The Financial Blog

Finally you have one further option with the Captial One Platinum credit card - The low balance transfer fee card, which offers the following;

This credit card offers a shorter introductory rate of 0 per cent on balance transfers and purchases than the Capital One Platinum, and the Typical APR is the same at 12.9 per cent, so higher than the low rate Platinum which offers 9.9 per cent Typical APR.

The best feature of this credit card is the low 1.7 per cent balance transfer handling fee - Infact I think this may be the lowest balance transfer handling fee there is. You might want to consider this card if you have a large balance to transfer and you want to avoid paying a big upfront handling fee.

>>Click here to compare credit cards>>

The Capital One low rate Platinum credit card has the same type of benefits as the Capital One Platinum with 2 main differences that I will explain now;

The Capital One low rate Platinum offers;

So what are the differences? Well, with this credit card your intorductory offer of 0 per cent on balance transfers and purchases only lasts until 1st February 2009 - whereas the Capital One Platinum offers these features until 1st May 2009, so another 2 months.

However this Captial One low rate Platinum offers a lower Typical APR of just 9.9 per cent, variable - whereas the Capital One Platinum offers a Typical APR of 12.9 per cent, variable.

If you’re confident of being able to clear any balances you might transfer between applying and the 1st February 2009 you should consider applying for the Capital One low rate Platinum to take advantage of the lower Typical APR…

Of course you can Click here to compare credit cards and see if you can find a better deal to suit your needs!

The Capital One Platinum credit card has a fantastic combination of features;

The online application at CapitalOne will only take around 5 minutes to complete. Click here to see if you qualify for the Capital One Platinum Credit card.

>> Click here to start your application >>

So what exactly is a charging order? Put simply it’s a second mortgage on a home that gives a creditor security on a loan or credit card debt if they find that a customer is not repaying the money they owe.

If you take out an unsecured loan or a credit card and then have trouble trying to make the repayments so fall into arrears your bank can take you to court. If you still cannot or do not pay, the court can issue a charge on your home.

New figures from the Ministry of Justice suggest that from 2005 to 2007 the increase in charging orders is near to 100 per cent.

John Fairhurst, from the debt advice company Payplan, said “Lenders are worried about people’s ability to repay and a charging order gives a guarantee to the lender that at some point in the future they will get their money back. What’s quite difficult for a creditor to do is to follow the charging order through to repossess the house” he said. “Repossessions as a result of charging orders are extremely rare.”

Lenders are prepaired to do almost anything to secure the repayments on their lending so don’t think that if you’re applying for unsecured credit it means that the debt might be written off.

If you’re struggling to keep up with debt repayments then seek professional debt advice

In the test case against UK bank overdraft charges, it was ruled that the OFT (Office of Fair Trading) can decide if bank overdraft charges are unfair or not and this means it’s up to the OFT to decide what is a fair overdraft charge.

The banks have said “Further court hearings will be required before the test case process is concluded.” Even if the OFT win and we can all claim back our overdraft charges you can bet that the banks will then begin charging us to use a current account, meaning the end of free banking for everyone.

This stemmed from the consumer anger with bank charges, sometimes running into hundreds of pounds, for unauthorised overdrafts. Back in 2006 the thinking was that these charges were, in-fact, illegal because they must be reflective of the actual costs incurred by the bank, i.e. the charges must be reasonable. Also, the credit card industry had seen an amendment to credit card fees, backed up by the OFT (Office of Fair Trading) - So the question was asked ‘why should banks get away with the same thing on overdraft charges?’

Whatever happens with this court case it looks like we’ll all end up paying out in the long run as the banks will turn this ruling on it’s head and introduce new fees that we have to pay upfront. Wonderful.

The banks will always look beyond the regulations imposed on them in order to skim more profits from their customers. It’s just a shame that we all have to use current accounts these days in order to get paid and get credit. If there was some other way of holding your own, hard earned, money without allowing profiteering banks to get their hands on it, I’m sure millions of people would move away from banks…

Get them while you can! Click here to compare current accounts and find the best account

HSBC bank has announced that it will reduce it HSBC variable mortgage rate by 0.25 per cent from 6.50 per cent to 6.25 per cent as from the 9th of May 2008.

And don’t forget that HSBC are also offering their rate matcher mortgage. This is a good opportunity if you’re comming to the end of an offer period with a fixed rate mortgage HSBC promise to match your old rate, subject to an initial set up fee if you switch to them. It’s certainly well worth investigating and getting a full quote. The lowest fixed rate HSBC will match is 4.54 per cent and this offer is only open until 18th May 2008. I’ve posted about it here; http://www.thefinancialblog.co.uk/hsbc-offer-new-rate-matcher-mortgage/

Other HSBC Mortgages include;

• 5 Year fixed rate mortgage at 5.39% with a £999 fee
• Lifetime remortgage tracker at 5.48% with a £599 fee
• 2 year discount mortgage at 5.43% (dropping to 5.18% from 9th May) with a fee of £999
• a range of fee free fixed and tracker mortgages

Click here to compare mortgages and get the best rates!

According to new reasearch from Gocompare.com the gap between the cheapest home insurance policy and the averaged price policy can vary by as much as 45 per cent, this means that people who compare home insurance and generally shop around for insurance could effectively get 3 years cover for the price of 2 - I didn’t think about it like that!

All figures from Gocompare.com 

Hayley Parsons, Chief Executive of Gocompare.com said; “As our figures show, the difference in premiums between insurance companies can be quite significant so it is important that you don’t just accept the first quote that you are given.  At the very least, shopping around will enable you to see how your renewal quote compares with a much wider range of policies.  Our examples show that by picking the lowest price each time as opposed to the average price, it can be possible to get the equivalent of three years cover for the price of two. However, whilst significant savings can be made, it’s important that you compare insurance policies on the cover that they provide, and not just the price.”

Gocompare.com’s Home Insurance service lets you input your details once and compare more than 20 insurance brands including The AA, Budget, Endsleigh, esure, insurepink, Kwik-Fit, MoreThan, Sheila’s Wheels, Swinton and Zurich home insurance.

Always make sure you compare home insurance and shop around to get the best deal for your needs.

Another thought - If this is the case for home insurance then surely it makes sense to do the same when you’re getting a car insurance quote? There are a host of price comparison sites to choose from so make sure you compare car insurance by getting a few quotations from each one;

GoCompare.com

Moneysupermarket.com

Comparethemarket.com

Uswitch.com

Moneyexpert.com

Insurancewide.com

Yorkshire Building Society has launched an internet based fixed rate savings bond - a 1 year bond paying 6.20 per cent Gross AER. This product is available until 31st May 2008. After this first issue all subsequent bond rates will be set in line with current market conditions. This new bond is only available online and you can deposit savings using your debit card, which will start earning you interest quicker than if you deposited a cheque.You can open an e-Bond with just £100 and have up to £500,000 and there is a monthly interest option if you rely on your savings for your income.

At the end of the bond term the product will move onto Yorkshire’s Internet Saver account, providing instant access to your funds and this is currebtly paying 5.75% Gross AER. The additional bonds to be launched by Yorkshire will have fixed terms ranging from 6 months to 5 years.

Yorkshire’s Head of e-Commerce, David Jackson, said “Increasingly people value the flexibility offered by the internet and the convenience of managing their lifestyle at a time and place that suits them. Every aspect of the new bond can be processed from a laptop without the requirement of printers and postal services, which I believe meets the demands of today’s consumer.”

• 55 per cent of holidaymakers book their own travel
• 40 per cent of independent travellers book online
• Annual multi-trip policy extended to cover those who ‘Do it themselves’

From this week M&S Travel Insurance has been enhanced to ensure that travellers who book their holidays independently of a tour operator are covered if their flights are cancelled and if other parts of their holidays are affected.

Independent traveller cover is now included as standard in M&S annual multi-trip insurance, and is available as an optional extra with single trip travel insurance

With the rise of low budget airlines and fast broadband internet connections, experts predict that independent travel will take over from the traditional package holiday over the next five years, seeing a growth in the DIY travel market of approx 45%.

Over 70 million trips abroad were taken by Britons in 20074 and today only half of all holidays are booked as a complete package from a travel agent.5  Further research reveals that 49%6 of consumers never truly know what their travel insurance covers them for.

With the rise in popularity of independent travel, insurers have begun to identify areas where travel cover could be improved.  For example, an independent holidaymaker whose flight is cancelled could find they are unable to claim for subsequent connections, facing the cost of new flights or accommodation.

Brendan Cook, M&S Money chief executive, commented; “We work hard to cater for the changing needs of our customers and it has become increasingly clear that traditional insurance policies, developed with the package holiday in mind, need to move with the times and cover the increasing variety of eventualities faced by the modern traveller.”

For more information about M&S Travel Insurance or to apply, customers can visit www.marksandspencer.com/travelinsurance or telephone 0800 345 7669

Click here to see the policy details - M&S Money travel insurance policy details

Despite credit becoming tighter it makes sense to ensure that you’re still getting the best deal you can on your credit card and Defaqto have compiled ten tips to help consumers find the best deal and to avoid the pitfalls.

1.      How to choose a credit card

If you’re not going to repay the entire balance every month concentrate on the interest rates charged, a 0% deal or a low standard rate, rather than any rewards. Interest payments will almost always outweigh any potential rewards.

If you are sure that you can repay the entire balance every month focus on rewards that are offered such as cash-backs or air miles.

2.      Use different credit cards for different purposes

If you open a card to do a 0% balance transfer do not use the new card for purchases. This is because many of the companies allocate repayments to the cheapest debt first so your repayments will have to clear any balances on which they charge the lowest rate before they’re allocated to the items on which they charge higher interest. Even if the offer is 0% for 12 months for balance transfers and 0% for 3 months for purchases don’t use it for purchases. Get a different card for ongoing purchases.

3.      Watch out for fees

Look out for balance transfer fees. Sadly they’re now charged on just about all 0% balance transfer deals so make sure that you compare the fees. Typically they’re in the region of 2.5% to 3% and most now have no cap on the maximum fee.

4.      Plan ahead

Diarise about six weeks before any introductory credit card offer that you’re enjoying is about to end and at that time see if you can take advantage of another introductory offer elsewhere.

5.      Don’t just pay the minimum

Even if you don’t clear your entire outstanding balance every month, try to pay back more than the minimum monthly repayment. If you only repay the minimum amount every month your debt will last longer. If the monthly interest rate charged is 1.50% and you repay 2% of the outstanding balance every month it would take you 29 years 6 months to repay a £1,000 balance even if you did no other spending on it. If you repaid 5% of the outstanding balance each month you would clear it in just 7 years 4 months.

6.      Use direct debit

Try to avoid incurring default penalties. These are generally set at about £12 and typically occur if your monthly payment is made after the due date, if you exceed your credit limit or if there’s a returned payment. To minimise the risk of incurring a default fee see if you can make repayments by direct debit and monitor your balance and spending in relation to your credit limit.

7.      Overseas use

If you’re going to use your card abroad get one that doesn’t charge a fee on foreign transactions. Most charge between 2.75% and 3%. There are some cards that don’t charge a fee; these currently include those offered by Nationwide Building Society and The Post Office

8.      Avoid cash advances

Try to avoid using your card to get cash advances. OK it’s an easy way to get cash but it’s expensive: you’ll get charged a fee (typically 2% - 3%) and a fairly high interest rate from the date of the cash advance.

9.      Review and change

The credit card industry doesn’t reward loyalty. The best deals are normally restricted to new customers. If you have a good credit rating it pays to check that your card is still offering the best deal every 12 months or so. Do this whether you’re paying interest or enjoying rewards. With many card providers if you close your account, rather than just let it become dormant, you will potentially be treated as a new customer again after about six to nine months. If you find it difficult to obtain a new card think carefully before you close an existing one: you may not be able to get a replacement.

10.  Beware of fraud

Credit card fraud is not unusual. Check that all the items on your statement are yours and if you suspect anything speak to your card issuer. Cover your hand when you’re inputting your PIN to minimise the risk of your number being seen. If you’re out shopping on the high street it’s also worth putting a bit of masking tape over the 3 digit security number on the reverse of your card.

Principal Consultant for Banking at Defaqto, David Black,  says: “Credit is getting harder to obtain nowadays but this should not deter existing customers from checking that their credit card still offers the best deal. The market is awash with introductory offers and if you have a good credit rating then it’s likely that you could find a better offer elsewhere.”

Longest 0 per cent purchase credit cards

Click here to compare 0 per cent purchase credit cards Source - Defaqto - April 2008

Longest 0 per cent introductory balance transfer offers

Click here to compare 0 per cent balance transfer credit cards Source - Defaqto - April 2008