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Jul
21
2010

Archive: MoneySavingExpert's Money Tips Email

Over 50 ways to save incl... M&S sale rumour, 2x specs £13, 16mth 0% deal, ASOS 10% code, posh hotel loophole, 4% savings, Zoo 2for1s, BT price hike
This info may be out of date. Read this week's emails

Grab the latest deals, guides, tips 'n' tricks directly from Martin and the MSE team. Don't miss out

Two £39 prescrip specs £13 BT to hike prices AGAIN
Best 0% card in last 3 years Posh world hotels loophole
M&S Sale rumour, 4% savings, 10% off ASOS code, white goods 80%+ off

MARTIN'S QUICK BRIEFING
Card-by-card guide to packing YOUR plastic
Prevent cards being frozen when on hol & cheapest way to use 'em

How individual debit and credit cards work abroad can be as different as helicopters and sausages ...

  • Should you tell them you're going away? Get it wrong and your account can be frozen! For more info see the blocked card nightmare news story.

    The ones you should tell:
    A&L, Barclays (inc Barclaycard), Halifax/Bank of Scot, HSBC, Lloyds, MBNA, Post Office, Santander, Virgin.

    No need to bother:
    American Express, Capital One, Egg, Nationwide, Natwest, RBS.

  • Cheaper to spend on the card or withdraw cash? This is all about fees (it makes no difference on a Nationwide debit card).

    Cheaper to withdraw in lump sums from ATMs:
    DEBIT CARDS: Halifax, Lloyds, Natwest/RBS, Santander these debit cards from hell add up to £1.50 each time you spend on them.

    Cheaper to use in shops:
    DEBIT CARDS: A&L, Barclays, HSBC. CREDIT CARDS: All of them

Cut spending costs up to 10% by doing it the cheapest way

If you've a few weeks before you go, apply for a Halifax Clarity* credit card, which gives perfect exchange rates worldwide and is low fee, so that provided you repay in full each month to minimise interest (12.9% APR) it's the cheapest way to spend abroad full stop - full info in the Cheap Travel Money guide.

For foreign currency, use the TravelMoneyMax Cheap Travel Cash Comparison tool to find the best deal in seconds.

LATEST MONEYSAVING NEWS
   
>
Top Story: Concerns over cashback payouts
> Goldtrail Travel collapse: your rights
> NS&I axes inflation-beating savings deal
> Free iPhone 4 case for refund
> Can the self-employed get a mortgage?
   
This week's full MSE News list



TOP 5 GUIDES
Week of Tue 13 - Mon 19 July '10
(Last week's position)

1. TravelMoneyMax (-)
2. Top High St. Sales (New)
3. Top Savings Accounts (2)
4. Cheap Spending Overseas (New)
5. Credit Rating (New)

The above excludes daily deals notes


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The Ones Not To Miss

New! Shift card debts to 0% for 16 mths
Best long term 0% credit card balance transfer deal for 3 years! Cut costs by £100s
This new deal is perhaps a sign the credit crunch is easing. A balance transfer is where you get a new card to pay off your existing credit or store card debts so you owe it the money instead. New Longest Card: Sister banks Natwest* & RBS* now give accepted new cardholders 16 mths 0% on their Platinum card (min income £10,000) with a 2.9% fee. Next top: Barclaycard's* Platinum gives new cardholders 0% for 15 mths also with a 2.9% fee. Top with PERKS: Earn £25k+ and Nationwide's* Gold card offers 0% for 15 mths with a 3% fee, plus cheap spending overseas and a year's extra free warranty on UK bought electricals. Golden Rules:  1. Make at least the min. repayments or you could lose the 0% deal. 2. Never spend on these cards - you can't clear it until you've repaid the 0% debt (except for Nationwide). 3. Plan repayments to clear the card by the 0% deal's end. If not, shift it again to keep it cheap or with all these cards the rate rockets to 16.9% APR! FULL pros, cons & longer term alternatives in the Updated Guide: Top Balance Transfers Related: 0% for 12 Mths Spending, 7.7% APR Loans

Urgent! TWO £39 pairs of prescription glasses for £13! Ends today (Wed) 11pm, sunglasses bargains available too, see the Deals Note: £13 prescription glasses

Rumoured poss. big M&S sale starts Thurs. We're taking a punt here, it's far from confirmed, but for more on the heads up & updates see the Daily Deals List: High St Sales

Luxury Hotels Loophole - beat comparison sites by 30%
Hidden trick on giant Priceline's 'name a price' system. Eg, £140 Paris 4* rooms £52
While comparison sites like Travelsupermarket*, Tripadvisor* and Hotelscomparison are the standard way to find cheap hotels cheaper, if you're staying in a big city e.g. London, New York, Paris or LA then Priceline's 'name your price' function can seriously undercut them. How it works: You pick a city area & star level, name your price and see if any hotels accept it. Of course the aim's to find the min. acceptable price, so start low, eg. £20, then keep raising your bid till it's accepted, but you can ONLY bid once-a-day. The Loophole: There are techniques to get more bids per day, either by bidding with a partner, or adding more areas of a city. We've fully re-researched and rewritten our guide to make it easier. How good? On Martin's own New York trip recently, he got a nice hotel for 63% of the comparison sites' cheapest price, though not as good as one MoneySaver who got the Times Square Sheraton for £55 a night rather than the listed £200. Ensure you fully understand the system, for step-by-step help see the New Guide: Priceline Hotel Bidding Related: Cheap Hotels, Cheap Flights, £14 Annual Travel Insurance

New codes! 10% off ASOS (inc. sales), 15% off Habitat, 20% off Bodyshop.co.uk
Plus £10 off £50 spend at Sainsbury's & Javari, £3 off £15 Build-a-Bear, free del. at Asda & 20% off H&M
Then there's 25% off Cloggs and more in huge voucher blitz. See the Deals List: Discount Vouchers

New Comet 'white goods' auctions 80%+ off possible
Revamped Comet outlet site can lead to occasional mega-discounts on fridges, freezers, washing machines
Worth a punt at the Comet outlet plus Amazon white goods 50% off* & Argos eBay outlet*. Related: Online Outlet Shopping



BT hikes prices AGAIN! Get £8.99 line rental instead
In Oct line rental's up £6/year, connection up 1p, daytime call costs rise by 0.5p/min
BT upped prices in April, and in October it'll do it again. Its cheapest monthly line rental jumps to £12.04 (from £11.54) and call rates rise too, yet you can easily slash costs. £8.99/mth line rental: Switch to Primus' Home Saver via Homephonechoices* and you get it for £8.99/mth inc. weekend and evening calls. 5p/CALL daytimes: Then make even bigger savings on top using no-frills provider 18185 - sign up then dial its prefix access number (unsurprisingly 18185) from your home phone to cut daytime calls to 5p no matter how long you speak (BT will be 6.4p per MIN) and it's also roughly half the cost for mobiles too. Add broadband for £6.50: Use Primus and add Plusnet* for broadband at £6.49/mth plus £25 connection and it undercuts any bundle (currently 3mths free too). Want to stick with BT? To offset the rises, its new Line rental saver* deal lets you pay £114 for a year upfront, equivalent to £9.49 a mth including weekend calls. FULL pros, cons, & possible cashback details in the Guide: Cheap Home Phones Related: Cheap Broadband, Cheap Gas & Electricity

Forum Hottie! 3 x Sanctuary 'hot cloth cleansers' £5 (usually £10 each). Super popular in our forum, they're reduced to £2.50 plus it's 3 for 2. See Daily Deals Note: Cheap Beauty

Got friends who'd like to save? Please tell them about this email

FREE £20 energy saving plug (for some). Those on mainstream benefits and over 70s can get this (not N. Ireland). These and more in the Updated Guide: Energy Grants

New! 4% fixed 'easy access' savings on up to £2,400
Plus new top 4.3% lock-in fixed rate deals and 2.8% easy access on larger amounts
One reason regular savings accounts pay higher rates is they usually demand you lock money away every month. Yet Saffron BS's new one pays 4% AER fixed, letting you put £10 to £200 in per month for a year - but there are no penalties if you miss months or need to withdraw cash (post or branch). Top Normal Savings: It's between AA which pays 2.8% AER easy access, incl. 2.3% bonus for a year - so be prepared to ditch then or the rate drops - and the clean (no-bonus) Halifax* web saver extra at 2.6% AER. Up to 4.3% fixed rates: Another Indian Bank has decided to launch hot rates in the UK (like all these accounts, you get the FULL UK £50,000 per person guarantee). If you're prepared to lock money away to get a guaranteed rate, Bank of Baroda* is the new top online deal (via Moneysupermarket, this link takes you there) at 3.15% AER on a one year fix, 3.8% for 2 years, and 4.3% for 3 years. The Punjab National Bank postal account beats it for shorter fixes at 3.25% for 1 year and 4% for 2. FULL details and more best-buys in the Updated Guides: Top Savings, 4% Regular Savers Related: Safe Savings, Free £100 & 5% Interest Bank Accounts

Forum Hottie!
Half price quilted loo roll - £2.74 for 9! This ain't bog standard, they love it in our forums, 9 Velvet rolls £2.74 at Co-Op, usually £5.49. See the Forum Note: Bog-on!

Act now! Reclaim unfair iPhone overseas web charges
Check you're not charged £100s for mobile web even when you've switched the internet off

Most who complain get a full refund. See the News story: iPhone glitch Related: Cheap iPhones, Mobile Roaming

Zoo 2for1s and masses of cheap summer days out
New Zoo deals & lots more cheap ideas: theme parks, sports sessions, museums...
School holidays are nearly here, so we've been hastily hunting out bargain and free summer family days out. Going to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo... At up to £18 a ticket, the price may make you go ape, yet 2for1s are possible for London Zoo & Bristol Zoos provided you have a train ticket (so get one for a couple of quid even if you won't use it), plus kids go free vouchers for Edinburgh, Chester Zoo and more. Full info on All Zoo Deals: Cheap Zoos. Free museums: From the biggies like the London Natural History or Manchester Imperial War museum, to smaller ones like the Savings Banks Museum and more see our list of 150 UK free museums. Theme Park 2for1s: Never pay full price there are easy 2for1s at Alton Towers, Thorpe Park, Chessington and more see all Theme Park vouchers . Free sports lesson: It's also possible to get free football & tennis coaching plus swimming, gymnastics & dance sessions. See massive collection of all deals in the Daily Deals List: Cheap Days Out Related: UK's Free Museums, 2for1 Theme Parks

Restaurant Vouchers Eat Treats Round Up
Instant 2for1ish at Pizza Express, GBK, Cafe Rouge, Strada, Bella Italia and more
Plus deals at Prezzo, Chiquitos and O'Neill's. See the Daily Deals List: Restaurant Vouchers

Free £7 printed book of your photos (£2.50 P&P). Enter a code at the Bonusprint online checkout to get your freebie. See the Daily Deals List: Digital Photo Deals

Driving to Europe? Insurance & breakdown warning
You're not automatically covered if you take your car to the continent this summer
Just because it covers you here doesn't mean you're fully covered outside the UK. Here's the key: Driving to Europe Checklist: 1. Car Insurance. Some comprehensive policies become third party outside the UK (ie, they'll pay if you damage another car but not your own) and you may need to notify it of your trip, so check your policy or call to confirm (see Cheap Car Insurance). 2. Breakdown: Go outside the UK and often your breakdown cover isn't valid, do a check and if not you can either upgrade to a Euro policy or buy special one-off cover (see Cheap Breakdown Cover). 3. Do a maintenance check: Do all maintenance before you go, ensure you've got manuals and the numbers to call if you break down. 4. Driving Rules: Check out country by country overseas driving regulations Related: Cheap Car Hire, Travel Insurance, Cheap MOTs

Urgent! 350 x 1p London hotel rooms (usually £30). The final 350 rooms in Tune Hotels’ mega-popular summer room sale will be released at midnight next Tues, but you must be quick. Full details in the Deals Note: Hotel Sales


Big & Easy Ways To Save
Quick links or click the titles for full pros, cons, alternatives & more savings

More MoneySaving

Help for struggling mortgage-holders maintained. The new govt's confirmed it'll keep the three schemes set up to help homeowners (see the Mortgage Arrears Help guide); good news as it's pushed banks to show greater leniency about repossessions, see Mortgage help schemes survive news.

Please join me (Martin) on Facebook. If you're a Facebook user, you may enjoy my Facebook page, do have a look.

Great 'Home Exercise' Hunt
We're looking for MoneySavers to share some home exercise plans for people to get fit on the cheap. From arm-curling tins of beans, bench-pressing your children, or just jogging outside, we'd like your tips. Add your ideas/read other people's: Great 'Home Exercise' Hunt. Past Great Hunts: View all

Self-assessment taxpayer? Don't miss the 31 July deadline
Millions must make a 2nd 'payment on account' by then
Miss the deadline and you'll be charged interest at 3%, contact HMRC if you're struggling. See the News story: Tax deadline Related: 2010/11 Tax Rates

£5 for Eminem's Recovery album. £4 cheaper than the CD. See TuneChecker.com: Compare cheap MP3s & CDs

FlightSale

CHEAP FLIGHT SALES ALERT:
Airline:
bmibaby. Price: Up to 40% off.
bmibaby has knocked up to 40% off the cost of July, August and September flights from East Midlands, Birmingham, Cardiff and Manchester airports to a good number of European destinations. Speedily find them using the Tool: FlightChecker, then beat the scores of add-on charges with the Budget Airline Fee Fighting guide. Related: Cheap Flights, Cheap Hotels, Spending Abroad, Cheap Currency, Travel Insurance

Money Moral Dilema
Real life MONEY MORAL DILEMMA:
Should the kids see the play for free?

This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks...
My son's school hired a theatre group for a play for the children. Parents had to pay £5 towards the cost and were also allowed to watch the show. Beforehand I noticed four young children being taken aside and told that they couldn't watch because their parents hadn't paid. Should the school have paid to stop these kids missing out or is it only fair as other parents paid? Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should the kids see the play free? Previous MMDs: View All Suggest: A Money Moral Dilemma
Quick Forum Tips
Tips, Tricks and Treats

Great 'MoneySaving iPhone & other Apps' Hunt Result
Last week, we asked MoneySavers if they'd spotted a great app for iPhones or Android phones that could save people money. There were some fab suggestions, including a price comparisons app, a petrol prices app and a free sat nav app.

Board Of The Week
BOARD OF THE WEEK:
In My Home Moneysaving

This board gives hints, tips and warnings of DIY and other house related issues with recent discussions such as Help! Used wrong paint!, Will I need planning permission for this? and Sneaky neighbour waiting to make complaint.

Do you believe in the BBC licence fee? This week's poll. Vote and BBFree? discussion.

MoneySavers split over sweatshop. 9,792 voted.
While 47% said ethics count (26% take them into account, 21% would pay more), 29% said they'd buy sweatshop-produced goods if there was no viable alternative, and for 25% only the price counts. See price vs. ethics poll results.

Archna's Free Game of the Week!
Fight the blaze in Inferno

The most stupid exam answers ever.... That's it for this week, but with term ending, if you're worried how your kids have done, it could be worse... Stupid exam answers

We hope you save some money,

Martin & the MSE team

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Q. If a credit card debt doesn't show on your credit report do you still have to pay it off? From Hilary by email.

Martin's A:  The credit reference agencies aren't an official list of all debts, they're primarily a service to provide information to help lenders decide who to lend to.

Plus there are three of them, so just because it isn't listed on one, doesn't mean it's not on the others (see credit rating for how to check them all). The fact it isn't listed doesn't stop the need for you to repay it, nor does it mean the company can't take you to court.

Yet if it isn't listed on any of the agencies' files, the outstanding debt is unlikely to impact your ability to get other credit, but if you didn't pay and got a County Court Judgement against you, that would almost certainly be on your file and kibosh your score.

Discuss: Credit Reports
Suggest: A question of the week
(big general issues not personal q's pls)

Andrea's Freebies
Full compendium
Freebies, Freebies, Freebies
New this week

Diet Chef starter pack

Surface cleaner/washing liquid
Personality test booklet
Greater Manchester pocket guide

Tena for men



Martin's Stuff
This week's blogs (See All)
Find Martin on facebook!Join Martin on facebook!

"I love my Energy Smart Meter, a definite MoneySaver. Do you have one?"

"I lost my rag in a Lloyds TSB branch"

"We already have a graduate tax, just a better version"


Appearances
Weds 21 - Tues 27 July


Weds
Money Watch, BBC2, 8pm
Growing It


BBC London Radio, 6:30-7:30pm
General MoneySaving phone-in

Thurs
GMTV, ITV1, 8:50am
Deals of the Week


BBC Radio 5, Live, 12-1pm
Subject tbc


Fri
BBC Radio 2, Jeremy Vine, 1-2pm
Last minute holiday prep

Tues
GMTV, ITV1, 6:50am

Subject tbc

Martin's Appearances

Explanation of * Links

FSA NOTE: Referring people to insurers or insurance intermediaries can in some circumstances require FSA authorisation. For this reason, Martin Lewis of Shepherd's Studios, Charecroft Way, Shepherd's Bush, London W14 0EH is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

How this site is financed. Any links with a * by them are affiliated. That means go via this link and a contribution may be made to MoneySavingExpert.com, which helps it stay ad-free and free to use. You shouldn't notice any difference, the links don't impact the product at all and the editorial line (the things we write) is NEVER impacted by it. If it isn't possible to get an affiliate link for the best product, it's still included in exactly the same way. As we believe transparency is important, we're including the following 'un-affiliated' web-addresses for the same things: alliance-leicester.co.uk, amazon.co.uk, bankofbaroda.com, barclays.co.uk, bt.co.uk, comparethemarket.com, confused.com, energyhelpline.com, gocompare.com, halifax.co.uk, homephonechoices.co.uk, moneysupermarket.com, natwest.com, nationwide.co.uk, plus.net, rbs.co.uk, santander.co.uk, stores.ebay.co.uk, tripadvisor.co.uk, travelsupermarket.com. Read more about this in how this site is financed.

MoneySavingExpert.com is the free to use Consumer Revenge website focused on how to save you cash. It's owned, and run by ultra-focused journalist and bestselling author Martin Lewis. On TV amongst other things Martin is GMTV's Money SavingExpert and presents money programmes for ITV1 Tonight. On Radio Martin has regular slots on Radio 2 Vine and Radio 1 Whiley. He's also a columnist for amongst others the News of The World, The Telegraph and the Sunday Post. Find out more: About the site and its funding.

Disclaimer: This e-mail is based on journalistic research. It does not constitute financial advice. Any information should be considered in regard to your own specific circumstances. All tips are followed at your own risk and should be followed up with your own research Full Terms & Conditions.

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