| | | For more tips, alerts & inevitable bad puns follow Martin: |  |  |  |
| While Europe's swathed in a black financial cloud, weather-wise the sun's still shining. The one eurozone crisis silver lining is last year £1 bought €1.13, now it's €1.28 boosting your spending power by 13%. Now let's boost it even more... | | | 1. | Apply ASAP for UNBEATABLE rates via top plastic. Most plastic adds a 3% load, so spending £100 of euros costs £103. Yet a few special load-free credit cards smash bureaux de change, with near-perfect worldwide rates: Halifax Clarity*, Post Office*, Saga (50s+) & Select* (Nationwide custs ONLY).
Apply ASAP (if too late, do it for next time) but ALWAYS fully repay by direct debit or the gain's lost by 11.9-16.9% representative APRs. (APR Examples)
Poorer credit score? You won't get the cards above, but Aqua* spending's also load-free and gives 3% cashback (max £100/yr), though its overseas ATM fees are higher. Fail to fully repay, and it's 34.9% rep APR. See Top Overseas Cards. | | | | | 2. |  Urgently check if your free EHIC card's valid. EHICs give you access to EU state-run hospitals / GPs like a local (if they pay nowt, nor do you). Yet 4m peoples' have expired so check the date before going & renew ASAP (takes 7-10 days). Never pay to get or renew, EHICs are free, only shyster sites charge. Also, ignore any nonsense 'fast track' promises. Full Free EHIC Help (includes what to try if you paid). | | | | | 3. | Last minute sub-£100 Barcelona returns & more. If you're yet to book, our new Budget Airline Europe FlightChecker lets you pop in what you're willing to pay (with/without baggage) and it finds when that's available, eg, Lon-Barca return 7nts sub-£100 Aug or 3nts sub-£50 in Sept. Or select 'I'll go anywhere'. For further afield or specific dates, use comparison sites Kayak*, SkyScanner* or Travel Sup*. See full Cheap Flight help. | | | | | 4. | FREE printable mini-guide to tackle travel hassle. The Little Lifesaver is a passport-sized personalised travel tips guide for storing key details, so you've crucial info at your fingertips in an emergency. It includes info for stolen passports, delayed flights and more - don't leave without it. | | | | | 5. | Last-ditch travel insurance from £6/wk. If you haven't got it, get it. For single trips, there's no one cheapest, so use MoneySup* & Confused.com* comparisons, prices c.£6/wk for a single in Europe, £26/wk family to US.
Go away 2+ times a year and annual policies win. Our cheapest picks are Travel Guard* £16-£20/yr for 18-40s in Europe, for families Protect Your Bubble* £36-£44 (Europe & world up to 35s) and HolidaySafe £42-£46 for 36+ families in Europe. These can be undercut if you do a full MoneySup* comparison. Full guidance & best-buys in Cheap Travel Insurance.
For belt 'n' braces, our top value pick Direct Travel* incorporates feedback & payout history but costs £37-£130, depending on your circumstances. | | | | | 6. | Find the best travel cash rates in secs. NEVER leave it till the airport. They know you're a captive customer, so give hideous deals (even pre-ordering and picking up at the airport boosts it). Instead, use our TravelMoneyMax Holiday Money Comparison for the best rates and key warnings.
If you plan to use a debit/credit card abroad, and don't have one listed in point 1, use our What Does Your Card Charge? tool to find your cheapest. | | | | | | | 7. | Spain & Greece hotel price drop, eg, five-star £63/night. The euro crisis means hotel prices have dropped 15% in Greece and 7% in Spain since last summer. This means super-cheap bargains are possible on four and five-star hotels even in August, eg, £63/night in Madrid and £65/night in Crete.
To find deals (there or elsewhere) use comparisons Trivago, TravelSup*, Hotels Comparison and TripAdvisor*. Full help in Cheap Hotel Tricks. | | | | | 8. | Book car hire BEFORE you go (& airport parking too). Don't leave it till you're there (if you do, still sort it online) or it can cost a fortune. As low as £10/day's possible using Car Rentals* & Kayak* comparisons. At pick-up, hire firms try to flog pricey excess insurance - you can get similar for a fraction of the cost via comparison Money Maxim*. See full Cheap Car Hire tricks.
If you need to drive to the airport (public transport's often cheaper), pre-book with these comparison links: Wed/Thu - SkyParkSecure 12-20% off*, APH 10% off*, FHR 12% off*. Full info in Cheap Airport Parking. | | | | | 9. | Bag last-sec package hol bargains. Unlike with flights, late booking (eight weeks or less) is hot bargain time provided you're flexible. Try TravelSupermarket*, Teletext Holidays and Icelolly to source deals, then use our Package Holiday Haggling guide to knock the price down. | | | | | 10. | Buying abroad? Credit card is safest. Buy goods worth over £100 abroad on a credit (not debit) card and Section 75 laws still apply, where the card company's jointly liable. So buy a laptop in US, and if it's faulty when you get home, you can call the card company to sort it. |
| | | If this site or email has ever helped you, please forward this email to friends and suggest they get it themselves via moneysavingexpert.com/tips. | | |
|
 Lock in card debts at 5.9% FOR LIFE
New top 'life of balance' deal - shift existing debts to a permanently low rate If you've costly credit card debt, a balance transfer means you get a new card that pays off your existing one, so you now owe it instead. All deals require a credit check.  Lock in for life 5.9% (1.5% fee). If you can repay quickly, 0% wins. But if you need longer, or if you're less certain of repayments, 'life of balance' deals are far safer. These lock in the cheap rate until all shifted debt's repaid. But none were available this year, until now. The new MBNA* Rate for Life card is fixed 5.9% APR for new cardholders, for transfers within 60 days for a one-off fee of 1.5%. Full help in Rates For Life.- 22mths 0% with low 1.45% fee. If you can repay quicker, new Barclaycard* customers can get a 22 mths 0% balance transfer with a 2.9% fee, and currently it'll refund half of that so you pay just 1.45%. Alternatively, NatWest*/RBS* are 22mths 0% with a 3.2% fee. Aim to repay before the 0% ends, or the rates jump to 17.9% representative APR. Full 0% Best Buys.
- Important warnings. 1. Repay at least the minimum each month, or you can lose the special deal. 2. Spending isn't usually at a cheap rate, so avoid it. 3. To see exactly how it stacks up, use our Which Card Is Cheapest? tool. 4. Confused or need help? See Balance Transfers & Official APRs.
|
Tax credits one-week warning
You MUST review by next Tue 31 July | Do it ASAP, getting through's tougher each day If you've been sent a renewal pack, don't ignore it, even if you think you're no longer eligible. If you don't sort it by next Tue, you risk payments being STOPPED or worse, needing to repay cash. See Tax Credits Renewal Help. Here's a taster...  If you got a brown envelope. This is the 'review' pack. Check it for any errors, which can cause big problems. If correct, do nowt. Any issues, call the hotline: 0345 300 3900.- If you got a white envelope. This is the 'review & declaration'. Even if it's correct, SIGN & RETURN by 31 July. If there are errors, fill in the form and return or call 0345 300 3900.
- Can't get through to the hotline? It can be a nightmare right now. So try sooner (mid-afternoons are less busy). If you can't get through, note each time you tried, and how long you held. If you then miss the deadline, HMRC can be more lenient if you prove you tried. Please report hotline delays or tweet @MartinSLewis.
- TELL 'EM (TELL 'EM, TELL 'EM). Renewal isn't the end of it. If ANYTHING changes, even the next day, eg, you've moved in/out with partner, work hours, income, kids, childcare costs, call the hotline and TELL 'EM (note who you spoke to & what was said incase of dispute). This is the way to prevent overpayments, which are a nightmare as you're forced to give cash back, even if already spent. If that's happened, see our Overpayment Hell Help.
- Are you missing out on tax credits? Use our 5-min Benefits/Tax Credit Check Up tool.
|
Who ya gonna call? Er... an Ombudsman
If there's something strange, and a company's done no good, who you gonna call...? After NatWest/RBS and O2 issues, everyone needs to know if you complain to a regulated firm about its behaviour, treatment or service, and it doesn't sort it satisfactorily, you can then take it to a FREE official, independent Ombudsman. It can make it put things right and award compensation.  Insurance, banking, mortgages, credit cards & owt financial. Here you've a right to be 'treated fairly'. The Financial Ombudsman can rule on this, eg, unfairly rejected insurance claims or debt defaults. See our Financial Rights guide and Reclaim PPI Free.- Gas & electricity, phones & broadband. Ombudsman Services can rule on energy bills, mis-selling and power cuts (sadly not LPG issues), and along with CISAS on telecom problems too.
- Water, NHS, solicitors & more. There's the Consumer Council for Water, the Parliamentary & NHS Ombudsman for unfair or improper actions (incl local Govt), or Legal Ombudsman for legal services complaints.
- Not all ombudsmen are official. A few trade bodies, eg, removals industry, funeral and furniture ombudsmen use the name, but DON'T have official powers. They may be able to help, but also may charge.
- Shopping: Not regulated, but see the free Give Me My Money Back and How to Complain consumer rights guides.
|
30+ London Olympian MoneySaving tips
If you're coming to the big smoke for the big Games, here are some big ways to cut the cost It's the UK's most expensive city, yet for those in the know it can be enjoyed without Olympian prices. If you've Games tickets, see our new London Olympion MoneySaving guide. A taster...  Cheap alternatives to hotels during Olympics. Many savvy Londoners have signed up to rent out their spare rooms, from around £20/night or see rent spare rooms tips. Or six campsites have £5 kids' and £10 adult stays, or stay just outside London to save £100s.- Watch games for free in the sunshine (hopefully). You don't need a ticket for the road cycling, triathlon, marathon and race walking, plus check out the giant public Olympics screens in London's parks to watch for free.
- London Zoo 2for1. Tickets cost £23, but you can buy a £2 rail ticket to get a 2for1 voucher. See London Zoo deals
- Nab hidden theatre discounts. Little-known websites list hundreds of West End theatre deals valid during the Games, plus it's possible to pick up half-price last-minute tickets on the day (see Theatre Discounts).
Loads more in London Olympic Tips incl getting an Oyster card, eating dinner at lunch & consider student digs. |
| |  | Try Gov.uk and tell it what you think
The Government is aiming to create a single Gov.uk website to improve online services and eventually replace Directgov. It's currently running a trial version. Why not try it? Report your ideas, faults and questions via email, or tweet @GovUK your ideas, faults or questions.
Spotted a campaign? This space is for MSE to support the work done by other charities, community groups and campaigners. Send us a Campaign of the Week suggestion. |
| | | | | | | | | | Thursday 26 July
Lorraine, ITV1, between 8.30 & 9.30am. Real Deals. Shelagh Fogarty, Radio 5, 12-1pm.
Consumer Panel.
Listen to previous week's shows. Tuesday 31 July
Daybreak, ITV1, between 7 & 8.30am.
Things to do with the kids in the summer hols. | | All Martin's Appearances |
| | | | | UK's Best Currency Rates |
|---|
| £100 will buy you: |
|---|
| Best | Worst |
|---|
 | € | 127.36 | 116.22 |  | $ | 154.16 | 140.88 |  | TL | 275.00 | 247.89 | | Rates correct at 4pm Tue | Find all top currency rates
Compare travel cash |
| | | | | | If you had a magic button that could cancel the Olympics from happening in the UK, as if we'd never got it in the first place, would you press it? | | I live in London/SE | I live in Wales | | | I live in the rest of England | I live in Northern Ireland | | | I live in Scotland | |
|
| | | | | | | Q: Is there any way I can open a bank account without any photo ID? Vivienne, by email.
MSE Sally's A: Yes. When applying by phone or online, some banks are more likely to carry out electronic checks. This includes looking at your credit history and checking the electoral roll. If they find anomalies, they may then ask for proof of ID, but you're not limited to photographic evidence.
Selected letters from HMRC and those confirming entitlement to Government grants/benefits or student loans are accepted. As two forms of ID are generally required, credit card or bank statements (from a different provider), birth certificate and full paper UK driving licence are also valid forms. When applying in bank branches, you'll need to take two examples with you.
For a full list of accepted ID, check with the bank. See the Best Bank Account guide for account options. |
| |
| A real-life Dr Who Ever wished you could advise your childhood self (or glimpse your future adult self)? One seriously prescient lad made a tape for himself aged 12, with strict instructions: "Do not watch until future." Conversation With My 12-Year-Old Self. We hope you save some money, Martin & the MSE team | |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment