Archive: MoneySavingExpert's Money Tips Email

New Top Savings! 3.85% 2 year fix WITH access
Normally to get a guaranteed rate you need lock your cash away, but not this time

It's savings hell right now. Inflation's (RPI) just hit 5.1% meaning prices are rising faster than savings are growing, shrinking the purchasing power of cash in the bank. So maximising your interest is crucial. Fixed savings offer higher rates, but as some pundits predict UK rates may rise to counter inflation, locking cash away in current deals may not be the best move ...

• 2yr fix with access. The new Birmingham Midshires* deal pays 3.85% AER (min £1), just beating Close Brothers' 3.75% (min. £10,000). Its real doozy is you can make withdrawals - though in year one you lose 180 days interest as a penalty, 90 days in year two. So it's only really a 'get out of jail' card, but in current times that's useful - it also has similar longer fixes, but at less competitive rates. See Top Savings.

• New top cash ISA. Since we highlighted tax-free cash ISAs last week, a new easy-access deal's just snuck to the top. West Bromwich BS's* pays 2.88% AER (min £1,000) on new ISAs & transfers, though only allows 3 penalty free withdrawals a year. For more access, Santander's* 2.85% AER for new ISAs, Halifax's* 2.8% AER and allows transfers, existing customers of both may get 3%. In a year all three rates will drop, so be ready to switch. Full info in Top Cash ISAs guide.

• Top instant access savings. The Post Office Online Saver & Santander eSaver (issue 3) pay 2.9% AER but these includes big year long intro rate boosts, so diarise, ditch & switch then. Stop Press! It's rumoured on Fri a new account will launch that beats these, check the Top Savings guide then for info (and next week's email).

All accounts here are covered by the £85,000 Saving Safety guarantee. Full details & more options in the Updated Guide: Top Savings Related: Top Cash ISAs, Best Bank Accounts

The BEST way to spend abroad 2011! Act Now!
Taking an overseas trip this year? Save up to 10% on all spending, but apply now not last minute

Holstering the right plastic's the cheapest way to spend abroad by a mile. Yet you need apply in enough time (3 weeks min) and as it costs nowt to be prepared, why not do it now? All the top picks are credit cards (debit cards are often worse due to hideous '£1/spend' charges) so you'll be credit scored and should ALWAYS repay in full each month to minimise the interest

• Top worldwide card. Most credit and debit cards add a hidden 3% 'load' on foreign spending, ie, spend £100 worth of Euros/Dollars and you pay £103. Halifax's* Clarity is load-free worldwide giving 'perfect' exchange rate everywhere, plus it doesn't charge ATM or spending fees. Interest is charged on cash withdrawals (not spending) even if repaid in full (12.9% representative APR) about £1 per £100 withdrawn.

• Top for European travel + perks. Nationwide's* Gold card (min. age 25, min. income £25k) is load-free in Europe and 1% elsewhere, though on cash withdrawals it charges a 2.5% fee and interest even if cards are repaid in full (27.9% rep. APR cash, 16.9% on spending). The perks though are buy UK electricals on it and you get a year's extra extended warranty, plus you can shift debt to it at 15mths 0% with a 3% fee (see best balance transfers for help).

• Family travel ins & travel card £60/year. The Sainsbury's Gold* card charges no fees for overseas spending whatsoever and gives worldwide family travel insurance, but there's a £5/month fee (20.1% rep. APR). Do check the insurance is suitable for you before applying though, see the £15 annual travel insurance guide

For a full breakdown and more options see the full Updated Guide: Travel Money (and Official APR examples) Cheap Travel Cash: Travel Money Max. Related: Travel Insurance, Cheap Package Holidays

Free Cinema Deals. New Guide!
Tips and tricks for movie buffs to get free or discounted flix trips

Watching films on the big screen can often mean forking out £8 or more per head, but a bit of craft and planning means you can bag bargain seats without paying full price. We've researched a brand new deals note just for films, here's a few of the current highlights.

• Two free cinema tix with free 30 day DVD trial. New customers registering through a special link for a free Lovefilm trial get a bonus 2 free tickets to Cineworld, Odeon, Vue etc.

• Orange 2for1 Weds for non-Orange customers. Get 2for1 at almost all cinemas every Wed if you've an Orange phone. If not just grab a free sim, pop it in - and now you are.

• Cheap tickets for teens & carers. There's a host of discounted tickets, £1 weekend and half-term kids tickets at Vue, £2 Teenscreen tickets and 2for1 tickets for many carers.

• Free movie previews. Sign up to preview sites to see select films for free (usually Mon/Tues eve). Recent films inc. The King's Speech, The Social Network and more.

FULL info, how tos & more cinema deals in the NEW Deals Note: Cheap Cinema Tickets Related: Orange 2for1 trick

Fight charges for 'paying by card'
Special cards beat budget airline fees | Campaign to stamp out unfair card payment charges

Which? has filed a super-complaint to the OFT against unfair charges when paying with credit or debit cards. This regularly tops complaints in the MSE 50 word manifesto we send to politicians, and as Which? needs to show public support, we'd urge MoneySavers to add their weight to the 9,000 on its Stop Rip-Off Charges page. Meanwhile ...

• Pay for free on budget airlines. They normally charge up to £10 per person return, even though they only pay c. 20p per transaction for debit cards, 1-2% credit. Ryanair: Paying by prepaid Mastercard is free, FairFX* is our top pick (normally £10, free via this link) Others: It's free on Visa Electrons, but no prepaid are available anymore, so get Halifax's basic bank acc. for this or use online payment system Entropay. Full charges pros & cons: Beat Budget Airlines guide.

• Put the retailer's fee in your pocket! The fee retailers pay card companies helps lenders cover costs of cashback or rewards deals, even if you repay IN FULL (as you should always do). So if there's no charge, pay on these to get some or all that fee in your pocket. Amex Platinum* is top payer at 5% intro cashback (19.9% rep APR), followed by Capital One* at 1% (12.9% rep APR) but with an effective £8 annual fee. Full pros & cons: Top Cashback Cards guide (see official APR examples).
  

25 ways to stop yourself being scammed. New Guide!
It's no longer just the easily duped, as scams get more sophisticated we must too
It's the OFT's Scamnesty month to try and help the estimated 3m people who fall for scams each year (only 5% report them). To celebrate, here's our new 25 ways to beat scams guide inc ...

• What site is moneysavingexpert.search29z1.com? It's the bit before the .com that counts so this isn't us but 'search29z1.com'. Plus see the when the BBC isn't the BBC blog.

• Find who owns a website when shopping. All companies official info is listed on the Companies House site, plus find out who registered any site on the Whois database, or see its rough worldwide web ranking on Alexa (top 100,000 are big; a good, though not foolproof, indication of legitimacy) for sites you'd expect to be big.

• How to report scams when you find them. If you spot a scam, the right place to report it is Consumer Direct or take mailings to your local Tradings Standards Office.

See the full New Safe Shopping Guide: 25 ways to stop scams Related: Free Anti-Virus

Childcare voucher changes - save £1,000s
Higher taxpayers sign up or miss out | Tax credit changes mean more should consider vouchers
The two big ways to cut childcare costs both see major changes on 6 April.

• Childcare vouchers. This govt scheme run via employers lets you pay for childcare from PRE-tax wages eg, you swap £2,000 salary, worth c.£1,400 in your pay, for £2,000 of vouchers, gaining £600. From April the amount of vouchers allowed is halved for all NEW higher rate taxpayer recipients. If you'll soon need it, consider joining asap (even just a nominal monthly amount) to lock in full allowance. Updated Guide: Childcare Vouchers
  

• Childcare tax credits & vouchers.The current avg childcare element of working tax credit is a massive £3,500/year, so single adults working 16+ hours a week or couples both working 16+ hours earning under £40k combined should check if eligible. Yet as the payout depends on what you 'pay' for childcare, and paying in vouchers doesn't count, getting vouchers can cost money overall for some on lower incomes.
  
  Yet as from April these tax credit payouts drop from a max 80% of childcare costs to 70%, more people may gain from vouchers. Details are still sketchy, we'll update nearer the time, but if you're near the income cusp (see guide) see if it's worth getting. See the Updated Guide: Childcare Tax Credits