The Miles & More American Express Credit Card from MBNA offers a competitive rate of interest plus the feature to more quickly earn Miles & More award miles, which can be redeemed for flight, upgrade and travel awards and for a wide range of non travel related goods and much more.

Earning award miles is now faster and easier than ever before. The new Miles & More American Express Credit Card from MBNA allows card members to earn 3 award miles for every £1 spent on the card during the first six months from the account opening date and two award miles per £1 spent thereafter. In addition as a new card member you will receive a welcome bonus of 6,000 award miles when you make your first card purchase within 90 days of opening your account.

Another great benefit is that by holding a Miles & More credit card, your award miles will no longer expire, giving you the flexibility to redeem Miles whenever you like.

The new Miles & More American Express Credit Card from MBNA offers 0 per cent p.a. on balance transfers for the first 12 months, a 3 per cent handling fee applies, from the date the account is opened plus 0 per cent on card purchases for the first three months. After the introductory period the card will revert to a typical rate of 15.9 per cent APR, variable.

General Manager for Lufthansa UK & Ireland, Marianne Sammann, said: “We are delighted to expand our partnership with MBNA and are happy to provide our Miles & More members with these enhanced benefits. The new Miles & More American Express Credit Card from MBNA ensures our customers can obtain the maximum number of miles, taking them one step closer to the award of their choice.

“With more than 15 million members worldwide, Miles & More is the most successful frequent flyer programme in Europe. Launching this new product again emphasizes the UK as an important market for both Lufthansa and Miles & More”.

Click Here to compare credit cards and apply online today!

“New drivers are more likely to be involved in an accident during their first two years of motoring. This is largely down the driver’s inexperience and results in more expensive car insurance premiums for new motorists. We therefore welcome the Government’s move to introduce additional learner testing as it will lead to increased driving standards on UK roads.

“While the introduction of the Pass Plus test in 1995 was certainly a move towards increasing road safety, it remains merely an optional extra for new drivers. The financial benefits of extra testing in terms of lowered insurance premuims are obvious; according to Tescocompare.com a novice female driver living in London with Pass Plus can save up to £100 on her premium through certain insurance providers. We expect premiums to drop across all insurance providers once the Government’s plans for compulsory additional testing are introduced. 

“Introducing increased testing should mean cheaper car insurance premiums for all new drivers, as well as safer driving conditions on UK roads.”

Tescocompare.com is a comparison site allowing consumers to compare car insurance policies by 25 different policy features - as well as the premium quoted - to help consumers chose not just the cheapest policy, but also the one which is right for them.

Tescocompare.com differentiates itself from other car insurance comparison web sites by guaranteeing the price quoted on the site so the price quoted on Tescocompare.com will be the same as or cheaper than if the customer went direct.

Tescocompare.com compares car insurance policies from the following insurers;

AA, Admiral, AIG Direct, Autodirect, Bullseye, Budget, Churchill, CIS, Diamond, Devitt, Endsleigh, Esure, First Alternative, Halifax, Hastings, IbuyEco, Kwik-Fit, Lloyds TSB, Marks and Spencer, More Than, Nationwide, Norwich Union Simplecover, Swinton, Privilege, Prudential, Quinn Direct, Shiela’s Wheels, Swiftcover, admiral insurance Tesco Vauxhall Virgin, Yes Insurance and Zurich.

Tescocompare.com has been rated best car insurance comparison site by Defaqto, an independent product research company. Defaqto carried out an analysis of 17 car insurance comparison sites in November 2007, assessing them for functionality and usability features. With a Defaqto rating of 87%, Tescocompare.com received the highest score of all tested sites. Defaqto highlighted Tescocompare.com, which launched in September this year, as ‘the best overall service to consumers’.

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Industry experts had predicted the rate hold but it surely is becomming harder for the Bank of England to make these rate setting decisions.

Rising inflation means that food prices and fuel prices are rising and the Governmnets target for inflation, which is set at 2 per cent, is not being hit by the Bank of England. The pound is not performing well against the Euro and that means goods and services we import from Europe cost us more. Just these reasons would normally be enough for the Bank of England to increase interest rates.

The problem is the slump in the UK housing market and mortgage mayhem following the credit crunch; this means that the Bank of England is also under pressure to consider the economics here as well as rising inflation.

In the US interest rates have been cut to an all time low of 2 per cent to try and recharge the slowing economy and housing market.

Obviously for everyone with a fixed rate mortgage it really makes no difference what the Bank of England do with interest rates until your out of the fixed rate period.

I’m one of the ‘lucky’ people who can choose to ignore interest rates at the moment and as long as I can afford to continue paying my mortgage there should, fingers crossed, be nothing to worry about. I’m also lucky enough to have almost 40 per cent equity in the property I’ve mortgaged. In theory I should be able to let the ecomony do what it’s going to do over the next 2 or 3 years.

The people with tracker or base rate mortgages will continue with the same monthly payments, the issue for these people may come if and when interest rates begin to rise.

No-one really knows how far house prices will fall either. There are statements like ‘house prices are at there lowest since 1992′ and so on, however all this really means is that house prices have not continued to increase at the dramatic levels we’ve been used to for the last 5 years or so. Over the last year house prices have slowed or even fallen but over the last 10 years house prices continue to rise.

If you have savings then you should make the most of these times, interest rates on savings accounts are available up to 7 per cent. Get saving and clear your debts should be the message for everyone!

Click here to compare savings accounts and get the highest interest rates

The basics of the Airmiles package is that you earn 6000 Airmiles upfront and then 50 Airmiles for every monthly mortgage payment you make. The product is available from today and the Airmiles will be offered accross a range of 3 year fixed rate mortgage deals from Lloyds TSB. The interest rates start at 5.89 per cent.

Director of network mortgage sales at Lloyds TSB, Alison Burns, said: “This new deal combines some of our most competitive rates, with a genuinely useful reward package. We all enjoy the idea of getting something for free and in a time when mortgage payments are a top priority, this offer enables customers to earn rewards on their essential spending.”

Over the three year fixed period customers could earn approximately 7800 airmiles. Collectors can use their airmiles on a range of rewards, including the following:

• A return flight to any zone four destination, including Barbados, Hong Kong or Delhi (6000 airmiles)
• Five return flights to Barcelona Rome or Prague (1500 airmiles per return flight)
• 19 haircuts at a top salon (400 airmiles per haircut)
• Six trips to the  theatre, with dinner for two people (1250 airmiles per trip)
• 10 cases of deluxe wines ( 750 airmiles per case)

Alternatively, a family of four could enjoy all of the following activities: a day out at Newmarket races, a tour of the Manchester United stadium, a dolphin watching session, a day at Legoland and there would still be enough left for Mum and Dad to enjoy return flights to Paris.

Customers can also benefit from a 100 airmiles bonus if they choose to take out Lloyds TSB combined contents and buildings insurance in conjunction with their mortgage.

Sean Gardner, founder of MoneyExpert.com commented: “At first glance you could be forgiven for thinking Lloyds TSB had just launched a mortgage laden with gimmicks. The product is called the “Airmiles Mortgage” and they openly suggest a family of four could benefit from a dolphin watching session or at a trip to Legoland once the three-year period on the mortgage has expired.

“But this is a genuinely good deal and the rewards on offer are nice and simple to redeem. 7,800 airmiles is worth plenty and should not be ignored in the final reckoning if you’re choosing a mortgage.

“Of course, nobody would advise that you selected your mortgage provider based on how many flights to Rome, cases of wine or free haircuts you’ll get. But with a rate of 5.89 per cent over three years the Airmiles mortgage is amongst the most competitive. The market average for three-year fixed rate deals of this type is 6.44 per cent.

“And anything that eases the financial pressures on homeowners is to be welcomed. Lloyds TSB has included an option of paying no upfront application fees if you’re short of cash, which at least gives you a range of options if you’re thinking of applying.”

Louise Cuming, head of mortgages at moneysupermarket.com said: “This is a great product for cash strapped Brits in need of a little help to go on holiday, but only if the product is suitable for them and they are able to take advantage of the rewards scheme. It’s impressive they have shown enough initiative to deliver a deal with good rates and a rewards package that will actually be useful for many people.

“However, with an interest rate of 5.89 per cent and a £995 arrangement fee you could get a cheaper mortgage deal from HSBC or Alliance and Leicester. It is also interesting to see Lloyds buck the growing green bandwagon by helping Brits add to their carbon footprint with these extra flights.”

Click Here to compare mortgages and get the best deal for your circumstances

The relatively small number of first time buyers looking to get on the property ladder is having a dramatic effect on the prices they are prepared to pay. The average property value being considered by first time buyers fell to £170,559 in April1, that’s down 5.75% on March and down 4.78% on year ago levels; and it’s nearly £20,000 or 10.25% down from a peak of £190,040 in December 2007.

However, while the prices first time buyers are prepared to pay appear to be slumping, the average loan-to-value ratio they’re taking has crept up to its highest level ever at 82.89% with the average amount first time buyers were looking to borrow in April at £141,369.

At the same time, more of those first time buyers still in the housing market are doing it together! The percentage of first time buyer mortgages with dual income applications has also risen to its highest level ever at 44.79%.

Robin Amlôt, Senior Editor of Moneyextra.com commented, “While it may be getting tougher to get a mortgage now, it would appear that those first time buyers who are in a position to buy are driving much harder bargains with sellers.

“Housing is very definitely a buyers’ market now rather than the sellers’ market that existing homeowners had become used to.” 

The average value of mortgages actually agreed by AWD in April was £159,961.03, up 8.19% on year-ago levels.

Click Here to compare mortgages now!

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 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 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 >>

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

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