5.7% ISAs, £200 off broadband, free Asda £5, £37,000 bereavement support, £133 No7 beauty £40, free crumpets

And... summer holiday survival guide - including free £175 to spend, childcare help, EHIC warning

                                                           

18 July 2023 | View in browser

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THE TOP TIPS IN THIS EMAIL MSE's summer hols survival guide Martin: 'Time to (re)open cash ISAs? The top pay 5.7%' Cut £200/yr off broadband costs Free £5 at Asda British Gas - new cheaper fix for existing customers Early access to £133 of No7 for £40 Car insurance up 16% - check NOW HSBC, Halifax, Lloyds & more launch extra mortgage help £40 off Kärcher pressure washers Took time off to look after kids? You could be due £1,000s extra pension Puma 30% off code Martin: 'Please Chancellor, don't can buy now, pay later regulation' Use 1st & 2nd class stamps now 'We got £37,000 bereavement support' FREE Morrisons café crumpets Balance-transfer deals may be pulled This week's best buys, including 5.3% loans, 5GB Sim '£3.45/mth', free £200 bank switch bribe Should we change our wills following our daughter's death? BEST BUYS & TOOLS MSE Cheap Mobile Finder Credit Club including free credit report 0% balance transfers Compare broadband deals MSE Compare+ Car Insurance 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, with Pick Me A Tariff Best Sim-only deals

MSE's summer holidays survival guide 26 tips for going abroad and staying at home Including FREE £175 'spending money', childcare cash, 2for1 days out, cheap euros, sun cream trick & more Summer break-ups don't just happen on Love Island - soon all schools across the UK will have shut their doors, signalling the summer holidays are well and truly here. Whether that fills you with joy or dread, our aim is to at least help it be more affordable. So here are 26 MoneySavers to keep you smiling while the sun's shining and feel less pain in the rain. i) Last-second savers if you're headed abroad Half of you are heading overseas this summer according to our recent poll, and as most go on the early side, let's start there. Here's a flavour, but there's lots more in our 65 overseas travel tips guide. 1. Thousands of flights are being cancelled - know your rights (many due compensation as well as refunds). Easyjet has already cancelled 1,700 Gatwick flights and strikes are likely to see more cancellations. Don't be fobbed off, know your flight delay & cancellation rights (bookmark this guide in case it happens to you). 2. Grab a FREE £175 to ease holiday budgets with top fee-free overseas card. New switchers to First Direct's* bank account get a FREE £175 - which could boost your holiday budget (though it'll take a month for you to get it) - plus its debit card is now a specialist one for going abroad, so you get the same near-perfect foreign exchange rates banks do. Other perks include a linked 7% regular saver and a £250 0% overdraft for many. Full info including key eligibility criteria (and other banks that pay you up to £200 to switch, but no top overseas debit card) in Best bank accounts. 3. The rebook trick keeps on giving... is your hotel / car hire cheaper than when you booked? We've been flooded with successes after mentioning this a few weeks ago. For cheap hotels, keep your eyes on comparison sites such as Skyscanner*, Kayak*, TripAdvisor and Trivago*. For cheap car hire (which unusually this year seems to be dropping, not rising, in price the closer you get for many), it's similar. If the price has dropped and your booking allows free (or cheap) cancellation, rebook for less. As Gary emailed: "Saw your car hire costs reducing story. It's normally much cheaper to book in advance, which we did this year as normal in January for our July holiday. Just checked the price, then cancelled it for free and rebooked the same car for €390, saving €190." 4. Top cards for spending abroad (without switching bank). App-only Chase's* debit card gives virtually-perfect exchange rates, and 1% cashback (up to £15/mth) on most spending in the UK and abroad for 12 months. You don't need to switch banks to get it, so can use it alongside your main bank, and it only does an ID, not a credit, check. Alternatively, the Barclaycard Rewards credit card also has near-perfect exchange rates, no ATM fee, and no interest on fully-repaid ATM withdrawals (max £500/day), plus 0.25% cashback on all spending worldwide and, as it's a credit card, Section 75 protection. Only get it if you'll repay IN FULL each month though, or its 25.9% rep APR interest dwarfs the currency gain. For a full contrast and many more options, see the Top travel cards guide. PS: Also see Top cards for under-18s to spend on abroad. 5. Grab cheap or FREE access to airport lounges. It could work out cheaper than a meal, drinks and snacks at the airport. Routes include freebies with credit cards. See all ways to do it in Free or cheap airport lounge access. 6. Is your EHIC valid - about 5.4m expire this year. These cards give access to state-run hospitals or GPs in EU countries for the same price as a local - so if it's free for them, it's free for you (if they pay, you pay, so check first). Yet check point 9 on all the family's cards, as 5.4m become invalid this year. If so, you'll need to get a new GHIC instead (it does the same thing). See how to safely get a free GHIC. Too late to get one? While a valid card's easiest, you can still access the scheme from abroad without a card via a Provisional Replacement Certificate. 7. Booked car hire? Avoid the excess insurance trap at pick-up. Car hire usually includes basic insurance, yet at the pick-up desk, they almost always try to push you to get 'excess cover insurance' costing up to £25/day with scare stories of huge bills for just a scratch - or sometimes implying you have to do it. Instead, get cheap standalone car hire 'excess' insurance in advance for £2/day. Yet even with it, they will try to put you off or tell you it doesn't work and make you leave a refundable deposit of £1,000+ on a credit (often not debit) card, which must be in the name of the person who booked. Not a problem, as long as you have one, just nod and carry on. 8. Tinkling in the sea, wearing flip-flops, jaywalking and more may land you a holiday fine. Actions acceptable in the UK may hit you in the pocket elsewhere - see our Holiday habits warning. 9. Find your cheapest bureau de change in seconds. Top plastic's the cheapest way, but some cash can be useful. Our Travel money comparison tool compares 26 bureaux for best rates. 10. Parking at the airport? Book ahead - even on the day. Rock up at Stansted Airport without booking, you'll pay from £210/wk to park. Book ahead on the same day using a comparison site, and it could be £87/wk, though generally, earlier booking's best. Here are discounted comparison site links: FHR 10% to 45% off* | Holiday Extras 10% to 40% off* | Airparks 10% to 40% off* | SkyParkSecure 5% to 28% off*. For others sites and alternatives, see Cheap airport parking. 11. When using plastic abroad, don't let them do the conversion, always pay in the local currency. See Martin's Pay in euros? blog - it may be a bit dated, but the logic's still right. 12. Booked but not got travel cover yet? DO IT NOW, DON'T DELAY. Martin's travel insurance rule is simple, get it ASAB - as soon as you book. Yet many still worryingly leave it to the last minute. That's a mistake. Do it NOW.  As he says: "Half travel insurance's value is protecting you BEFORE travelling. Waiting to sort it means you're not getting full value, and are at risk. Each year, frustratingly, someone asks me for help as they can't get a holiday refund after something horrid, even a cancer diagnosis. That's what insurance is for, leave it late & you're scuppered." More help in:  Cheap travel insurance | Cheap over-65s' cover | Cheap pre-existing conditions cover 13. Don't get stung with hidden roaming charges. Our new research reveals how some providers limit the amount of data you can use in the EU, even if roaming's included in your bundle. See full firm-by-firm EU roaming info. Outside the EU, it can get really costly (up to £8/day), so big savings are possible with international eSims. Lots more help in our Cut roaming costs guide. 14. Turn your sun cream around to save cash. See turning sun cream around, and if you need new sun cream, see how to safely downshift to a 5-star UVA bottle for as little as £2.79. 15. Mine the MSE Forum for travel tips. The Overseas holidays & travel planning and UK holidays boards are a goldmine of MoneySaving knowledge and inspiration. ii) Tips and tricks for while you're at home If you've time to fill for you and / or the kids at home, or want to plan UK holidays and day trips, it's time for a host of things that may help... 16. New. 850,000 Travelodge rooms £38 or less - can you find 'em? This week, it's released lots more cheap rooms for stays this summer, including coastal destinations such as Blackpool, Cornwall, and Eastbourne. But it can be trial and error to find the cheapest rooms. Excludes London and Northern Ireland. See cheap Travelodge. 17. Kids 'eat for free' at M&S Café, TGI Fridays, Beefeater & more. We've rounded up dining out deals, including where kids eat free (or cheap) with a paying grown-up. 18. 'Free' trampolining, swimming, dancing sessions & more. Buy a promo pack of Heinz beans, soup or sauce (usually £1 to £4), then redeem a code for free entry for 1,000s of activities. Also includes Diggerland and Gulliver's. More in Heinz Dayz Out. 19. School holiday childcare financial help Looking after the kids, especially if you need to work, can be stressful and costly. But there are schemes that can help you reduce the cost... Planning to pay for holiday clubs, summer camps or a childminder? Check your provider's registered. Many don't realise that you can get help with all sorts of holiday activities, such as tennis camps, dance clubs and summer camps - as long as the provider is regulated by the equivalent of Ofsted or the Early Years Register (or the Childcare Register if using a childminder). See How to check if my childcare provider is registered. If it is, then there are different forms of help available... 1) On Universal Credit (UC) and in work? Claim back up to £1,630/mth of your summer childcare costs. The maximum childcare provision on UC has just been boosted, so you can now claim back up to 85% of your childcare costs up to a max of £951/mth (for 1 child) or £1,630/mth (for 2+ children). You can claim just during school holidays, or on top of term time. See UC for summer childcare. 2) Earning under £40k-ish and not claiming Universal Credit? Check NOW if you can get it, though money takes five weeks to come through - so you won't get the money back until later. 3) On Tax Credits? You can claim back childcare costs this way too. Though some will be better off switching to UC, as more childcare money's available that way. Be careful though, seek 1-on-1 advice before switching. 4) Not eligible for benefits, in work, and no parent earns over £100k? Grab Tax-Free Childcare worth up to £2,000/yr per child including summer hols. It takes just 20 minutes to sign up, and for every 80p you put towards it, you get 20p added to pay for childcare. For full info, see Tax-Free Childcare. If your child's eligible for free school meals, apply for holiday support NOW. The Holiday Activity and Food Programme (HAF) in England gives eligible children aged 4+ at least one free meal a day (+ free activities) for four weeks over the summer holidays. Access to HAF isn't automatic and places are limited, so apply now. It's run by councils, so exact details depend on where you live. There are different schemes in Scotland and Wales. 20. How to find cheap UK hotels. We take you through it in our full 22 cheap UK hotel tips guide. Here's just a taste... Uncover huge savings on secret rooms if you're willing to play detective. Mega hotel bargains are available from secret hotel sites. Here, you're only told a star level and a rough location - only once you've paid do you find out the hotel's name. But there are usually sneaky ways to discover the hotels' identities to see if it's worth it. Slash the cost of city-centre stays by finding university digs outside term time. It can be a surprisingly cost-effective way of staying very centrally, and the surroundings at Oxford and Cambridge colleges in particular can be stunning. 21. Many hostels are just dirt cheap, not dirty - a castle from £15/night. Hostels aren't just for gap-year students in far-flung destinations. There are loads across the UK and they don't have age restrictions (though some aren't suitable for young kids). Don't automatically think bunk bed in a shared dorm either - many offer singles, twins and doubles. Many MoneySavers on our forum rave about 'em. For example, in Gloucestershire, the YHA St Briavel's Castle (pictured) is located in a moated Norman castle, and we saw private rooms from £40/night with dorm beds from £15/night. See MoneySavers' top UK hostel picks. 22. Summer magic for kids at home, eg, fruit picking & beaming a T-rex into your place. We've a raft of fun activities to wow little 'uns while they're off school, whatever the weather. Get inspired with Free or cheap kids' summer magic tips. 23. 2for1 entry to theme parks, but check booking online isn't cheaper. Our 2for1 attractions page is always updated with the current vouchers available. Yet these are often based on gate prices, which feel over-inflated at some parks. So always check and compare prices with just booking two tickets online in advance. 24. Take a child to a West End show for 'free'. When a grown-up pays, a kid aged 17 or under goes free to 30+ shows including Grease, Mrs Doubtfire, The Wizard of Oz and Wicked. See Kids Week theatre deal. 25. Want to go self-catered? How to find top deals, eg, £595/wk for a 3-bed cottage in Cumbria in Aug. Book the right way and holiday rental sites let you snap up five-star private accommodation for two-star hotel prices. It's hard to nab a peak school holiday bargain in the UK for this year, though we did manage to hunt down a few deals, eg, we found a three-bed cottage in Cumbria near the Lake District for £595/wk in late Aug, compared with £1,605 - nearly three times the cost - for three rooms in a similarly swish-looking hotel nearby. Use the tips in our Cheap holiday rentals guide. 26. £2.50 kids AND grown-ups cinema tickets to family-friendly films. Cinemas put on special screenings over the school hols, where grown-ups and kids pay the same when going together at Cineworld, Odeon and Vue. It's not usually the newest films, but includes recent releases, eg, The Super Mario Bros. Movie. We've these and more tips in 20+ cinema savers.

 

 

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.

 

 

 

More people are due to pay savings taxes, but not if money's in ISAs Martin: 'It's time for millions to (re)open cash ISAs. The top pay 5.7%, and with rates rising, anyone with £8,000+ in SAVINGS, check now if your money's nisa in a cash ISA' The interest earnt on savings is taxed as income. Yet the personal savings allowance (PSA) means all basic 20% rate taxpayers don't pay tax on the first £1,000 per year of interest earned (higher 40% taxpayers £500/yr). For years that's meant fewer than one in 10 paid savings interest tax, so the fact top cash ISAs are tax-free didn't benefit them. Now top savings rate rises mean far more earn enough to be taxed - in my Fri Twitter poll of 100,000+ respondents, 42% had over £10,000 saved - roughly the key point when it's worth checking. How much can you have in top savings before interest's taxed? Top 1yr fix (6.15%) Top easy-access (4.51%) Basic 20% rate £16,250 generates the £1,000/yr interest £22,200 generates the £1,000/yr interest Higher 40% rate £8,100 generates the £500/yr interest  £11,100 generates the £500/yr interest Understanding how ISAs work is a piece of cake... I've been doing this analogy since 2001, and it's still appetising... Picture a cake, let's say a chocolate one... for cash savings (though it could equally be a strawberry one for shares). Normally it's just sitting there, so the tax collector can come take a bite. Yet an ISA wrapper is a protective piece of clingfilm you can wrap around some of the cake. Once inside nothing changes, the cash in savings is still cash in savings, the only difference is... now the tax collector can't eat any. Cash ISAs usually pay less than normal savings, so there's only benefit if you'd pay tax. You can put up to £20,000 per tax year in a top cash ISA. The interest doesn't count towards your PSA allowance (ie, the £1,000/yr) and stays tax-free year after year (see cash ISAs explained), so some who've maxed it every year can have £100,000s in cash ISAs. Here are the best buys as I write. All savings below have at least the full UK £85,000 savings safety. For top normal savings, I've put the equivalent rate you'd get if you're paying tax as you're over the PSA limit. Top cash ISA savings (AER) All accept new money & transfers Top normal savings (AER) Easy access Principality BS 4.2% min £1 Leeds BS 4.2%* min £1,000 Chip 4.51% min £1. Equivalent to: 3.61% after 20% tax | 2.71% after 40% tax Big names: Yorkshire BS 4.25%* min £1 and Post Office 4.25% min £1 1 year fixes Money's locked away for the term in normal savings but not in ISAs NatWest 5.7%* min £1,000. 90 days' interest early withdrawal penalty (also from RBS) Shawbrook Bank 5.53% min £1,000. 90 days' interest early withdrawal penalty Vanquis Bank 6.15% min £1,000. Equivalent to: 4.92% after 20% tax | 3.69% after 40% tax Big name: NatWest 5.55%* on up to £100k NS&I 5.12%, which uniquely has savings safety above £85,000, even on the max £1m 2 year fixes Money's locked away for the term in normal savings but not in ISAs NatWest 5.9%* min £1,000. 90 days' interest early withdrawal penalty (also from RBS) Shawbrook Bank 5.58% (min £1,000). 180 days' interest early withdrawal penalty Vanquis Bank 6.2% min £1,000. Equivalent to: 4.96% after 20% tax | 3.72% after 40% tax Big name: NatWest 5.65%* up to £100,000  If I don't have enough savings to pay tax, is a cash ISA worth it? Generally not, as top normal savings pay more, and if rates increase so that you would pay tax, you can shift £20,000 into a cash ISA straightaway. Though if you're looking to get a fix, cash ISAs have the advantage that you can withdraw money in an emergency. Plus this week, if you want a big-name provider, peculiarly the cash ISAs beat normal fixes, so you could go for it. Already got a cash ISA? Most pay diddly squat, transfer to up it. Within the application for a new cash ISA that accepts transfers, you can ask to shift your existing ISA across. Don't just withdraw cash, that loses its 'cash ISA' status. Locked in to a cash ISA fix six months ago or more? Cash ISAs must allow you to withdraw money, though can charge an interest penalty for doing so. Many who locked in a while ago are on terrible rates and should pay the penalty to transfer. Our Should I ditch my fixed ISA? calc checks the maths works for you. As Paul emailed: "I used your calc and was pleasantly surprised. I had 2 fixed-rate ISAs which incurred £346 penalties in total. By switching to a new ISA, I've gained an extra £1,328 interest for the remaining period, so I'm £982 better off. Happy days. Many thanks." If you also invest or want to, you may need to choose whether your cash or shares ISA allowance is best. Investing means you hope for higher returns at the cost of more risk. If it's for you, you also save tax in stocks & shares ISAs. You can have both, but the £20,000 limit is combined. Specialised accounts may boost interest further for some: - Premium Bonds are tax-free & the rates are going up to 4%, though most'll win less. See Are Premium Bonds worth it? - 50% bonus for many on Universal Credit or Tax Credits. See Help to Save. - 25% bonus for first-time buyers age 18 to 39. See Top Lifetime ISAs. - Earn up to 7.5% on smaller amounts if you save monthly. See Regular savings.

 

Free Asda £5. If you're new to its rewards app, you can grab a £5 voucher to use in store and online. Asda free fiver British Gas offers slightly cheaper fix to existing customers - Shell launches deal too. See what fixes are available and try our 'Should you fix?' calc if you've been offered a deal. Early access to £133 of No7 beauty & skincare £40. Nine items including vitamin C moisturiser, face & eye palette. Normally sells out quickly, but you can get a day's early access via this No7 early-access link. Car insurance costs up 16% - check NOW to lock in a price & save £100s. New data shows hideous year-on-year rises, with a further 11% rise predicted in 2024. So EVERYONE (even if not at renewal) use our Compare+ Car Insurance tool to see if you can save. More info in Cheap car insurance. New. HSBC, Halifax, Lloyds, NatWest, TSB & more launch 'mortgage charter' help with a few clicks. If you're struggling, the first banks have just launched the agreed mortgage charter help, so if needed, you can move to interest-only for six months or temporarily extend your mortgage term to lower payments. Both WON'T affect your credit file. See our lender-by-lender rundown, and pros and cons, in Struggling with your mortgage. £40 off Kärcher pressure washer code. MSE Blagged. Valid on two models, making 'em £160 or £325. 2,000 available. Kärcher codes Took time off to look after kids between 1978 and 2010? You could be due £1,000s due to an error. It's most common with women now in their 60s or 70s. See State pension underpayments. Puma 30% off code. MSE Blagged. Or 25% off already-reduced sale items. Puma Martin: Top 10 holiday tips & energy switches are back. All in the new The Martin Lewis Podcast - listen through BBC Sounds | Apple | Spotify & more.

 

 

BLAGGED FOR MSE - £40 off Kärcher pressure washer code 2,000 available - Puma 30% off full-price, 25% off sale code Ends Mon - 132Mb Virgin broadband & line '£21.34/mth' Ends Thu 27 Jul	DID YOU MISS? - Renters: what are your rights if your rent is hiked? - The Sun '£9.50' holidays are back... but are they really £9.50? - Summer sales NOW ON, including up to 70% off Asos - Ends Fri. HUGE 120GB Sim '£7.84/mth' - 80,000 teens have their Child Trust Fund money locked away

 

 

New. Cut over £200 off your annual broadband costs, and speed it up, as under £20/mth FIBRE deals return Most UK homes saw HUGE 14% broadband hikes in April, as many providers took advantage of inflation to put prices up even more. Yet it's a good week to fight back. The way for most to cut broadband costs is to pounce on any strong short-lived promos, and there are lots to leap on right now, some of the cheapest since the hikes. So if you're one of the seven million out of contract (likely many who've had the same provider for years), paying often £40/mth for basic broadband, it's pounce time. Top broadband new customer deals As they're postcode-dependent, links go via our broadband tool which shows if you can get 'em  60 to 70Mb fibre broadband deals Ends 11.59pm Thu. Vodafone.  Cheapest with 'GOOD' service rating - 67Mb broadband & line '£19.38/mth' Apply via this Vodafone 67Mb link and pay £25/mth. Then CLAIM £135 Amazon, Tesco etc voucher in 4mths, factor it in and it's equivalent to £19.38/mth over the 2yr contract. Vodafone was rated 'GOOD' 6.1/10 in our last poll (1). Now Broadband.  Cheapest with 'TOP' service rating - 63Mb broadband & line '£21.42/mth' Apply via this Now Broadband 63Mb link and pay £5 upfront, then £21/mth. Factor upfront cost in and it's equivalent to £21.42/mth over the 1yr contract. Now was rated 'GOOD' 7.4/10 in our last poll (1). Only Zen and Cuckoo rated better. Over 100Mb fibre broadband deals New. Virgin Media. MSE Blagged Cheapest superfast, 'OK' service - 132Mb broadband & line '£21.34/mth' Apply via this Virgin 132Mb link and pay £25.50/mth, but you'll get an AUTOMATIC £75 bill credit added to your first bill. Factor it in and it's equivalent to £21.34/mth over the 18mth contract. Virgin was rated 'OK' 4.6/10 in our last poll (1), though it's currently being investigated over difficulties in cancellation. Vodafone. Cheap even faster deal, 'GOOD' service - 200Mb broadband-ONLY '£29.59/mth' Apply via this Vodafone 200Mb link and pay £35/mth. Then CLAIM a £130 Amazon, Tesco etc voucher in 4mths, factor it in and it's equivalent to £29.59/mth over the 2yr contract. Vodafone was rated 'GOOD' 6.1/10 in our last poll (1). Are you eligible for a special social tariff? On Universal Credit or similar benefits? Try a social tariff. Many providers offer special discounted social broadband tariffs, which give long-term cheap prices on standard speeds. We include them in the comparison if you select 'show social tariffs' and enter your postcode. To compare, we use 'equivalent costs' - adding all costs, except calls, deducting promo credits & averaging over the contract. Though prices are likely to rise above inflation each April. (1) For full results, see our broadband service poll. Don't want to switch? Haggle. If you're out of contract and free to move, you're in a powerful position to haggle. In our December poll, the vast majority of those who'd haggled with the big broadband firms were successful. Use the deals above as a benchmark to help you get your costs down. Not sure how? Read full Broadband haggling tips. At least 50% of customers must get the advertised speeds at peak times. The 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 some moving to or from Virgin may (you're told before applying). 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: 'Please Chancellor, don't can your promised buy now, pay later regulation.' Strong rumours the Government plans to shelve the much promised, needed and campaigned for (by us, Which?, Citizens Advice and the Financial Conduct Authority) vital new debt protections. See BNPL laws to be shelved? Two-week warning to use non-barcoded 1st and 2nd class stamps. From Mon 31 Jul, everyday stamps with the Queen's profile on will become worthless unless you use them or swap them. See Stamps deadline. 'We got £37,000 bereavement support. Thank you.' Our success of the week is from Jamie: "My dad passed away in 2015, but my parents weren't married and mum wasn't eligible for bereavement support, despite being together for over 20 years with three children. After seeing your bereavement support payments article [about a law change meaning non-married couples can claim], she claimed and has received a backdated £37,000. She'll also get £139/wk for as long as she receives Child Benefit for my younger sister. This was incredible. Thank you for all you do." If we've helped you claim or save money (on this, or anything else), please send us your MoneySaving successes. FREE crumpets at Morrisons cafés. Valid every day until café closing time on Sun 13 Aug. Morrisons freebie Reminder. We think more best balance-transfer deals will be pulled imminently. If you are paying interest on credit card debt, it's worth checking out whether you can do a balance transfer immediately.

 

 

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AT A GLANCE BEST BUYS 0% balance transfers Longest 0%: NatWest - 30mths 0%, 2.99% fee (23.9% rep APR) No-fee 0%: NatWest - 19mths 0% (23.9% rep APR) Best bank accounts £200 to switch + £36/yr cashback: NatWest / RBS £200 to switch (£125 upfront, £75 later) + £5/mth cashback for 6mths: TSB Top savings accounts Top easy-access: Chip 4.51%, min £1 Top one-year fix: Vanquis Bank 6.15%, min £1,000 Car insurance Try our Compare+ Car Insurance tool Cheap loans Cheapest for £5,000 to £7,499: AIB (NI) (apply), 5.6% rep APR Cheapest for £7,500 to £15,000: Sainsbury's Bank (check eligibility / apply*), 5.3% rep APR (need Nectar card) Broadband top picks Standard (10Mb+): Shell Energy '£16.88/mth' Fibre (30Mb+): Shell Energy '£18.83/mth' Fast fibre (55Mb+): Vodafone '£19.38/mth' Superfast fibre (100Mb+): Virgin '£21.34/mth' On Universal Credit or similar? Check all discounted social tariffs Cheap Sims Up to 3GB data: Lebara, '£2.70/mth' for 3GB 4GB to 9GB data: Lebara, '£3.45/mth' for 5GB 10GB+ data: Three Mobile, '£7.84/mth' for 120GB

 

THIS WEEK'S POLL When did you last check your credit report? Your credit report can strongly influence whether you get a particular mortgage, credit card deal, mobile phone contract or cheap energy tariff, and sometimes even the rate you're given. Even a small error held on your report can cause havoc, so we want to know when did you last check yours? Chase claims the banking service crown. Last week, we asked you to vote in our biannual banking customer service poll, and over 3,800 people responded. Of the banks with more than 75 votes, Chase was at the top of the table, with 93% of customers rating it 'great'. Starling was close behind, at 92% 'great'. Meanwhile, 36% of Barclays customers rated it 'poor' for service. See the full results here.

 

 

MSE NEWS - Top story: Are your vital 'Section 75' refund rights being scrapped? - Martin Lewis calls for more joined-up mental health and debt support - Barclays to close ANOTHER 14 bank branches - Train or Tube journey affected by strikes? Here are your refund rights

 

 

MONEY MORAL DILEMMA Should we change our wills following our daughter's death? My husband and I have mirror wills, with the second of us to die leaving our estate to be split between our two daughters and their children. Our eldest is married, has two sons, and owns her home outright, and we stipulated 30% to her and 10% to each son. Our youngest was a single parent with one son, and was renting, and we stipulated 40% to her and 10% to her son - she sadly passed away last year, so her son now stands to inherit 50%. But would it be fairer to change our wills to leave 25% each for our daughter and our grandsons? Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should we change our wills following the death of our daughter? | Suggest a Money Moral Dilemma

 

 

MSE TEAM BLOG - Ask An Expert: Travel & holidays - MSE Forum highlights: Cruises, comedy & corner sofas

 

 

MARTIN'S APPEARANCES (WED 19 JUL ONWARDS) Wed 19 Jul - Good Morning Britain, co-presenting, ITV, 6am Wed 19 Jul - Ask Martin Lewis, BBC Radio 5 Live, 1pm MSE TEAM APPEARANCES (SUBJECT TBC) Thu 20 Jul - BBC Radio Norfolk, with Chris Goreham, from 9.10am

 

SIX MONTHS' LEAVE, A ROLEX OR... A KITKAT - WHAT LONG-SERVICE REWARDS DID YOU GET? That's all for this week, but before we go... if you've been at a company for 10 years, 15 years or even longer, what reward did you get - if any? We put this to our social media followers - many received traditional gifts, such as carriage clocks, crystal decanters or holiday vouchers. However, one got six months' paid leave and another a Rolex Submariner - where do we send our CV for these firms? On the flipside, we're not rushing to work alongside the MoneySaver who only got a four-finger KitKat after 15 years (which someone later nicked). Let us know your long-service rewards in our Facebook and Twitter discussions.  We hope you save some money, The MSE team

 

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