Archive: MoneySavingExpert's Money Tips Email

The end of free solar panels?
The Govt will slash feed-in tariffs for new installs | Go quick if already ordered
We warned a fortnight ago to be quick if you want solar. So this week's news that the subsidy's being halved is no surprise. After all, the cost is effectively covered by higher mainstream energy bills, so it's a poor-to-rich subsidy. Yet it hits on or after 12 Dec, much sooner than expected, hurting those who've already ordered. Full info in Free solar guide, here's a summary....

• How does the solar subsidy work? Solar panels save the typical home £90-£180/year in electricity. Yet the real draw's that the Govt guaranteed for 25 years you'd get a high 'feed-in tariff', ie, be PAID to generate energy (even if you use it yourself) at over 3x what we pay, meaning £1,000+ a year for typical panels.
• Feed-in rate to be halved. The new rates completely change the maths. The feed-in's being cut by just over half from 1 April 2012 for panels installed and registered after 12 Dec (those who already have them keep the high rate). This means the profit over 25 years plummets. A govt consultation ends on 23 Dec, so further changes are possible.
• Can I sign up and get installation before the deadline? Very unlikely. This announcement effectively slashes the subsidy for all new sign-ups as fitting panels usually takes two months.
• I've ordered panels but they're not fully fitted? It's been a poorly managed change and you're the victim. Not only must panels be fitted, but the energy supplier must also have received a 'Microgeneration Certification Scheme' certificate, only valid once the system is working. Urgently talk options with your installer.
• The end of free solar? This may kill off most 'free solar' deals, where you get the panels and electricity savings, but the supplier keeps the big feed-in gain. Already, Eon, British Gas and EvoEnergy have stopped taking calls from new applicants. However, HomeSun, Isis and A Shade Greener say they plan to continue.

Full info in the Updated Guide: Solar Panels Related: Switch Gas & Elec Now, Energy Grants

Tesco Christmas double exchange on toys, clothes & booze
New. Until 1 Dec, swap vouchers for 2x their value IN-STORE | Plus reclaim lost vouchers

If you've got Tesco vouchers sitting in your pocket, drawer or down the back of the sofa, now's the time to act as you've a new big extra option to boost rewards. Full help in the Tesco points boosting guide, here's a summary ...

• Step 1: Find £100s of lost Tesco vouchers. You can quickly check and reclaim any unused or lost old vouchers online. Full step-by-step in the Reclaim Tesco Vouchers. If you find any (most do) just print them off instantly to add them to your stash, or use the codes online. Some find over £100+, please report lost voucher successes.
• Step 2: Check if you can QUADRUPLE rewards. Before doubling up in-store, check Tesco's Rewards brochure as it may allow you to triple or quadruple the value of your vouchers, eg, £10 becomes £30 on train tickets or £40 on jewellery and days out. Full help in our top 10 Tesco Rewards list.
• Step 3: New Christmas Clubcard Voucher Exchange. From now until 1 Dec you can swap £5 vouchers for £10 in tokens (£10 to £20 in some cases) to spend in-store, but only in the following areas: skincare; cosmetics & fragrance; toys & bikes; finest wine & champagne; cook, dine & home (pots, pans, cushions & storage); small domestic appliances & personal electrical and furniture. See full Double Up info.

Ryanair chutzpah - you now need its OWN card to pay free
You pay £12 per return to well, er ... pay, unless you've a Ryanair £150 top-up prepaid card

Outrageously from this week, passengers booking a Ryanair flight now pay an added £6 per person each way for paying by credit, debit OR prepay cards. Full info in Beat budget airlines fees. Here's a taster:

• You now need its OWN card to beat the fees. It gets away with counting this £12/return fee (£48 for a family of four) as optional, so it's not part of its advertised price, as if you pay using its new Ryanair Cash Passport prepaid Mastercard there's no charge. Until last week, it was avoidable on any prepaid Mastercard.
• Should you get the card? If you book Ryanair flights the answer's yes - as there's no other way to avoid charges. It costs £6 but you get that back as a flight voucher. Yet it's a poor card due to many charges and a huge £150 minimum top-up.
  
  Never use it abroad as it adds a 5.75% foreign loading charge, double a typical debit card, so £100 worth of euros costs £105.75. Beware using it just to store cash until your next flight, as after 6 months unused there's a £2.50/mth inactivity fee. Plus it charges £2 for ATM withdrawals, and from 31 March 2012, another 50p each time you spend in the UK. Yet if you're canny you can keep charges down, see Ryanair charges news for more.
• Beat other budget airline charges. Ryanair is not the only airline to levy card payment fees. Thomson and Easyjet charge a flat £4 and £8 per payment, while BMI Baby and Flybe are £6 and £9 per person, return. With these, use a Visa Electron card and it's free. To get one, either open this Halifax Bank Account or sign up to online payment system Entropay. Full info in the Budget flight fee-fighting guide.

Related: Cheap Flights, Cheap Overseas Plastic, Travel Insurance and Martin's I should love Ryanair but we're fighting blog.

New 3% petrol cashback card
Pays massive cashback worth £100+ to some | Slash costs at every major petrol station
Inflation's at a twenty-year peak, and sky-high pump costs are a huge part of that. A typical weekly tankful can mean a £3,500/year bill. Luckily, autumn's seen the rise of petrol cashback cards, which pay money back when you buy fuel.

• First turn the credit card into a debit card. Petrol cashback cards are credit cards, hoping to tempt you to borrow with incentives to spend. Thus always set up a direct debit to repay IN FULL each month, so there's no interest, then stick within the credit limit and you neuter the borrowing element so it's now a debit card that bills monthly.
• Earn 3% cashback on all your petrol/diesel spending. The Santander 123* card pays 3% cashback at petrol stations (max £300 monthly spend), 2% in department stores and 1% in supermarkets. Yet there's a £24 annual fee, so it only adds up for higher spenders. Now The AA Reward Plus card's joined it (it was only for AA members) at 3% fuel cashback on up to £2,000 annual petrol spends. It pays 0.5% above that and on all other spending.
  
  If a high proportion of your spending is on fuel and big weekly supermarket shops, Santander's likely to be a winner, otherwise the AA's a safer bet as it doesn't have the annual fee and rewards all spending. Yet fail to fully repay and these cards are a big 18.9% and 19.9% representative APR, respectively.
• 5% on ALL spending for 3 months. If you're planning a big one-off spend other than fuel, try overall top cashback card Capital One's* World Mastercard, which pays a huge 5% on all spending (£5 per £100) on up to £2,000 in the first three months. After, it's 0.5% to 1.25% cashback (the higher rate's on annual spending over £10,000). To get it, you need to earn over £20,000, be 21+ and a homeowner. Fail to repay in full and it's 19.9% representative APR.

For more info & best buys, plus loads more petrol saving tips, see the Updated Guides: Cheap Petrol, Top Cashback Cards. Related: Your Credit Score, 0% Credit Cards (and Official APR Examples)

New 6.1% APR loan | Cheapest in over FOUR years
New salvos fired in loan price war | Rates slashed yet again for big lump-sum borrowing

It may look like rates are coming down, but even so only do necessary borrowing, always minimise it, do a budget to ensure it's affordable & repay as fast as poss. Full new best-buys & help in the Cheap Loans guide, here's a summary.

• New. 6.1% loan for £7,500 - £15,000. Sainsbury's* is now 6.1% representative APR for 1-3 year loans or 6.2% for 4-5 yrs via this link* (both require a Nectar card). Yet the 'representative APR' means only 51% of accepted applicants must get this rate, worse credit scorers pay more. Sadly, you must apply to find out, hitting your credit score, so consider ...
  
  Nationwide* has just cut its rates too, to 6.2% representative APR for existing FlexAccount holders and 6.3% for everyone else. Yet, uniquely, it gives 'quotes without commitments' meaning it'll tell you the rate without it going on your credit file.
  
• Cheapest 7.9% for £5,000 - £7,500. Sainsbury's* Nectar cardholders get 7.9% representative APR for 1-3 year loans or 8% for 4-5 years via this link*. Alternatively, Alliance & Leicester* is 8% representative APR.
• Cheapest loans under £5,000. Here, loans are still a bigger rip-off than Velcro, eg, for £2,000 the cheapest's 14.9%. So forget loans, bizarrely, credit cards are far cheaper. If the loan's for something you can pay for on plastic, accepted new Marks & Spencer* and Tesco* customers get 15mths at 0%, yet always plan repayments to clear the debt before the 0% ends or it's 15.9% and 16.9% rep APR respectively (see 0% Card guide).
  
  If you need longer or a loan as cash, this won't work for you, but there is another route: see the Half price plastic loans guide. If the aim is simply to cut the cost of existing card debts, just see the Best Balance Transfers guide.
  

FULL loan rate, info, calculators and more in the Updated Guide: Cheap Loans Related: 0% Cards, Balance Transfers, Official Card and Loan APR examples