The Financial Blog

Alliance and Leicester have announced they’re the first UK bank to offer same day funds for unsecured loans to existing and new customers who sucessfully apply for a loan.

The Typical APR for an Alliance and Leicester loan is 6.9 per cent in branches, online the cheapest I could get their loan calcualtor to offer was 7.4 per cent Typical APR, but then again I could have been doing something wrong…

So from today sucessful applicants can have the cleared funds in their account the same day as they apply for the loan, as long as your application is accepted before 12.30 pm on any working day.

It looks like you need to be free to sit in a branch and apply with a member of staff first thing in the morning, on a working day, to actually get the cleared funds in your account the same day. Not such a great deal then; considering how many people work most working days! I suppose the bank needs to confirm your identity and run credit checks virtually on the spot, as you’re in the branch.

Personal Loans Manager at Alliance & Leicester, Richard Al-Dabbagh said: “What better way to get your finances sorted out and off to a flying start for the New Year? The fact that the loan takes less time to be paid into your current account means that you can get it working for you even faster.

“And with one of the best rates available on the high street, our personal loans aim to meet the needs and budgets of virtually everyone.”

It is obviously better to pay off your most expensive debts first and a personal loan could be a cheaper than a credit card or store card. The fixed monthly payments on a personal loan can work better for some people because choosing what you’d like to pay each month off your credit card statement usually always ends up with a minimum repayment!

Here we go, just in time for the New Year balance transfer frenzy, as people suddenly realise they’ve overspent on Christmas yet again, credit card companies are already offering some enticing new deals.

New credit card deals have been released today from Natwest, RBS and MINT. From what I can see these cards are good offers in terms of balance transfer rates but if, like 60 per cent of people already in debt, you’re likely to continue shopping in the January sales you might want to think twice about these credit cards because they also feature a competitive 6 month interest free period on purchases.

So, from today the Natwest credit card is offering 13 months interest free on balance transfers. The balance transfer fees are 2.5 per cent if you apply in a branch, or 2.9 per cent if you apply via direct mail, online, or via telephone. There is also 6 months interest free on purchases. The Typical APR is 12.9 per cent variable for new customers but if you have a Natwest current account you can apply for an 11.9 per cent Typical APR, variable.

Considering the average Typical APR on a credit card in the UK is 16 to 17 per cent these are very competitive offers from the Royal Bank of Scotland group.

RBS - The Royal Bank of Scotland credit card is offering exactly the same deal, because Natwest is part of the same group of companies.

The MINT credit card, is offering 0 per cent on balance transfers until 1st March 2009 (so 14 months worth if you apply for the card and transfer a balance before January 08), and 0 per cent on purchases until 01st August 2008. The Typical APR is 12.9 per cent variable with a balance transfer fee of 2.9 per cent. Click here to apply online!

All the cards above from the RBS Group have online account management available and offer up to 56 days interest free period on purchases. Don’t forget the rates offered are subject to status you could be offered a different rate dependent on your credit rating.

As I said previously, just be very wary of credit cards offers like this if you already have a balance to transfer and it is your intention to take advantage of the 0 per cent offer to try and clear some of your debt…

There is always the temptation to spend more if the credit card has a 0 per cent purchase rate too. Unless of course you have no debt and can afford to take advantage of the interest free January sales shopping.

I could hardly believe the figures when I first read about this! Today we’re due to spend £1.5 million per minute as we attempt the last minute, mad dash to finish our Christmas shopping!

Of today’s total £2.14 billion spending spree a staggering £380 million or 18 per cent, will be put on credit cards.

The research from Sainsbury’s Bank also revealed that 1 million people predictthat all of their Christmas shopping will be done today.

With this amount of shopping predicted for just today it’s essential that people look for the best deals when applying for a credit card. Obviously for the £380 million going on credit today people may not have the best credit card deal available but there are no excuses come the New Year.

Get online and shop around for the best credit card deals you can find. In January there will be a number of different credit card providers offering zero per cent balance transfer deals. Make sure you’re aware of the balance transfer fees, usually 2 to 3 per cent of the amount you transfer.

check out our credit card deals on the right of this page>>>>>>

Tescos new mortgage finder, an online service in partnership with London and Country, compares the whole mortgage market to find you the best deal.

If you can’t find a cheaper deal with Tescos they’ll give you £100. Not a bad offer if you’re in need of remortgaging in the New Year. The £100 offer is available until 9th January 2008.

Head of lending for Tesco Personal Finance, Colin Robertson said; ‘Many people are sitting on uncompetitive mortgage rates and are paying over the odds for their mortgage every month. The Tesco Mortgage Finder guides customers through the confusing mortgage-finding process and can help save them significant amounts of money.’

New reasearch from Callcredit points towards the over 55’s facing financial difficulties as they struggle to define the amount of debt they owe.

A staggering 16 per cent of over 55’s are financially unaware of the level of debt they’re in and so the pensions gap increases with 25 per cent of UK adults not making pension contributions. The situation doesn’t look good; over 1.1 million UK homeowners who are retired still have a mortgage of £38,000, on average and one in eight of these people still owes more than £50,000. Over 1.5 million over 55’s in the UK say they cannot retire because they simply can’t afford to.

It’s not just mortgage debt, one third of over 55’s still carry an average of nearly £6,000 worth of unsecured debts like credit card and personal loan debt. All this puts massive pressure on people when it comes to making provisions for retirement.

Lloyds TSB are offering a cash back deal for all new customers re-mortgaging with them from another lender. The lump sum of £500 is paid when you switch from another lender to Lloyds TSB.

The cash back is available only on a 2 year fixed rate mortgage from Lloyds TSB, the initial rate is 5.99 per cent fixed until 31st March 2010, reverting to 7.50 per cent for the remainder of the term. There is a product fee of £995 and early repayment charges apply.

As a nation we’re on target to spend that additional last minute £3 billion on Christmas pressies, so a cash back deal with a New Year re-mortgage could help peoples finances during the January financial hangover…

American Express have launched a new annual travel insurance policy called ‘Essential’. The policy covers European travel and costs from £29.

The insurance is for anyone aged 18 to 65 years old and £29 is for a single policy, family policies are still competitive starting at £45. There are options available to add on like winter sports and golf cover.

Marketing Manager at American Express Insurance Services, Joanne Field, sai;:  “Often great value policies fall down when it comes to the cover limits. Essential combines a keen premium with comprehensive cover - such as the £3,000 cancellation and curtailment limit per person.”

For full policy details go to americanexpress.com  - could be your policy for 2008?

Sainsbury’s bank have cut their personal loan rate to 6.5 per cent Typical APR today, this is for loans of £7,000 to £25,000.

This is now one of the most competitive loan rates in the market, in some instances by over 4 per cent Typical APR. Bearing this in mind it would make sense to check out unsecured loan rates using a financial comparison website before you commit to applying for a loan.

Perhaps one of the more attractive benefits of the Sainsbury’s personal loan is the repayment holiday – you can choose to make no repayments for the first 3 months, get an instant decision if you apply online and get a cheque delivered within 24 hours! Sounds good if you’re looking to consolidate Christmas debt in the New Year.

The 6.5 per cent Typical APR will be dependant on your credit rating and is a limited offer, although I can’t find any specific dates the rate will last until! Take a look at Sainsburys Bank.

Zopa.com is the world’s first person to person lending service; you borrow from a person rather than a bank! So, instead of paying the ever-increasing interest rates of a personal loan you could go to zopa.com to see how much you could save…

For example a £3000 over 12 months could cost from 8 per cent to 12 per cent from a bank, whilst with Zopa will cost you 6.6 per cent. Of course this is all dependant on your credit rating so you might actually not be offered the lowest rates from either the bank of your choice or Zopa…

The other advantage with Zopa is that there are no early repayment charges if you’re suddenly able to repay the whole amount for whatever reason.

Compared to the average credit card Typical APR of 16% it’s certainly worth finding out more…click here to go to Zopa.com

This year people are planning to spend more on Christmas than they did last year. There’s just over a week of shopping days to go and analysts are saying around £12 billion will be spent in this last week before Christmas. £2.1 billion of the £12 billion will be spent on credit cards which equates to 18 per cent of the total UK’s spending this week, an incredible percentage! If all the calculations are accurate we’re spending approximately £3 billion more than was identified this time last year!

Credit cards are a very quick and easy way to pay for your Christmas shopping and can also provide good rewards if you use them wisely. Credit cards also provide a certain degree of security because they save you from withdrawing and carrying cash around whilst Christmas shopping.

You need to ensure you choose the right credit card for your circumstances because they all offer different incentives and have varying terms and conditions. For example some credit cards offer 0 per cent on purchases for an introductory period, ideal for last minute Christmas shopping. Some credit cards offer these 0 per cent deals plus cash back or reward points, so depending on how much you’re likely to spend, it may be worthwhile considering a cash back credit card if you’re planning on a very big spend. Some supermarket credit cards will offer higher cash back or rewards in store when you use the card to pay for goods bought from them – again if you’re buying your Christmas food, wine and beer from a supermarket that offers a credit card why not take advantage of them this year?

Virgin Credit card offers 0 per cent on balance transfers for 15 months (2.98 per cent handling fee applies). Typical APR is 15.9 per cent. Click here to apply now.

MBNA Platinum Plus credit card is 0 per cent on balance transfers for 12 months (3 per cent handling fee applies) and 0 per cent on purchases for 3 months, with a Typical APR of 15.5 per cent. Click here to apply

The Capital One Cash Back credit card offers 4 per cent cash back on all purchases for the first 3 months. You earn 1 per cent cash back on all purchases thereafter, no annual fee and FREE travel insurance and travel assistance for you and your family. (please read the full policy details). Click here to apply today.

Barclaycard credit card with cash back has 0 per cent interest on balance transfers for 12 months (2.5 per cent handling fee applies). 0.5 per cent cash back on all purchases plus 2 per cent cash back on supermarket shopping and petrol, up to a maximum of £15 per month. 14.9 per cent Typical APR.  Click here to apply now.