Energy bills to rise to £3,000, nat insurance cut – will you gain?, 213Mb broadband £18, Martin's Mortgage & Savings help

Plus... Free £150 Amazon, train strike refunds?, two designers specs £25, cheapest iPhone 12

                                                           

22 June 2022 | View in browser

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THE TOP TIPS IN THIS EMAIL Martin: UK interest rates up to 1.25% - MORTGAGES: Can you save £1,000s? - SAVERS: Are you earning under 1.5%? Ends Thu. Eye-wateringly fast 213Mb Virgin broadband '£18/month' Bag FREE £150 at Amazon + £10/mth Deliveroo cashback Martin: 'Oh shoot! Latest energy price cap prediction's UP 51%' Train strikes - are you due a refund? How much will your take-home pay rise next month? TWO pairs of designer specs £25 Shift card debt to 0% - our masterclass Martin: 'The one thing everyone aged 66+ needs to know' New. Cheapest iPhone 12 deal Ends Mon. Lloyds' FREE £125 Save on Jurassic World, Elvis, Minions 2 and more cinema tickets How good/bad is your mobile network? FREE Homebuilding & Renovating Show tickets This week's best buys, including 5GB Sim '£3.92/month', 2.8% loans, MSE Car Insurance Compare+ tool Should we pass on any of the £400 energy bill grant to our tenant? BEST BUYS & TOOLS MSE Cheap Mobile Finder Credit Club incl free credit report 0% Balance Transfers Compare Broadband deals MSE Car Insurance Compare+ Best Bank Accounts Top Savings Accounts Credit Cards for Bad Credit Credit Card Eligibility Calculator Loans Eligibility Calculator Mortgage Comparison Compare Travel Money Cheap Energy Club, incl Pick Me A Tariff Best Sim Only Deals

Martin: 'The UK base rate hit 1.25% last week, a fifth increase in six months. Further rises are almost certain. How high can it go? And what should you do now with MORTGAGE & SAVINGS?' The economic situation is moving at speed. Inflation is rampant. Stagflation (inflation coupled with recession) is a concern. After the Bank of England's committee voted last Thursday to increase it to 1.25%, the UK base rate is twelve times higher than it was just six months ago, at 0.1%. The highest it's been since 2009. That meeting's minutes show a 6 to 3 vote, with the three opponents arguing for a bigger rise to 1.5% - a strong signal that, rightly or wrongly, unless there's radical change more hikes are coming. Forecasting consultancy Capital Economics predicts the base rate will be at 2.25% by the end of this year, 3% next. Few under age 35 will remember rates this high, yet it's the last fifteen years of super-low interest rates that are the anomaly. Many with grey hair (like me) or even white hair (unlike me, cheeky so-and-sos) will remember interest rates over 10% - whether we're at the start of that only time will tell, but unless the world economy crashes, a general upward trajectory seems likely. So it is important to review your mortgage and savings. Here are my key need-to-knows first for mortgages, or jump to savings... MORTGAGES Check at speed to see if you can save £1,000s The instant impact of last week's rise depends on your mortgage type. On a variable or tracker mortgage: You will soon see costs increase by roughly £12/mth per £100,000 of mortgage debt. See how & when your rate will change with our lender-by-lender list, then plug that into our Mortgage Calculator to see your rise. On a fixed rate: You won't see any change until your current fix ends (check you know when that is). Then you'll move by default to your lender's standard variable rate (SVR), likely to be 4.5% to 5.5% - a huge increase for most. See lender-by-lender SVR rates. Yet most people will instead, rightly, aim to grab a new fix/deal when the current one ends. Sadly, today's cheapest fixes are three times higher than last October's when they bottomed out, though that's still far less than the SVR, so go quick... The cheapest mortgage deals are disappearing... For those on variable rates, or with fixes soon ending (some can even lock in a deal up to six months ahead), action now to check if you can save is a must. Lenders are repricing new deals weekly, meaning today's rates may disappear tomorrow, so delay may be costly. The days of sub-1% fixes are gone. Today's cheapest fixes are as low as 2.49% over two years, 2.74% over five, and 2.73% over 10 years. As you can see, right now (unusually) the premium for fixing longer is very low, especially for 10 years. With further base rate rises predicted, today's longer-term fixes may (I don't have a crystal ball) in hindsight look incredible deals. Though be mindful of early exit charges, you must either be confident you won't move, or ensure the deal is 'portable' (ie, it can move with you). How to find YOUR best mortgage deal The full need-to-knows are in my free 62-page PDF Remortgage guide, but here's a speedy summary of key actions... Ask for your existing lender's current deals. Switching with your existing lender is called a 'product transfer'. It didn't used to be a great option, but these days, as your existing lender may forego affordability checks if you're not borrowing more, it can work out well. Plus there'll likely be less paperwork and lower fees. Savings can be huge, as Adam tweeted me: "@MartinSLewis Just went for a new deal with my existing provider at the end of a five-year fix, was able to save £175/month [£2,100/year] - same terms. I used the mortgage tool on MSE." Compare the cheapest deals. It takes 2 mins to use our Mortgage Best Buys comparison to get a benchmark of the best deal on the wider market you could get. As Lee tweeted me: "@MartinSLewis We remortgaged in April and our monthly payment dropped from £900 to £750. Was our first remortgage as we bought our first house 2 years ago. Really happy. Your guide really helped me understand everything." Compare it to your current deal. Check how the cost of your current mortgage compares to new ones via our Ultimate Mortgage Calculators. As a rough example, for a 25-year term mortgage at 2%... Mortgage size £100,000 £250,000 £500,000 Each 1% extra interest costs  £600/yr £1,500/yr £3,000/yr Use a mortgage broker to aid acceptance. Lenders do both credit and affordability checks (likely to be tougher to pass for some now due to the rising cost of living) that can kibosh applications. It's tough to know who'll accept you and how much you'll be able to borrow. Find a good mortgage broker and they'll have information on this that's very difficult for you to get yourself. PS: Mortgage prisoners. For the up to 200,000 homeowners trapped since 2007 with mortgages from closed-book providers - rate rises are a nightmare. Our Mortgage prisoner guide may help some, but far from all. I am still campaigning on this in the background, and hope to announce next steps when I can. SAVINGS If you earn under 1.5%, act now to boost it It's never been more important to maximise every penny of savings interest. With inflation roaring, in real terms money in savings is shrinking. To mitigate the impact, you need as high a rate as possible. Rates for the top deals are increasing, with some longer fixes closing in on 3%, but funnily enough [sarcasm] savings rates tend not to bounce up with the same alacrity as mortgage rates. Even after five base rate rises, some still pay 0.01%. So check what you get ASAP. All savings listed have the full £85,000 UK savings safety protection. The very least you should be earning is 1.5% Easy-access savings are accounts where you can put money in and take it out when you want. They're the entry level, so the top rate here is the minimum you should earn. Top easy-access savings 1.56%. Two accounts vie for top place here, both are actually savings linked to bank accounts. But as you can open them for free WITHOUT needing to switch account, just to get the savings, they're easy and winners. - Chase 1.5% AER* on up to £250,000. App-only, but just wins it as my top pick for pure savings, as it only does an ID check, so applying doesn't impact your creditworthiness. Its debit card is also top for cashback at 1% for the first year and for spending overseas. Though it's so popular there's a backlog of 3-5 weeks. As Laura emailed us: "On your advice, I opened Chase mid-April. On 1 June I received my first full month's interest of £90.64. Thank you so much. I had only received pennies annually from TSB. I have also received £29.60 for the 1% cashback." - Virgin Money's M Plus 1.56% AER* on up to £25,000. A tad higher rate (60p/yr more per £1,000), but its credit check goes on your credit file, not a biggie, but best not if you've important credit applications soon. If you do choose to switch bank to it, you can get enough loyalty points for 12 free bottles of wine (though switches elsewhere pay up to £170 free cash). It also has a top debit card overseas. - Atom Bank and Aldermore* pay 1.35% AER and are the top standard (not linked to a bank account) easy-access savings accounts. Atom is app-only, but has no minimum opening balance, while Aldermore is available online, but needs £1,000 to open it.  Easy-access rates are 'variable rate', so do watch that it doesn't change. See Top easy-access savings for more options. Double the interest by locking cash away in a fix The top fixed-rate savings, also known as savings bonds (be careful, there are lots of different, riskier things called 'bonds' too), pay more and the rate is locked in, but so is your money, as you can't withdraw it during the period. So fix what you can afford to lock away and leave the rest in easy access. - Top 6mth fix: Shawbrook Bank 1.75% AER (min £1,000). - Top 1yr fix: Atom Bank 2.6% AER (min £50) though it's app-only, or for online access Ford Money 2.45% AER (min £500). - Top 2yr fix: DF Capital 2.95% AER (min £1,000). - Top notice account: Oxbury Bank 1.9% AER (min £1,000) is variable, not fixed, and needs 120 days' notice to withdraw cash. Yet as it pays more than a 6mth fix, if you can plan ahead it's a decent alternative. The top fixed rates have risen strongly recently and may continue to rise, so there is a question of how long you should lock away for - as you can't withdraw the cash during the term to shift to a higher-paying account. Of course, banks are just as aware as we are that UK rates are rising, so that potential will have been factored into today's fixed-rate prices, which is one reason why they're far above the base rate. You could play safe and just go for 6mth fixes or a notice account, as they beat easy access. Balanced against that is that you'll forgo the extra interest available in one or two-year fixes and need to move money more frequently. It's such a close call, don't worry too much, there's no wrong decision. Three and five-year fixes are available too, but the top rate there is 3%, which for me isn't enough of a premium to lock in for longer in a rising rate environment. If you think different, or you would like to see more options than those above, see all top fixed savings rates. Can you boost your interest by up to 50%? Easy access and fixes are the two main routes for larger savings, yet there are other options that pay more. Here's my checklist to see what you can do, and answer some key questions... 1. Are you on universal credit or tax credits? You may be eligible for an unbeatable 50% savings bonus via Help to Save. 2. Are you a wannabe first-time buyer aged 18-39? There's a whopping 25% bonus possible via Top Lifetime ISAs. 3. Do you have existing expensive debt? Paying off debt is usually more lucrative than saving. For help, see the Should I pay off my debt? guide. It's more complex with mortgages, but can work for many. See Should I overpay my mortgage? 4. Save regularly each month? Earn 3.5% in Top regular savings. 5. Are Premium Bonds worth it? The prize rate went up to 1.4% this month, yet that's still less than top easy access, and someone with typical luck wins less anyway. Full pros & cons in Are Premium Bonds worth it? 6. With savings rates so low, should you invest? With investing, you aim for higher returns, but accept the risk you could lose some or all of your initial investment. I don't talk about it, not because I'm against it, just because it's not my expertise. For many over the longer run, investing is the right call. For an introduction, see Stocks & shares ISAs, but you'll need more specialised websites for help on what to invest in.

 

 

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.

 

 

 

Do you feel a need, a need for speed? Ends Thu. Eye-wateringly fast 213Mb Virgin fibre broadband & line just '£18/month' - far cheaper than we've ever seen before at this speed  This is blisteringly fast, faster even than Martin speaks, yet the price, even including line rent, is about half what many pay for much slower speeds. At this rate you can download an hour-long film in top 4K definition (so about 7GB) in five minutes, rather than the 90 minutes it'd take on standard broadband. A music album would download in three seconds. Of course, while many may want it, few need such speeds. Standard 10Mb broadband is fine for browsing or light streaming, though faster is better for households with multiple users, downloads or gaming. Yet while normally you pay a lot more for a lot faster, Virgin's short-lived newbies promo brings down the differential - if you're in the 55% of the UK that can get it. Here's how it stacks up against the cheapest deals at other speeds. All links go via our Broadband Unbundled comparison tool where you can enter your postcode and see what deals are available in your area. Top switchers' broadband & phone line deals On universal credit or similar benefits? Do also check out special discounted social broadband tariffs Shell Energy MSE Blagged - 11Mb standard broadband & line '£13.83/month' 12-month contract Mid-term inflation+ price hike allowed in contract Cheapest standard speed. Apply via this Shell 11Mb link and you pay £17.99/month, but you get an automatic £50 bill credit within three months. Factor it in over the one-year contract and it's equivalent to £13.83/month. Shell was rated 'OK' in our last service poll. Ends 5pm Thu. Vodafone  - 67Mb fast fibre & line '£15.75/month' 24-month contract Mid-term inflation+ price hike allowed in contract Cheapest superfast fibre and line in four months. Apply via this Vodafone 67Mb link and you pay £22/month, but can claim a £150 Amazon, Sainsbury's, Tesco or M&S voucher (you'll get an email 3-4 months after signing up telling you how to claim). If you'd have spent at one of them anyway, factor the voucher in over the 24-month contract and it's equivalent to £15.75/month. Vodafone was rated 'OK' in our last service poll. Ends 11.59pm Thu. Virgin Media MSE Blagged - 213Mb megafast fibre & line '£18.40/month' - 108Mb megafast fibre & line '£17.40/month' 18-month contract Mid-term price hike NOT allowed in contract (so if it raises prices, you can leave penalty-free) Only available to 55% of homes - you're told if yours qualifies when applying. Fastest cheap promo deal we've ever seen. Apply via this Virgin 213Mb link and you pay £23.95/month, but get an automatic £100 bill credit added to your first bill (so there's nowt to pay for four months, unless you make calls). Factor that in and it's £18.40/month over the 18-month contract. There's a slightly cheaper deal for about half that speed too. Virgin just dipped down into the 'poor' category in our last customer service poll - so there may be a trade-off between speed and service. To compare, we use 'equivalent costs' - adding all costs, deducting promo credits and averaging over the contract. Slow broadband? Test your speed - is it the Wi-Fi or the connection? Do a broadband speed check - first when using Wi-Fi, and then plugging your device into the router (if you can). If Wi-Fi's a lot slower, try our eight speed-boosters. At least 50% of customers must get the advertised speeds at peak times. All providers above also tell you the estimated max speed you're likely to get before you sign up. Switching usually only means about two hours' downtime. You're told the switch time and most don't need an engineer to set it up - though about 40% switching to Virgin will (you're told before applying). A few leaving Virgin may need an Openreach engineer. Don't want to switch? Haggle. If you want to stay with your existing provider, use the deals in the table above as a benchmark price to help you haggle costs down. Not sure how? Read our full Broadband haggling tips guide. Members of cashback sites can sometimes undercut deals. In some cases, the cashback can mean these sites undercut promos elsewhere, though sometimes the deal differs - so check carefully. More in Top cashback sites.

 

Martin: "Oh 'shoot'. Latest Oct energy price cap prediction is UP 51% to £2,980/yr for typical use. Scary news from analysts Cornwall Insight that as 'year ahead' wholesale prices have spiked heavily, it now predicts the Oct price cap will rise 51% (so £2,980/yr on typical use - £180 more than Ofgem predicted last month). As we're a good way through the assessment period, predictions are quite firm. A further 1% rise is predicted for Jan. I've updated my Is it time to fix? guide based on the new figures." Train strikes - are you due a refund? Many with booked tickets or season tickets are... Rail/tube strike rights How much will your take-home pay rise next month? In July, the threshold at which you start paying national insurance (NI) increases. Use our Income Tax Calculator to see how much you'll gain. It also shows the extra you paid due to the 1.25 percentage point NI rise in April, and lets you compare with past years to see if you're better or worse off. TWO pairs of designer prescription specs from £25 delivered. MSE Blagged. Includes Aspire, DKNY, Levi's, Scout and more. See Glasses Direct. Can't afford to clear credit cards? You can't afford not to try for a 0% balance transfer. Get 21 months 0% NO FEE + £30 Amazon voucher. We ran through our credit card cost-cutting masterclass in last week's email. If you missed it, have a read or go straight to our 0% balance transfer Credit Card Eligibility Calculator. Martin: 'The one thing everyone aged 66 and over needs to know.' Read his new Are you eligible for pension credit? blog.

 

 

BLAGGED FOR MSE - TWO pairs of designer prescription specs from £25 Ends 30 Jun - iPhone 12 contract with 100GB for '£26/month' Ends 30 Jun	DID YOU MISS? - FREE ice creams, FREE Evian - it's our June coupons update - FREE £50 investment - just put in £50, get £50 cashback - It now costs £100 to fill up a petrol tank - 20+ tips to cut costs - Ikea 'up to 50% off' summer sale, eg £30 mirror £12 - Don't pay council tax by direct debit? How to get £150 rebate

 

 

New. Easy way to bag a FREE £150 at Amazon (or £264 at Sainsbury's) + £10/month Deliveroo cashback + two free airport lounge passes Credit cards want you to spend on them, so much so that some pay you to do it. They of course hope they'll earn far more in interest. Yet just neuter that by setting up a direct debit to repay the card IN FULL each month, then provided you don't withdraw cash, bust your credit limit or see it as an excuse to overspend, it's interest-free and you're quids in (don't do it if not). See Credit card rewards for a full list of cards that pay. This week we're focusing on the Amex Preferred Rewards Gold* card (best to first check your odds of being accepted), which has a doozie of an offer on right now, with a host of different elements to it... Two £5 Deliveroo cashbacks per month (worth up to £120/year). Save the offer to your card (found under 'offers' in the Amex app or online banking) and use the card to pay for Deliveroo (min spend £5), then you'll automatically get £5 credit on two orders a month. Two free airport lounge passes per year (worth around £50 each). These should come within six weeks of acceptance and they're usable in many airport lounges worldwide. Amex newbies get 30,000 bonus rewards points if spending £3,000 within the first three months. This is a temporarily-boosted introductory bonus (it's normally 20,000 points) for those who haven't had an American Express card within the last two years. Yet this bit's only for higher spenders, as you'll need to do the equivalent of a grand's spending a month on it. While hefty, it's doable for many, especially if you put all family spending on it. In a trusting relationship? Make your partner an additional cardholder, and their spending counts towards it. You can convert the points into £150ish at Amazon/M&S or £264 at Sainsbury's. Amex is usually accepted in all supermarkets and most big stores. As you also get the standard 1 point per £1 spent on top of the bonus, hit the trigger and you'd have 33,000 Amex reward points, exchangeable for a £150 M&S, Currys etc voucher or £148.50 to pay online at Amazon, Boots and more. Or, via a trick, convert them into Nectar points, enough to get £264 of Sainsbury's shopping. Warning. The card is fee-free in year one, but £140 a year after. Diarise to cancel before year two if you don't want to pay the £140. Plus fail to fully repay each month and it charges 25.3% rep APR. When we say pay off IN FULL, we mean IN FULL, not nearly in full. The words IN FULL are Martin's catchphrase for a reason. If you spend £1,000 in a month and clear the card entirely, there's no interest. Spend £1,000 and pay off £999, and you usually pay interest on the whole £1,000, not just the £1 left.

 

New. Cheapest iPhone 12 contract we've seen - 100GB '£26/month'. MSE Blagged. This 64GB iPhone 12 (so one off the latest iPhone models) for Three newbies via Fonehouse is £15 upfront, then £25/month (£615 over the two-year contract) for 100GB/month of data and unlimited mins & texts. Want a different handset or a Sim-only deal? See MSE's Cheap Mobile Finder tool. Note: Three is responsible for the contract, Fonehouse for the handset. Ends Mon. Lloyds' FREE £125 switch bonus (though you can get a FREE £170 elsewhere). Switch to a new or existing Club Lloyds account before Monday for a FREE £125. What strengthens it is an ongoing annual reward, including six free cinema tickets or 12 digital movie rentals. Check the competition first though... Top for upfront cash: HSBC's FREE £170. Top for service: First Direct's FREE £150* account is rated 90% 'great' for service, and comes with a linked 3.5% regular saver and a £250 0% overdraft for many. See full reviews and crucial eligibility info in Best bank accounts. Save on Jurassic World, Elvis and Minions 2 - get 2for1 movies for £1, free Odeon tickets & more. With these blockbusters among several hitting screens in June, we've updated our 20+ cinema savers. How good/bad is your mobile network? It's our regular six-monthly service poll. Please vote now. FREE Homebuilding & Renovating Show tickets (normally £12 each). For the Surrey show this weekend, or for London, Harrogate and Somerset shows later in the year. Free tickets

 

 

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AT A GLANCE BEST BUYS 0% balance transfers Longest 0%: Ends Wed. Virgin Money (check eligibility / apply*) - 34 months 0%, 2.7% fee (21.9% rep APR interest) No-fee 0%: Sainsbury's Bank (check eligibility / apply*) - up to 22 months 0% (21.9% rep APR) or NatWest - 22 months 0% if you're a NatWest/RBS customer (21.9% rep APR) Broadband top picks Standard (10Mb+): Shell Energy '£13.83/month' Superfast fibre (55Mb+): Vodafone '£15.75/month' Megafast fibre (200Mb+): Virgin Media '£18.40/month' Top savings accounts Top easy access: Virgin Money 1.56%, no min Top one-year fix: Atom Bank 2.6%, min £50 Car insurance Try our new MSE Car Insurance Compare+ tool Cheap loans Cheapest for £5,000-£7,499: Novuna Personal Finance* 3.6% rep APR (2-5 years) Cheapest £7,500-£15,000: M&S Bank* 2.8% rep APR (1-7 years) Best bank accounts £170 to switch: HSBC £150 to switch + TOP service: First Direct Cheap Sims 4GB-9GB data: Virgin Mobile, '£3.92/month' for 5GB, unlimited mins & texts 10GB+ data: TalkMobile, '£4.50/month' for 10GB, unlimited mins & texts

 

THIS WEEK'S POLL How do you rate your mobile network's service and coverage? We want to find out how each provider rates for service (how it treats you) and coverage (how strong the signal is when you need it). Vote in this week's poll. The majority of MoneySavers have changed their driving habits due to soaring fuel costs. Last week, we asked if you've changed your driving habits due to record fuel prices. Over 6,000 of you responded, and of those who drive, around seven in 10 have made changes. The most common approaches were limiting car journeys to essential/longer trips only and trying to drive more efficiently - though many also said they were walking, cycling or taking public transport more often. See the full poll results.

 

 

MSE NEWS - Top story: Government tells airlines to cancel summer flights earlier rather than later to avoid chaos - Buy now, pay later regulation coming - but Martin says action is 'too slow' - Energy regulator to crack down on excessive direct debits - Watch out for fake texts claiming to be from Ofgem and offering a £400 energy rebate - Millions to receive first cost of living payment in July - check if you'll get it

 

 

MONEY MORAL DILEMMA Should we pass on any of the £400 energy bill grant to our tenant? We let a flat that's part of our property, and bill our tenant for utilities based on readings of the flat's sub-meters. He also pays one quarter of the standing charges as he occupies one quarter of the property. We don't pass on VAT to him and the rent we charge is below the market rate as we haven't increased it in seven years. Given that, should we pass on any of the Chancellor's  forthcoming £400 energy bill grant to our tenant and, if so, how much of it? Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should we pass on any of the £400 energy bill grant to our tenant? | Suggest a Money Moral Dilemma

 

 

MARTIN'S BLOG - The one thing everyone aged over 66 needs to know	MSE TEAM BLOG - Passwords, pocket money and power tools - last week's MSE Forum highlights

 

 

MARTIN'S APPEARANCES (WED 22 JUN ONWARDS) Wed 22 Jun - Ask Martin Lewis, BBC Radio 5 Live, 1pm. Listen to past episodes MSE TEAM APPEARANCES (SUBJECT TBC) Tue 28 Jun - BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, Mid-morning with Jeremy Sallis, from 10.45am

 

COMMUNAL MILK AND VOLUNTEERING... YOUR TOP FESTIVAL HACKS That's all for this week, but before we go... with Glastonbury kicking off, music fans on the MSE Forum have been sharing their festival hacks. These include bringing a reusable water bottle so you can refill at the taps/bars for free, dodging expensive breakfast purchases by bringing your own cereal and then buying milk to share with friends, and investing in a 'she-wee' device to avoid cubicle queues. And while probably too late for this year's festivals, several MoneySavers recommend applying as a charity volunteer well ahead of time in return for a free ticket. Take centre stage and share your own in the festival hacks MSE Forum discussion (and don't forget to check out our Free festivals guide). We hope you save some money, stay safe, The MSE team

 

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