans can be cheaper) - £3,000 - £5k: Hitachi* 7.9% rep APR (card loans can be cheaper) - £5,000 - £7.5k: Sainsbury's* 3.3% rep APR (Nectar cardholders) - £7,500 - £15k: M&S*, Cahoot*, Santander* & 3 more are 2.8% rep APR Yet do be warned all these loan rates are 'representative APR', meaning sadly only 51% of accepted customers need get that rate. Though via our Eligibility Calculator we do have a few cheap lenders that now offer guaranteed rates. C) Find out if a new loan's cheaper than your current one. Multiply your monthly repayments by how many months you have left (ask the lender if you don't know) to find how much you'll pay if you stick. Or just plug the figures in to our Loan Switch Calculator which does it all for you. It worked (twice) for MoneySaver Lisa, who emailed: "Last year I needed to get a car and reluctantly took a loan at a whopping 18.9%. I read your Feb newsletter & was able to secure a new loan at 7.9% and over 4 years. As if that wasn't good enough, I just tried again and have now got another new loan at 2.9%. Thank you, thank you, thank you." 5. BUY NOW, PAY LATER: Interest-free maybe, but it's still debt, so be careful, it's unregulated (for now) Buy now, pay later (BNPL) is interest-free, so there are no costs to be cut. Used right, it's an easy way to spread payments if needed. Yet this is a warning. Klarna, Clearpay, Laybuy and other BNPL firms are now a near-ubiquitous way to pay at many online retailers, offering to spread the cost over a few months. Wrongly, this often is not made to feel like a debt. But it is a DEBT, and like all debts, you should only do it if you absolutely need it, and can afford to repay. These firms make money because they're so good at tweaking our spending nipples to make us want to buy even more. MSE and I campaigned for BNPL to be regulated, and thankfully it's happening, though too slowly, sometime later in 2022. You'll have rights then to take them to the ombudsman if things go wrong; YOU DON'T YET. Full info on how the schemes work in Buy now, pay later. 6. IT AIN'T just WHAT YOU DO, IT'S THE WAY THAT YOU DO IT The much-revered sages of Bananarama (too young to know 'em? Do a search) knew what they were talking about. Cheap deals help, but whether you get one or not, always aim to repay as much as you can, as quickly as you can, without damaging your financial stability. A few tips... a) Focus on repaying the highest-interest debt first. It's not about the amount, it's the APR that counts, as that means it's growing fastest. So list all debts in APR order, and use all spare cash to clear the highest and just pay minimums on everything else. Once it's clear, focus on the next costliest. For avoidance of doubt, overdrafts are a debt and should therefore be included (but don't include student loans). b) Got savings? Use 'em to clear costly debts. Many people are emotionally attached to having savings, but in practice that's just you giving your bank a loan - usually at a far lower rate than it charges when you borrow from it. So if the debt interest rate is higher than you earn saving (it usually is), repay the debt with the savings as long as there are no early payment penalties. While it's worth holding back 3-6mths' worth of bills in an emergency savings fund with most products, with credit cards, as they're costly and have an open facility, you could use your emergency fund to clear it. Then if an emergency happens, borrow back so you're no worse off. Full help in Pay off debt with savings? c) Do a budget and manage your money. Get control of your spending - do a budget to see where the cash is going. What really counts is how you stick to it - many who've tried swear by (or at) my piggybanking system. d) Boost your credit score. You'll be eligible for better debt cost-cutting deals in future. See our 27 ways to boost your credit score guide. 7. MORTGAGES, CAR FINANCE, and STUDENT LOANS... My focus today is the main unsecured debt products, but in brief, let me zip through where to get info on a few of the others: - Mortgage deals. They're still historically very cheap even after the small interest rate rise in December, so everyone should check if you can cut the cost of theirs, before rates (may) rise further. There's a huge amount of help in our mortgage MoneySaving section. - Car finance. The cheapest way to borrow to buy a car is usually with a cheap personal loan. However, specialised car finance packages can be more flexible. Our car finance guides have full pros and cons of each. - Student loans. In practice, these work more like a tax than a loan. Most people shouldn't be looking to overpay (even with higher headline interest rates coming). See Should I overpay my student loan? In debt crisis? Get free debt help The solutions above involve still being in a functional relationship with your debt - being able to afford them, just cutting the cost. If not, then you need a different tack. I've three questions to ask you... - Do you struggle to meet minimum monthly payments? - Is your total debt (excluding mortgage/student loan) over a year's salary? - Do you have sleepless nights or depression/anxiety over debt? If you answer yes to any of these, forget the solutions above, instead get free, one-to-one debt counselling help from Citizens Advice, StepChange or National Debtline. And if you need emotional support, try CAP. They're there to help, not judge. The most common thing we hear after is: "I finally got a good night's sleep." And don't feel alone, there's no stigma, you can sort this. Read inspiring stories in our Debt-Free Wannabe forum, and see my Mental Health & Debt and our Debt crisis help guides.

 

 

DON'T believe the fake 'Martin Lewis' or 'MSE' ads Lots of scam ads litter social media and even newspaper websites - some of these lie that we or Martin promote Bitcoin, binary trading etc. See Fake ads warning.

 

 

 

Booking a holiday? Get travel insurance ASAB (As Soon As you... Book). Don't delay - cheapest is £9 per week - We're starting to see a few insurers strengthening their Covid cover - Italy says you can't ski unless you've got winter sports insurance Airline and holiday firm bookings surged this week as Covid testing requirements were relaxed. Our travel insurance AS SOON AS YOU BOOK rule long pre-dated the pandemic, but still matters now. Many things can go wrong before you travel, so you need cover in place sooner, as well as protection from delays, lost baggage and more while on your trip. Here's our quick briefing if aged 65 or under, or see full details in Cheap travel insurance. We've separate specialised top picks in Over-65s travel insurance and Pre-existing medical conditions travel insurance too. Why it's ASAB. Many things can kibosh a holiday before you get there. For example, sadly most years someone asks us something like: "I've found I'll need chemo, so can't fly, but my airline won't refund me, what are my rights?" Sadly, you have no rights. Martin's blunt analogy is you can't get a refund on a tennis racket because you've broken your arm. The flight's still valid. That's what travel insurance is for. Get it ASAB, so you're covered from day one. PS: If travelling to Europe, also ensure you've got a free GHIC. Cheap under-65s travel insurance from £9 a week. Your winner depends on age and destination, so get quotes from a few. Below are no-frills policies which meet our minimum cover levels, and usually include the following pandemic cover: Can't travel as you've tested positive for Covid? ✔️ Caught Covid abroad and need to stay longer to isolate (including knock-on accommodation costs)? ✔️ You/your family can't travel as you're told to isolate by the NHS? ✔️ - Single trip: Leisure Guard*, Coverwise (Bronze)* and CoverForYou (Silver)* cost from £9 a week for an individual in Europe, and from £47 for a family worldwide. - Annual policy, for if you go away 2+ times a year: These cover virtually all trips in a year, including pre-booked UK accommodation. Coverwise (Bronze)*, Leisure Guard* and Staysure (Comprehensive)* prices range from £13 for younger adults in Europe, and from £75 for a family worldwide. Note: Staysure will only cover you if you're fully vaccinated or medically exempt.  - Want a higher end policy? We've cheapest picks on that too for single trip and annual policies. These also cover risks such as your airline or hotel going bust. Though often if you've booked the right way, you can get money back through card providers (see how to book safely without this anyway). Cheapest travel insurance including 'no go due to Covid lockdown' from £33 for a week. Always aim to book with a firm that allows free cancellation or at least the flexibility to move it. Yet if you're willing to pay more, as well as the cover above a few mainstream insurers also usually cover you if you... Can't travel due to new UK lockdown or a change of travel advice? ✔️ These only cover UK-based restrictions, such as Foreign Office travel advisories or local/national lockdowns (how likely that is now is for you to decide). They won't cover you if, for example, the foreign country stops you going. - Single trip: M&S Bank, Churchill and Aviva (with its travel disruption add-on) range from £33 for a week in Europe for young singles, and from £132 a week for a family worldwide. Full info in 'Covid Plus' single trip travel insurance. - Annual policies: Direct Line, Churchill and Aviva (with its travel disruption add-on) start at £52 for individuals in Europe, and from £186 for a family worldwide. Full info in 'Covid Plus' annual travel insurance. - Bank account insurance. If you're happy to open a new current account, Nationwide's FlexPlus at £13 a month (£156/year) can work out cheaper - plus it gives mobile & breakdown cover too. Yet do note, there are no mainstream policies that we know of that will cover you if you... - Can't travel due to overseas lockdown or travel restrictions? ❌ Generally not covered. - Won't go as you'd need to quarantine on return? ❌ Generally not covered. - Won't travel as you don't feel safe going? ❌ NO policies cover this. Hitting the pistes? Get a winter sports add-on. Italy now requires you to have public liability cover before you hit the slopes, and it's good practice anywhere. For that you need a winter sports add-on (all policies above offer one), which will also cover lost or damaged gear, piste closures and medical costs from accidents. Do be aware that if you usually go off-piste or do extreme sports, these WON'T cover you. More in winter sports info. What if my travel insurer has unfairly turned my claim down? Knowing how firms will respond to claims is tough. You can always formally complain to the insurer and, if rejected, then go to the free Financial Ombudsman to adjudicate.

 

Free tool (Eng & Wales) to protect your property against fraudsters. Recent reports of fraudsters selling houses they don't own, causing the real owner a nightmare, are scary. A free property alert tool helps protect from this. Martin: The energy price cap's to rise 50% on 1 April, should you fix now? Read and watch Martin's new 5-min video explainer to answer this difficult question. Ends Sun. Cheap FAST FIBRE broadband & line rental just '£15/mth' all in. Newbies applying for this Vodafone 38Mb deal before 11.59pm on Sun pay £19/mth, but can CLAIM (don't forget) a £105 Amazon voucher on top. If you'd have spent that there anyway, factor it in and it's equivalent to £14.63/mth over the two-year contract. Or get its SUPERFAST 67Mb broadband for only £1/mth more. For loads more options, use our Broadband Unbundled comparison tool. Updated. Cheap 'day two' travel tests from £13. New rules mean you now only need a lateral flow test, not a PCR, within two days of returning from overseas, but you can't use NHS ones so must pay. See Cheapest Covid travel tests. Stream a song to get £5 off £20 at Amazon - can you get it? See how to check, plus another 30 Amazon tips & tricks. Related. Last Chance: Make money from Amazon's Visa credit card ban. FREE £4 plant-based meat, FREE £2 pea-protein milk, Papa John's 50% off - VEGANUARY deals. We've a round-up of top Veganuary deals and coupons. £115+ of No7 beauty for £25 via 'mystery' bundles. The contents are supposedly secret, but we've got our crystal balls out to predict what's in the No7 bundles. Thu 8.30pm, ITV, The Martin Lewis Money Show LIVE: 'Bust your utility bills, mobiles, broadband, water & more'. Over to Martin: "Last week's show was all about the hideous looming energy bill crisis. This week, I want to cover the other big household utilities. Many can save over £1,000 by switching to cheaper and better suppliers. Plus the latest news-you-can-use. And remember we're live, so watch us, and set the Betamax for the other side."

 

 

BLAGGED FOR MSE - £4 razor & refill starter kit (normally £8) 1,700 available - £14.50 Abel & Cole organic fruit & veg box for £8 1,000 available	DID YOU MISS? - Updated. 14 FREE ways to learn something new in 2022 - The Sun '£9.50 holidays' return - Energy firms wrongly force home movers to fix - we report 'em - FREE 10-point Halfords winter car check - Energy supplier gone bust? Check if you're now paying twice

 

 

Need to borrow? REPAY LESS THAN YOU SPEND Ends 4pm TODAY (Wed). Two years 0% credit card for new spending with £25 cashback Martin's masterclass above is about how you can cut existing borrowing costs. Yet what if you need to borrow now? While 0% spending credit cards have a bad rap, used carefully - following the exact recipe if you like - they are the cheapest way to borrow over a decent length of time, as there's absolutely no cost. Even better, the current top card (the longest since June 2020) gives you cashback, so you actually repay less than you borrow. Let's speedily take you through how to do it safely... ONLY ever borrow if it's planned and affordable. While interest-free is great, be careful. Credit cards are an open facility you can spend on willy-nilly. That's dangerous, so only use it for planned, needed one-off purchases - such as a new fridge or laptop for children's schooling - that you can't pay for from savings and that you've a credible plan to repay before interest kicks in. If you're already struggling with debt, this isn't for you. Avoid borrowing more and instead read our full Debt help guide. Longest 0% purchase credit cards for newbies Recommended: Use our 0% Cards Eligibility Calculator first to see the cards you're most likely to get Card Key details How good is it? Barclaycard Best to check acceptance odds first. Or apply* direct. - Up to 24 months 0%. - Ends 4pm Wed. £25 cashback if you apply via our link & spend £250+ in the first 90 days, paid to your account. - 21.9% rep APR. Longest 0%, cashback, but an 'up to'. As it's an 'up to', some accepted customers will get a shorter 12 months at 0%, depending on its credit assessment. The £25 cashback (in practice, a credit paid to your bill) means, if you're borrowing over £250, do it right and you REPAY LESS THAN YOU SPEND. M&S Bank Best to check acceptance odds first. Or apply* direct. - 23 months 0%. - 1 M&S point per £1 at M&S (1 per £5 elsewhere). - 21.9% rep APR. Longest DEFINTE 0% length. Here, all accepted get the full 23 months at 0%, so use our eligibility calculator and if it shows you've good acceptance odds, it's a strong option. Sainsbury's Bank Best to check acceptance odds first (pre-approval available). Or apply* direct. - Up to 23 months 0%. - Up to £25 Nectar bonus points. 500 points (worth £2.50) per £35 Sainsbury's spend in first 2 months (max 10 spends) plus 2 points per £1 (1 per £5 elsewhere). - 21.9% rep APR. Long 'up to' 0% and bonus Nectar points. Another 'up to' card here, meaning some accepted get just 15 months at 0%, depending on its credit assessment. If you're a Nectar user though, the rewards are decent. New. HSBC Best to check acceptance odds first. Or apply* direct. - 22 months 0%. - £25 cashback if you spend £100+ in the first 60 days, paid to your account. - 22.9% rep APR. Longest DEFINITE 0% with cashback. Like M&S, all accepted get the full time at 0%, and it's especially good if you only need to borrow a small amount, as it's another where you REPAY LESS THAN YOU SPEND. So do needed spending of £100, and the cashback means you only pay back £75. How to take advantage of the rewards offered - without messing things up. The cashback is easy, assuming your one-off borrowing is over the required amount. Yet by offering ongoing rewards, as many of these cards do, it's an encouragement to keep spending, and to build debt you can't repay within the 0% period. Don't do that. Instead, clear your initial debt in full, and after that, use the card to get rewards. Then pay it off IN FULL each month, so you're never building up a debt you'll pay interest on. Follow the 0% Card Golden Rules. Full info in 0% credit cards (APR examples), but in brief... a) Always repay at least the set monthly minimum and stick within the credit limit, or you can lose the 0% offer. b) These cards are usually only top picks for spending, so avoid cash withdrawals or shifting debt to them. c) Plan to clear the card (or balance-transfer away) before the 0% period ends, or the rate jumps to the rep APR. d) Can't use a credit card for your purchase or credit limit not big enough? A cheap loan from 2.8% may work better.

 

'I'm saving £450 a year after haggling with Virgin.' Following Virgin Media's £56/year price hike announcement, Aaron used our tips to beat the rise in our success of the week: "Thank you so much. I rang Virgin when my bill was to rise from £38 to £74 a month, and after talking about sadly having to leave, I got the same package for £35 a month." Please send us your MoneySaving successes on this or anything else. £4 razor & refill starter kit (normally £8). MSE Blagged. 1,700 available. Brighter Shaving Five ways to slash BIG BILLS. In case you missed last week's bill-busting tips on mortgages, mobiles and more. Save £1,000s £14.50 Abel & Cole organic fruit and veg box for £8 via code. MSE Blagged. Get 50% off your first box, plus 40% off the next two. 1,000 available. England only. Save a bunch

 

 

Tell your friends about us They can get this email free every week

 

 

AT A GLANCE BEST BUYS 0% balance transfers Longest 0%: Virgin Money (check eligibility / apply*) 35 months 0%, 2.94% fee (21.9% rep APR) No-fee 0%: Sainsbury's Bank (check eligibility / apply*) up to 21 months 0% (20.9% rep APR) Broadband top picks Standard (10Mb+): Shell Energy '£12.66/mth' Fibre (30Mb+): Vodafone '£14.63/mth' Superfast fibre (55Mb+): Vodafone '£15.63/mth' Top savings accounts Top standard easy access: Allica Bank via Chip, 0.7%, min £1 Top one-year fix: Investec 1.36%, min £5,000 Car insurance Get comparison site quotes in this order: Compare The Market* Confused.com* MoneySupermarket.com* Gocompare* Cheap loans Cheapest, £5k-£7.5k: Sainsbury's Bank (check eligibility / apply*) - 3.3% rep APR for Nectar holders, 3.4% for others Cheapest, £7.5k-£15k: M&S Bank (check eligibility / apply*) - 2.8% rep APR Best bank accounts £150 to switch: HSBC £130 to switch + great service: First Direct Cheap Sims 4GB-9GB: Plusnet '£4.34/mth' for 5GB, unlimited mins & texts 10GB+: TalkMobile '£4.50/mth' for 10GB, unlimited mins & texts

 

THIS WEEK'S POLL How do you rate your bank account's service? Every six months, we ask for your help to track the quality of customer service provided by banks. By comparing your answers with last time, we can see which have got better or worse. So please tell us how you rate your bank account's service. Amazon Logistics tops MSE's annual parcel delivery poll. Last week, we asked you to rate parcel delivery services - more than 9,000 people voted. Amazon Logistics took the crown, with 60% of those who've experienced its service rating it 'great', while CitySprint was bottom of the pile (just 12% 'great'). See full parcel delivery poll results.

 

 

MONEYSAVING NEWS - Top story: Tesco prepaid card extends availability - how to use it to bag extra Clubcard points - McDonald's launches loyalty scheme pilot - how to earn 'free' Big Macs and McNuggets - Tesco Mobile to hike the cost of out-of-bundle calls and texts - Sainsbury's Bank wrongly charges credit card customers late payment fees - are you due a refund?

 

 

MONEY MORAL DILEMMA Should my mates pay me back for Glastonbury tent booking? In 2019, I booked tickets for Glastonbury 2020, as well as a pre-erected tent on the site for me and my mates. With the festival being cancelled two years running, we could either roll our booking over to this year or get a full refund on the tickets, tent or both. I've decided I no longer want to go, so I've got my ticket reimbursed and asked my mates to either pay me for my share of the tent, or to cancel it and book a smaller one. But they've refused, saying that I made a commitment. Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should my mates pay me back for Glastonbury tent booking? | Suggest an MMD

 

 

MSE TEAM BLOG - The best of the MSE Forum from 2021

 

 

MARTIN'S APPEARANCES (WED 12 JAN ONWARDS) Wed 12 Jan - Ask Martin Lewis, BBC Radio 5 Live, 1pm. Listen to past episodes Thu 13 Jan - This Morning, phone-in, ITV, 10.45am Thu 13 Jan - The Martin Lewis Money Show Live, ITV, 8.30pm MSE TEAM APPEARANCES (SUBJECT TBC) Tue 18 Jan - BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, Mid-morning with Jeremy Sallis, from 12.40pm

 

WHAT SURPRISE ACCOMPANIED YOUR CHARITY SHOP PURCHASE? That's all for this week, but before we go... have you ever found a surprise that came along with a charity shop purchase? Lucky Forumites told us of finding an old £5 note tucked into a CD and £30 cash in a coat pocket, while another once fished £6.70 out from the back of a second-hand sofa. But less welcome were the discoveries of used plasters, pills, appointment cards and face masks. Tell us what surprise extras you've unearthed on the what have you found inside charity shop purchases? MSE Forum discussion. We hope you save some money, stay safe, The MSE team

 

Important. Please read how MoneySavingExpert.com works We think it's important you understand the strengths and limitations of this email and the site. We're a journalistic website, and aim to provide the best MoneySaving guides, tips, tools and techniques - but can't promise to be perfect, so do note you use the information at your own risk and we can't accept liability if things go wrong. What you need to know This info does not constitute financial advice, always do your own research on top to ensure it's right for your specific circumstances - and remember we focus on rates not service. We don't as a general policy investigate the solvency of companies mentioned, how likely they are to go bust, but there is a risk any company can struggle and it's rarely made public until it's too late (see the Section 75 guide for protection tips). We often link to other websites, but can't be responsible for their content. Always remember anyone can post on the MSE forums, so it can be very different from our opinion. Please read the Full Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy, How This Site is Financed and Editorial Code. Martin Lewis is a registered trade mark belonging to Martin S Lewis. More about MoneySavingExpert and Martin Lewis What is MoneySavingExpert.com? Founded in February 2003, it is now the UK's biggest consumer help website, with more than 16 million users each month and about 7.5 million receiving this email. In September 2012 it became part of the MoneySupermarket Group PLC. Its focus is simple - saving cash and fighting for financial justice on anything and everything. The site has over 80 full-time staff, more than a third of whom are editorial - researching, analysing and writing to continually find ways to save money. More info: See About MSE. Who is Martin Lewis? Martin Lewis OBE is the founder and executive chair of MSE, as well as the founder of the MMHPI charity. He's an ultra-focused MoneySaving journalist and consumer campaigner with his own prime-time ITV programme The Martin Lewis Money Show, Radio 5 Live Wednesday show Ask Martin Lewis and weekly slot on This Morning, among others. More info: See Martin Lewis' biography. What do the links with an * mean? Any links with an * by them are affiliated, which means get a product via this link and a contribution may be made to MoneySavingExpert.com, which helps it stay free to use. You shouldn't notice any difference; the links don't impact the products at all and the editorial line (the things we write) isn't changed due to them. If it isn't possible to get an affiliate link for the best product, it's still included in the same way. More info: See How This Site is Financed. As we believe transparency is important, we're including the following 'un-affiliated' web-addresses for content too: Unaffiliated web-addresses for links in this email uk.virginmoney.com, hsbc.co.uk, sainsburysbank.co.uk, firstdirect.com, hitachipersonalfinance.co.uk, bank.marksandspencer.com, cahoot.com, santander.co.uk, tsb.co.uk, leisureguardtravelinsurance.com, coverwise.co.uk, coverforyou.com, staysure.co.uk, barclaycard.co.uk, comparethemarket.com, confused.com, moneysupermarket.com, gocompare.com Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Note MoneySupermarket.com Financial Group Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 303190). MoneySavingExpert.com Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales. Company Registration Number: 8021764. Registered office: One Dean Street, London, W1D 3RB. MoneySavingExpert.com Limited is an appointed representative of MoneySupermarket.com Financial Group Limited. To change your email or stop receiving the weekly tips (unsubscribe): Go to: www.moneysavingexpert.com/tips.