Nov

2010

Archive: MoneySavingExpert's Money Tips Email

Over 50 ways to save incl... Energy hike WARNING, £18 chocs £2, NYC £310, B&Q 15% off, Tesco Tip-off, 2.99% savings, New Reclaim, Free Deb’hms £5, 10% off best befores, Sky HD cust free £10

This info may be out of date. Read this week's emails

Earn free flights worldwide!
Top flight reward credit cards - mega freebies & flight miles

Airline credit cards reward spending with frequent flyer miles that let you and a partner travel the world cheaply. For higher spenders who fly regularly these smash even the top cashback cards. Here's a summary of our new top airline credit cards guide, but first...

Set up a Direct Debit to repay IN FULL each month so there's no interest, then do all normal spending on the card.

All the top cards are Amex, so be aware smaller shops mightn't accept them and you'll need pass their credit score.

TOP FOR SHORT HAUL: Lloyds Airmiles - Inc. taxes & charges
Intro offer: Free Europe return when you spend £10

The Lloyds Airmiles Duo* Amex's big advantage is you don't pay taxes and charges when redeeming flights on BA, Virgin etc. A Paris return requires £7,500 spending, a little higher than other cards but, as taxes can be £90, for short haul it's tops.

It also currently gives new cardholders a free BA Europe return if you also book a hotel night via it, see full Lloyds Airmiles pros & cons

APR: 15.9% Min Income: None Fee: £0 Taxes inc? Yes
LONG HAUL & COUPLES: BA Amex - Free companion flights
Intro offer: 3,000 or 18,000 extra miles depending on which card

The BA Amex* gives a free companion ticket if you spend over £20,000/year, the only fee-free card to do so. That means you can take a friend too eg, if you get biz class to Miami, so do they. Thus a couple can go to New York return for half the Lloyds spend.

Alternatively the Premium Plus BA Amex* has a £150 annual fee, but gives 50% more miles & only needs £10,000/year for a companion ticket. Until 8 Nov, it gives 18,000 miles bonus if you spend £3,000 in 3 months (which can be used with companion tickets).

Even with the fee it mathematically beats the standard deal for £10k-£20k annual spend - but think v.carefully; if you don't use the flights, or they aren't available, £150 is a lot to waste. See full BA Amex pros & cons

APR: 19.9% Min Income: 30k Fee: £0 (Premium £150) Taxes inc? No
BEST INTRO DEAL: BMI Amex, lowest spend per flight
Intro deal: Free Europe Business Class Flight

The BMI Amex* has the lowest spend per flight ratio for a fees free card. Thus a New York return requires just over half the spending of BA & Lloyds - though that's balanced out by BA's companion ticket and Lloyds 'taxes included'.

Its big plus is spend £250 within 90 days & you get a bonus 20,000 miles, enough for a Biz class Europe return. See full BMI Amex pros & cons.

APR: 16.9% Min Income: N/A Fee: £0 Taxes inc? No

FULL info & tricks in the new Flight reward cards guide.

THE ONES NOT TO MISS

Switch Now! Energy price HIKES are back - save £300

This is an URGENT warning. You must act ASAP to beat winter price hikes

On Fri, Scottish & Southern Energy said it'll hike gas prices an avg 9.4% on 1 Dec. Insiders now predict the rest of the big 6 will follow within months or even weeks. How to protect yourself: Most people are on standard tariffs paying an avg £1,200 a year, while the few on super-cheap 'online billed' deals pay £900 for the same. So shifting to one of those is a no-brainer, even if its rates were increased too, the saving versus what you would've paid is HUGE. Why so urgent? Changing supplier takes around 2 months, so do it now and reduce costs by Xmas, wait and it'll be spring. Plus many super-cheap deals have been pulled recently and that's expected to continue, so earlier's likely to mean cheaper. Compare, switch & get cashback: (cashback only via these MSE links) Top Picks: Energyhelpline* pays £15 cashback per switch. Crate of wine: Uswitch* offers a crate of wine. Dual Fuel: MoneySupermarket* £30 in cash. More info & cashback options in the FULL Guide: Cheap Energy + Cashback MSE News: S&SE price hike, Will others follow? Related: Boiler Cover

£18 of posh Hotel Chocolat choccy for £2! Just sign up for its £7 tasting club via a cashback site which gives £5 back - you'll need to cancel later. Full info in the Deals Note: High St. Sales

NYC £308 return all-in - Miami £368
American Airlines winter Sale, book by 9 Nov - availability is good
With the new airline taxes, £300 is a seriously competitive rate. Full info in the Forum Note: American Airlines Sale

Reclaim cash from old broadband & phone bills. New!
Two million old Sky, TalkTalk, o2, Three, Tiscali customers etc owed £10m

If you've switched TV, mobile, broadband or phone providers in the last six years, there's a chance you're owed cash and can get it back easily at speed. Why you may be owed: This is all about credit remaining when you cancelled - from paying in advance, or because a promo deal (eg, 3 months free) worked by an account credit at the end of the period, so you didn't get it. Who do I get it from?: A few providers (eg, BT and the Post Office) have always auto-refunded, most including Sky, TalkTalk & Three don't, so they could owe you cash. How much can I get? The regulator Ofcom's been pushing this, and has gathered data discovering an unclaimed £10m belonging to 2m people. That means an avg £5 each, but for some it could be much more - this is a new reclaim, so we wait for you to tell us how it goes. Provider-by-Provider: We've compiled a full guide for each company - in many cases all you need do is call them. FULL how to in the New Guide: Reclaim Old Mobile & Phone Cash Other reclaiming guides: PPI, Council Tax, Mortgage fees, Bank Charges

"Beyond best-before" specialist Approved Food 10% off. Typical super cheap deals inc Dove choc bars 24 for £2.39 and Robinsons Fruit Shoots 6 for 99p. See the Deals Note: Discount Vouchers

Free £50 + £5/mth for switching bank account. T op in-credit deal. Sign up to Halifax Rewards via Moneysup* and you get a £50 bonus, plus £5 every month (min. £15k salary) yet NEVER go overdrawn or you're charged £1/day. FULL info & £100 bonus options in the Updated Guide: Best Bank Accounts

Exclusive! Tesco repeats 2x IN STORE voucher exchange
Mon it'll launch its Big Xmas Clubcard Exchange - 2x value instore & online

We've been tipped off that from next Mon, Tesco will relaunch its 'double-up' scheme for four weeks, so don't redeem vouchers this week. What's the deal? You can trade-in vouchers for double their normal value (ie, £5 becomes £10) on certain categories, and for the first time, it includes some Tesco online items too. What are the categories? Min £5 voucher on toys, clothes, baby & toddler, optical, some electricals, beauty, flowers. Min £10 voucher: Some Christmas trees & lights, Finest wine & champagne, beds, bedroom furniture and bedding, DIY, computers, phones. Redeemable online: Finest wine & clothing How good is it? It's far better than normal in store redemption, but worse than Clubcard Rewards, which includes things like days out and gifts. There you currently get 4x the value (based on list prices so check they're realistic), though as previously warned that drops to 3x value on 6 Dec so if they suit you go quick. Full updates in the Guide: Boost Tesco Points Related: Cheap Supermarket Shopping

Reminder! Free fiver at Debenhams - shop for fre e!
Grab nail polish, scented candles, gift wrap, biscuit tins, mugs & decorations without spending
Last week's £5 no min spend e-vouchers went ballistic with people freebie & discount grabbing. See Discount Vouchers

Had this forwarded to you? Find out how to get it every week for free

Free M&S £10 for Sky HD customers who ha ve mates! If you get 3 mates to agree to come to watch your Sky HD on 10-12 Dec. Go quick, limited numbers. See the Deals Note: Discount Vouchers

Savings Boost: New 2.99% AER easy access
Nationwide's 2.99% with limited withdrawals or Post Office 2.9% full access

The top easy access rate has jumped again this week, though like most top deals it includes a year's interest bonus, so ensure you diarise to ditch and switch once that drops. New 2.99% deal: The Nationwide* MySave Online Plus (min £1,000) pays 2.99% AER variable, inc. a year's 1.45% bonus, though make more than one annual withdrawal and your rate's reduced to 0.1% for a month. Full easy-access 2.9%: If you need more access the Post Office's* online saver (min. £1) pays 2.9% AER variable inc a year's 1.25% bonus and allows unlimited withdrawals. The top clean, ie, no bonus, account is Halifax's* Web Saver Extra at 2.6%, though as its rate's variable, it could still be cut. 2.8% Base rate tracker: Lock your money away (ie, no withdrawals) for a year with Santander's* 2.8% AER Tracker Bond (min £10k) and it's guaranteed to be at least 2.3% above base rate - so if rates rise this will too. ALL these accounts have the full £50,000 per person UK safe savings protection. FULL info, pros, cons & top fixed rate deals in the Updated Guide: Top Savings Related: Top Cash ISAs, Safe Savings

New web codes! B&Q 15% off £50 & New Look £1 0 off £40
Join Wallis 18% off | Whittard 20% off | Tesco Clothing 20% off | H&M 25% off one item
Plus free £5 at Body Shop (£1.80 paper) and free £5 Xmas wrap (£3.20 mag). See the Deals Note: Discount Vouchers

Important - please read new email footer. We've updated it, in as plain English as we can, to explain the strengths & limits of the site & email. It's important you understand it. Pls scroll to the bottom (the site's footer will be updated later this week).

Wine deals! Tesco & M&S 25% off wine & champers. Online & in store at Tesco, just online at M&S until 7 & 14 Nov respectively. Min. 6 bottles. More info in the Deals Note: Cheap Wine Deals

Dump Nationwide's debit for travel spend
It's now charging - ditch it & use the new 'best cards' for overseas spending

RIP Nationwide's cheap debit card for travel spending. On Mon. the Building Soc added a raft of overseas fees. Now you'll need a special overseas spend credit card - just ensure you repay IN FULL to avoid interest. Top worldwide: Most plastic adds a hidden 2.75% load to exchange rates - so £100 worth of Euros costs £102.75. The Halifax Clarity card is load free worldwide (you get perfect exchange rates), has no ATM withdrawal charge, though you pay 12.9% APR on cash withdrawals (£1ish per £100) even if you repay in full. Top Europe card with perks: Nationwide's* cheap overseas credit card still lives. It's load-free in Europe, you get a year's extended warranty and purchase protection on UK-bought electricals and it lets you shift debt to it at 0% for 15mths with a 3% fee (16.9% APR after). Top with Travel Insurance: Sainsburys* Gold card (9.9% APR) has ZERO usage fees - no load, ATM or interest on cash. Yet it charges £5/month, but you get free worldwide family travel insurance, which at effectively £60/year is a competitive price. Want a debit card? The only fee-free overseas card is from London branch bank Metro, though Norwich & Peterborough BS is launching one in Jan. FULL info, pros & cons in the Updated Guide: Cheap Travel Money Related: £14 Travel Insurance, Cheap Flights

Forum
Hottie

Free small Clinique mascara at Boots. Simply take any old mascara to your nearest store and swap it for the freebie (stock dependent). See the Deals Note: Cheap Beauty Deals

£2 Papa John's pizza (worth £7), O'Neill's 2for1, Ask 50% off
New rest vouchers! Join 2for1s at Cafe Rouge | Ikea Brekkies | Strada | Prezzo 2 for £10
Plus GBK burger & beer £7 and Sizzling Pubs 2 meals & 2 drinks for £10 in the Deals Note: Restaurant Vouchers

Cheap Van Insurance: save £100s
Quickly sever the cost of insuring your van with the new top picks.

The van insurance market is hotting up. While the comparison services have been under-developed compared to its little brother the car, things are starting to improve. How to cut the cost: The usual rules of lowering your risk with things like alarms and where you park apply; yet the two key steps are... Step 1: Combine Comparison Sites: The key is to maximise your results by combining these for as many quotes as possible in the shortest time, our latest full review shows this is the order (use as many as possible): GoCompare*, Confused* and TheBikeInsurer* (yes, it does vans), check as many as you've time for. Step 2: Grab Cashback: Once you know which company is cheapest for your quote - see if hidden cashback is available on it which could cut your costs by £100s more. FULL info in the Updated Guide: Cheap Van Insurance Related: Car Insurance, Home Insurance, Motorbike Insurance

Crown Currency Insolvency Practioner Report. We commissioned an accountant to dig into the currency bureau on MoneySavers' behalf - read his findings in the PDF: Crown report Discuss: Crown report

Ends Fri! Get £60 Tesco rewards on £130 iPod. Get an extra 2,000 pts on certain iPods online. While worth £20 instore, convert into Rewards and they're worth up to £60. See the Deals List: High Street Sales

50 days to Christmas! Want extra cash? Have a play with the DemoHOHOtivator tool, try the Mobile Valuer or read Boost Your Income.

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

0% Balance Transfers: 0% 16mths, 2.9% fee: Barclaycard* (16.9% APR), MBNA Platinum Plus* (18.9% APR)
0% for spending: Tesco* 13 months 0% plus Clubcard points (16.9% APR after)
Car Insurance: Use both MoneySupermarket* & GoCompare* then get cashback. Also see: Van, Motorbike
Home Insurance: Use as many as poss of GoCompare*, CompareTM*, MoneySup* & Confused* + cashback
Cashback Credit Cards: Get 5% for 3 mths, up to 1.25% after on all spending with Amex Platinum*, always repay in full or 19.9% APR
Compare Mobile Recycling Sites: Check if you get up to £150 for old mobiles via MSE's mobilevaluer.com
Cheap Travel Insurance: Annual cover: Individuals from £14, Families from £26, Over 65s £41 & more
Reclaim £1,000s: Full Mortgage Fees, C'cil Tax, Endowments, Bank Charges, PPI guides
Cheap Personal Loans: £5k-7.5k or 15k+: Tesco* & Santander* 8.7% APR. £7.5k-15k: Santander* & N'wide* 7.6% APR
Cheapest Line Rental: Primus* £8.99/mth, BT* £113/yr (equiv to £9.49/mth)

MORE MONEYSAVING

FREE personalised 2011 photo flip-calendar (£1.99 p&p). Usually £5.99, get as a little Christmas gift. Ends Sunday 14 Nov. Full details in the Deals Note: Free Digital Prints

Great 'how to tell your kids about redundancy' Hunt
In these difficult economic times, redundancies are sadly frequent. Telling the kids can be a daunting task, so what stories and explanations are suitable for different age groups? How do you explain the need to save cash and cut back? Add your ideas/read other people's: Great 'How to tell your kids about redundancy' Hunt Past Great Hunts: View all

£15 top price tickets for musical Blood Brothers (usually £55)
Just book for shows up to Dec 17 with special code for the show at the Phoenix Theatre in London
Joins a year's unlimited entry to Shakespeare Houses for £10. More info in the Deals Note: Cheap Days Out

Heads up! Super cheap breakdown cover - £5 RAC expected Fri. Later this week a super hot breakdown cashback deal launch is expected, so don't sign up to anything yet. Full info in next week's email.

Should Will Writers be regulated?
The Legal Services Consumer Panel's investigating the will writing industry
It has concerns over the quality of wills eg, sales practices and storage issues. See the Consumer Power guide.

CHEAP FLIGHT SALES ALERT:
Airline: Ryanair Price: £6 e/w Ends: Thurs 4 Nov
Our pick this week is the Ryanair £6 sale: The promotion's on till Thurs 4 Nov for flights between 1 Dec and 31 January, booked at least 14 days in advance, and includes some taxes and charges. To find them quickly use the FlightChecker on a £6 max search. Extra charges warning: Avoid payment and check-in charges, see the Budget Airline Fee Fighting guide Related: Cheap Flights, Cheap Hotels, Spending Abroad, Cheap Currency, Travel Insurance.

Check your NEW premium bond chances. Fully updated with November's new prize distribution, see the Premium Bonds Probability Calculator

Real Life MONEY MORAL DILEMMA:
Should I lose my holiday deposits?
This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks...
After two lovely holidays in Turkey with a friend in 2009, she pleaded with me to book two more for the following year, saying we've been friends for 22 years, and even if she met someone she'd still go with me. I went ahead and booked two holidays, paying all deposits as she had no money at the time. You guessed it. She met someone and when the balance of the first holiday was due, cancelled and then cancelled the second holiday. I couldn't find anyone to go with me. Should I lose my deposits, even though it was not my fault that she cancelled? Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should I lose my holiday deposits? Previous MMDs: View All Suggest: A Money Moral Dilemma

Quick Forum Tips		Andrea's Freebies
Top pick! 18 loo rolls for £5. At the Co-Op. Loo-vely deal £7.50 for 20 piece dinner set. Was £30 at Argos. Bargain! Xmas cookie cutters £4 at Amazon.co.uk. Baking hot offer Branston Beans buy 1 get 2 free at Tesco. It's bean a pleasure Sainsbury's 25% off Tu clothing. Online & in store. Tu good tu be true Debt Free Wannabe chat of the week: When Primark's expensive... Competitions thread of the week: High street gift vouchers Old Style (Thrift) Board thread of the week: Clothes smelling of damp		Wildlife fun book Recipe booklet Drawing Lessons Charlie Small scrapbook South Lakes Animal Park free entry
More Tips: Tips, Tricks & Treats		Full list: Freebies Repository

TopTable points giveaway RESULT. 'Restaurant Dinner For Two'
50 lots of points to possibly dine for free were blagged for MoneySavers. Find out if you got some

Martin's Stuff

Cheap Travel Cash

Latest Blogs
Pringles Etiquette - do they have a 'get out of bowl' free card?
I've lost my crown as most searched person in the UK: hmmph Cheryl!
Council tax appeal rejected as you'd lived in the property over 6 months?
"If the economy's growing, why does it feel so bad?" The joy of maths, part two...

Appearances This Week: Weds 3 to Tues 9 Nov
Lorraine, ITV1, Thurs, after 8:30am Real Deals Gabby Logan, Radio 5, Thurs, 12-1pm The Consumer Panel Jeremy Vine, Radio 2, Fri, 1-2pm Find extra Xmas cash Daybreak, ITV1, Tues, between 7 & 8:30am Grant grabbing

UK's Best Currency Rates
£100 will buy you:
		Best	Worst
	€	114.10	103.96
	$	159.55	145.07
	TL	222.00	201.81
Rates correct at 8pm Tues 2 Nov
Find all top currency rates Compare travel cash

Martin's Facebook Page

All Martin's Appearances

Cheap Travel Money Guide

BOARD OF THE WEEK:
Theatre, concert & events tickets
This board offers up top tips & ideas on where and how to grab cheap seats for events and shows. Recent discussions include Harry Potter Premiere, Take That and Ticketmaster confusion and Dirty Dancing.

Question Of The Week

MoneySaving Polls

Q. I purchased trainers for a gift, but they didn't fit the person so I took them back the next day. The manager told me that I'd get a credit note in exchange, as this was company policy - no refunds if you pay by cash - Is this legal? From Joanne, by email

MSE Sunny's A: Not only is it legal, but it's actually far more than the law demands. You only have a right of refund from a shop if goods are faulty and your trainers weren't (if you'd bought online you get a 7 day no-fault right of return).

An exception to this is if the retailer has a published returns policy - that then becomes part of the contract, so you can enforce it. I suspect the manager is working within those on his "you'll get a credit note" stance, which is actually a relatively generous policy.

One other note is, as you were buying a gift you need to notify the store it's for a gift, as otherwise only you can return it. Yet if you notify them or use a gift receipt your rights are transferred to the receiver. See the Consumer Rights guide for more.

This week's poll:

Bank Customer Service

Last week's poll result:

What is a fair state pension?

Last week’s pension poll gave an interesting insight. Pensioners who voted reckoned they should get £170/week on average, while non-pensioners thought it should be higher at £190/week. Both want much more than the govt's suggested £140 though!

9,296 voted. See full results

Suggest a question of the week (big general issues not personal q's pls)

Archna's FREE GAME OF THE WEEK:
Get the grey cells working in Unblock Me!

Comedians revenge on bank charges - love it!

That's a wrap for this week, but if you've ever had bank charges, listen to this US comedian's superb rant... "They're charging me money for not having money!".

We hope you save some money,

Martin & the MSE team

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What you need to know

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Founded in February 2003, it's now the UK's biggest consumer help website with over 5 million people getting this email and nearly 10m using the site. Its focus is simple: how to save cash and fight for financial justice on anything and everything. The site has over 30 full time staff about half of whom are editorial reseaching, analysing and writing to continually find ways to save money. More info: See About MSE

Who is Martin Lewis?

Martin set up and runs MSE, he's an ultra-focused money saving journalist and consumer campaigner. He has regular slots on Daybreak, Lorraine, Radio 2 Vine, BBC1 Watchdog, Radio 5 Consumer panel and presents ITV Tonight. He is a columnist for amongst others the News of The World, the Sunday Post and The Telegraph, as well as an author. More info: See Martin Lewis' biog

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Unaffiliated web-addresses for links in this email

moneysupermarket.com, airmiles.co.uk, americanexpress.com, mbna.co.uk, energyhelpline.com, uswitch.com, nationwide.co.uk, postofficefinance.co.uk, halifax.co.uk, santander-products.co.uk, sainsburysbank.co.uk, gocompare.com, thebikeinsurer.co.uk, barclaycard.co.uk, tescofinance.com, comparethemarket.com, confused.com, productsandservices.bt.com, homephonechoices.co.uk

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