This week | Totally free case of wine & more
Freebies, freebies, freebies - our pick of 10 of the best They say there's no such thing as a free lunch, and the earth was flat. At MoneySaving Towers we don't believe them either - we've been sending this free email for over 10 years. So here's our pick of the top 10 no-cost deals... | 1. | Totally free £55 case of wine. To get people to sign up to its no annual fee credit card, till 31 Aug Virgin Money's* giving new cardholders a case of 6 bottles of wine (RRP £55), or an experience day.
Surprisingly, and rarely, you DON'T NEED TO SPEND to get it. Just get accepted and it's yours (please be Drinkaware). Yet this card's also a balance transfer top pick, letting you shift debts to it for 26mths 0% for a 2.99% fee - a great double whammy if you've existing debts.
- You will be credit scored. This marks your credit file and can be a short-term, minor hit on your creditworthiness. Not usually a problem, but avoid applying just for the wine if you've a vital credit application coming, such as a mortgage.
- Who will be accepted? Don't bother applying if you've had a past CCJ or recent default. Our Balance Transfer Eligibility Checker shows your odds of acceptance without marking your file.
- The balance transfer golden rules. If you're doing the balance transfer: a) Repay at least the set monthly min, or you may lose the 0%. b) Aim to clear the debt or shift again before the 0% ends, or the rate rockets to 18.9% representative APR. c) Don't spend on it, that's not at the cheap rate.
For more info and balance transfer alternatives, with longer 0% deals or lower fees, see the full Best Balance Transfers guide and APR Examples. | | | | 2. |  Free boilers & loft insulation (for some). Big energy providers give out free boilers (typically worth £2,300) and insulation - you don't need to be a customer to qualify. They're usually for those on low incomes, income-related benefits or pension credit. | | | | 3. | Free air miles, gift vouchers & more card giveaways. Most card rewards require you to spend a 'trigger' amount before coughing up. Do your normal spending (not an excuse to spend more) and always repay IN FULL, else interest or fees dwarf the incentive.
The Amex Gold* charge card gives 20,000 reward points if you spend £2,000+ within 3 months, enough for TWO 'free' BA Paris flights (you pay taxes) or a £100 Amazon/M&S gift card. There's normally a £125 annual fee, waived in year 1 - so if you don't want to pay, cancel before it hits.
The Barclaycard* Freedom Rewards offers 10,500 points when you spend £500 in the first 3 months - enough for a £30 voucher to use at M&S, Amazon, Boots & more. Fail to repay and it's 18.9% rep APR.
Both do credit checks when you apply. More & help: Credit Card Freebies | | | | 4. | 'I got a 6ft sailing boat for free.' Sofas, beds, TVs, bikes and more - you've sent reports of huge successes from giveaway sites. Instead of providing landfill fodder or eBaying unwanted goods, people offer them to local communities. Vikkijbb tweeted: "I got a 6ft sailing boat from Freecycle." Bagging the best is all about etiquette - see 30 Freecycle & Freegle Tips. | | | | 5. | Spin the freebie roulette. From downloadable wedding invites and online product manuals to MP3 downloads and water-saving packs, we've a compendium of fantastic deals. If you don't want to scroll, we've a Freebies Roulette tool with over 50 of the best - just spin the reels. | | | | 6. | Bag free eye tests. In England and Wales you can get 'em at Optical Express* and Tesco Opticians, with no obligation to buy specs. In Scotland, you never pay. Full info: Free Eye Tests | | | | 7. | Free microchipping for dogs. You can get your pooch microchipped for nowt at Dogs Trust charity events in England and Wales - it helps you get reunited if it runs away. Find out where in Dog Microchipping. | | | | 8. | Free MSE tools - uncover local eBay bargains, sell old mobiles... We've built dozens of tools to help you save even more cash.
Local eBay Deals Finder - Locates 'collection only' items near you that have fewer competing bids, so serious bargains. Free Tool & Smartphone Apps.
Sell your old mobiles for more - our MobileValuer tool reveals the best online price for flogging phones gathering dust in drawers.
'Lost wallet' guard. It's gutting, but also hassle as you need to cancel all plastic, licences and more. Our CardsGone.com tool remembers what was in there, and gives you up-to-date numbers to call to cancel. | | | | 9 | Ends Thu. Free £40 Clinique serum. Head to your nearest Clinique counter before Thu 22 Aug to get a 15ml sample of face serum worth £20. Plus register your details, pop back in two weeks with your empty bottle for another one. Clinique Deals | | | | 10. | Free MSE car sticker. "Money for nothing, tips for free." Send an SAE for your MSE Car Sticker to stick on your motor and spread the word. | | | | |
PS. I'm taking a break this week, so this email is in the more than capable hands of the MSE team - Martin. |
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| The Ones Not To Miss | Wed 21 Aug 2013 |
Free £125 and untouchable customer service
Revealed... Britain's best and worst banks, as voted by YOU. If your bank's rubbish, switch If your bank's lousy, ditch it. Our latest current account service poll's just landed, revealing who you said were good, bad or ugly. Many of the winners give you cash or other goodies to switch, so it's win-win. All require a credit check. - Free £125 and service champion. First Direct's* won every poll we've done. It smashed the competition again with 93% rating it great - the best result it's ever had. It gives £125 to switch, a £250 0% overdraft and linked 6% regular saver. (Min £1,000/mth pay-in.)
- 3% savings, cashback & good service. Santander 123* pays 3% AER interest on £3k-£20k balances, 1-3% cashback on household bills & its mortgages, plus service is much improved. The gains should dwarf its £2/mth fee. See full Santander 123 Analysis. (Min £500/mth pay-in.)
- FREE travel insurance up to age 75. Nationwide's* service comes 4th. Its FlexAccount incl European travel insurance up to age 75 (max 73 to apply), which can be £100s for older travellers, and joint accs cover both. (Min £750/mth pay-in.)
- Free £100 and £5/mth if in credit. Halifax Reward was 5th for service, scoring much better than Halifax's other accounts. Switchers get £100 and are paid £5 each month they're in-credit. It's also got a 6mth 0% overdraft, but charges after are huge, so ALWAYS pay it off before or don't get this. (Min £750/mth pay-in.)
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| Urgent. Homebase 15% off everything. Online code & in-store offer. Bank hol weekend only. Homebase Deals Did you know 0844 numbers can cost DOUBLE 0845? The Govt's planning to stop most companies charging customers to call these digits. For a full rundown of 0843, 0844 & 0870 charges, see our 08 numbers costs table. Unbeatable exchange rates for your hols NOW. While summer's almost over, remember when you spend on most cards abroad, a hidden load means £100 of € costs £103. Get a no-load worldwide card for best possible exchange rates. Top just for overseas: Halifax Clarity*. Good in UK too: Cap One Aspire World*, up to 1.25% cashback on UK spend. Always repay IN FULL to avoid 12.9% & 19.9% rep APRs. Full info: Cheap Travel Cards (APR Examples) Want a prepaid card?: FairFX Euro* and FairFX Dollar* - usually £10 but free via these links if you load €60 or $75. Full info in Prepaid Cards. Need cash? Use our TravelMoneyMax tool. Ends Thu: M&S Outlet EXTRA 20%-off code. MSE Blagged. Use on items already up to 50% off. M&S Outlet |
20 cheap train tricks - incl £10 off Family Railcard code
Cut the cost of journeys with kids | Free TicketySplit app slashes train fares | Book early late New year train fare hikes of up to 9% in England have just been announced, but they're already a strain on commuters' wallets. Our 20+ Cheap Train Tricks helps soothe the pain. Here are three biggies to start.  Family & Friends Railcard for £20 code (RRP £30). A must if you've kids and travel by train. The card gets you and up to three more grown-ups a third off travel for a year if there's at least one child (max four). Little ones get 60% off. See Train Deals.
- Free split tickets app can save £££s. Counter-logically, buying two tickets for one journey can save large. We found an £83 London-Wolverhampton single. Yet buy London-Milton Keynes, where the same train stops, then MK-Wolves, and it was £49, saving £34. See Split Ticket Tricks, incl iPhone app.
- Don't think you must book days or weeks before. Few realise you can often buy advance tickets till midnight the night before or, in rare cases, on your way to the station. We found a Glasgow to Newcastle advance single for £26 bookable at 6pm the night before, but in person on the day, it jumped to £61.
See our full 20 Trainspotting Tips, incl how singles often beat returns, doubling Tesco pts on trains & hidden promo deals. back to top ↑ |
| 'Beyond best befores' super discounts (incl £1 for 24 Snickers). Never eat food past 'use by' dates, but web store Approved Food sells goods past 'best-before' dates (safe to eat), at heavy discounts. P&P's a big £5.25 & min spend's £15 so for bargains, bulk-buy. Hot deals incl £1 for 24 Snickers Crunchers with code (2,000 avail). Approved Food £12 Louvel Fontaine champagne (RRP £24). Plus rare Moët discount. See Champagne Deals (be Drinkaware). £14 for £47 mega flower bulb pack. 240 bulbs, 8 varieties incl tulips & daffodils. Incl delivery. Garden Deals Price glitch. 6 Magnum ice creams or 16 Fabs for 62p. In-store only. We got them, can you? Tesco Deals
Code gets £23 hardback 100-page photo book (RRP £78). Plus Tesco 50%-off photo books sale. Photo Deals Warning for Gmail users. Recent changes mean this weekly email may not go to your inbox. Click on the 'Promotions' tab, and if it's in there, drag it to the 'Primary' tab. For full info (incl pics) see Check Your Gmail Settings. 1,000 Clubcard points on £50 Tesco.com spend - newbies only. Get points worth up to £40. Tesco.com |
Urgent. £90 cashback on cheap energy fix
Save £200+ a year with no hikes promised for 14 mths, no penalties if you leave early, and big cashback to boot Energy price hikes are expected this year and over the next five, and many cheap fixes - where you lock in prices with no rise for a set time - have disappeared. A few hot deals remain, and now you can get extra cashback too. - £90 cashback with a short, cheap fix. Scottish Power's Online Fix Price Energy Nov 2014 locks in prices for around 14 months. Plus new Scottish Power customers who switch via Cheap Energy Club will get £60 extra cashback on top of the usual £30 - but it's likely to end in days.
There are no exit fees, so if prices fall you can switch penalty-free. Factor in cashback and Scottish Power's the cheapest fix on average, but compare via Cheap Energy Club to find your winner. - No hikes for up to 3 years. While short fixes mean lower rates, if price certainty's more important to you, fixing for longer gives that at a slightly higher cost - see table for how they compare. These will only be very cheapest if prices rise by c.10% every year, but that has happened before (and some predict far bigger rises on the horizon).
- ALWAYS compare and get £30 cashback. Your winner depends on your usage and where you live. To find out, plug your details into the MSE Cheap Energy Club comparison. It'll...
a) Compare the whole market to find you the cheapest tariff (the 'top picks' tab shows all the above tariffs).
b) Give you £30 cashback if it can switch you - and currently if Npower wins, a free night's stay in a UK hotel.
c) We then monitor your tariff and if it gets costly (or others cheaper), we'll let you know when to switch again. back to top ↑ |
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| Are you struggling due to the 'bedroom tax'? Check our tips to get back in control. Benefits Infographic Lidl £5 off £30, Body Shop 40% off, BHS 25% off & more codes...
Lidl £5 off £30 vch on Facebook | Urban Outfitters 20% off code | Vertbaudet 20% off + free del code
Burton 20% off code | BHS 25% off code/vch | Body Shop 40% off code from Thu | Full list: Discount Vouchers Paaarty. 20 FREE UK summer festivals & carnivals. A big free party - what's not to love? Plenty of no-cost festivals left this year, incl this weekend's Notting Hill Carnival, Liverpool Intl Music Fest & Cardiff Festival. Free Festivals The Premier League's back - how you can watch it cheapest. BT Sport now on Virgin Media too. TV Footie |
Get PAID every time you spend
Earn 5% cashback - swapping your debit card for a cashback card can earn you £100s a year for doing nothing Why not make your plastic work for you rather than vice versa? Repay a cashback credit card IN FULL each month by direct debit and spending's interest-free, but you're paid. See the Top Cashback Cards guide - here are the top picks. - New bigger 5% cashback (with a fee). Amex Platinum* now pays 5% cashback (max £125) on the first £2,500 of spending (was £2,000, bonus lasts 3mths). The extra £25 cashback you can now earn effectively cancels out its £25 annual fee - but be sure you'll spend £2,000+/year to make the fee worth it. The card is great for big one-offs, and pays an ongoing 1.25% once the 5% intro bonus has expired. It's 18.7% rep APR if you fail to fully repay.
- The top fee-free cashback cards. If you're worried the fee will bite you, there are several other options.
| Cashback cards with no annual fee | | Card and reason to get it | Cashback | Rep APR
Fully repay to avoid | | Amex Platinum Everyday* - huge introductory bonus | 5% for three months (max £100), then 0.5 to 1.25% | 19.9% | | Capital One Aspire World* - no loading on overseas spending | 0.5% to 1.25% | 19.9% | | Cap One Classic Extra* - for poorer credit scorers | 0.5% + £10 annual bonus | 34.9% | - Will I be accepted? That depends on your credit score - our Eligibility Checker shows your odds.
- Cashback card golden rules: a) Always use a monthly direct debit to repay IN FULL so it's interest-free. b) It's no excuse to spend more. c) Ensure you've cash to repay each month. See Top Cashback Cards and APR Examples.
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| iPad £20-off codes. Use Tesco Direct £10 off £75+ or £20 off £150+. Rare discount, works on other items too. Tesco Free £4 kids' healthy snack box code. Delivered to your door - kids' box newbies only. Graze Deals SALES: M&S up to 50% off, Asos up to 50% off & more...
M&S up to 50% off | Sainsbury's Tu 25% off (incl school uniform) | Laura Ashley 30% off home / 20% off fashion
Evans up to 30% off | Asos up to 50% off | Viners up to 75% off | Full list: High Street Sales Morrisons 6p/L off fuel with £40 spend. Bag a voucher in-store, valid at its forecourts. Cheap Petrol
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Restaurant vouchers | Discount vouchers | Top deals |
| The Moneysaving community |
 THE GREAT HUNT
Using plastic abroad - where have you found it difficult?
In Japan, for example, you need to find an ATM that accepts international cards. And make sure you get there before it closes (yes, their ATMs aren't always 24/7). Have you encountered similar problems using credit or debit cards abroad? We'd like to hear your experiences. Share yours/read others': Using credit/debit cards abroad Past topics: View all BOOK GIVEAWAY
Lanzarote Travel Guide. 25 blagged for MoneySavers. Want one? MONEY MORAL DILEMMA
Missing PayPal payment - should I pay again?
This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks... I bought a chest of drawers for £50 through eBay and paid promptly via PayPal. When I arrived, the seller said the payment had not gone into her account - she had the wrong email address linked, so the payment may have gone to someone else. She let me take the drawers, but has since emailed to meet her deficit halfway by sending £25 in cash. It's not my fault she didn't get the money, but she did let me take the drawers. Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should I pay again for eBay purchase? | Suggest An MMD | View Past MMDs CHEAP FLIGHT SALES ALERT
Airline: Aer Lingus Price: From £32.99 Sale ends: Sat 31 Aug
This week's pick is Aer Lingus's from £32.99 sale, to Ireland from 14 UK airports from 1-30 Sep, incl some taxes and charges. We found Birmingham-Dublin flights for £27.27 - cheaper than advertised sale rates. To find flights quickly, use FlightChecker on a £50 one-way max search. Extra charges warning: Avoid payment & check-in charges - see Budget Airline Fee Fighting. Related: Cheap Flights, Cheap Hotels, Spending Abroad, Cheap Currency, Travel Insurance THE GREAT HUNT... REVEALED
Leaseholders' service charge tales
It seems some freeholders are synonymous with steep charges and poor communication. Shockers include charging to send an invoice after payment's been received and allowing the property to fall into disrepair. However, one forumite who seems to be in-the-know says freeholders do a lot behind the scenes and shouldn't all be dismissed as "crooks". back to top ↑ |
Quick forum tips | Freebies |
Martin's blogs | Martin's appearances | No appearances this week. | |
MSE team corner - Team appearances:
- No team appearances this week
| Discussion of the week Can you wear black to a wedding? Is going traditional and sticking to light/bright colours right, or is it OK to break away and go dark? Our forumites debate the perfect budget outfit on the Can you wear black to a wedding? thread. | Cheap travel money |
This week's poll: Would you live at a murder scene to bag a house price discount? There's a flat on sale in north London at a reported £100,000 discount to other similar properties because a serial killer committed his murders there. We wanted to test your attitudes to prior property history.
In which of the following circumstances would you NEVER buy even at a big discount (click all that apply)? | Poll resultsDo you buy, wear, then return clothes?
13% of voters admit to having worn clothes, then return them to shops for a refund. A further 9% would think about doing it.
- 78% would never do it.
- 9% would consider it.
- 8% have done it once or twice.
- 5% regularly wear and return.
16,868 voted. See the full results. |
Question of the week Q. I recently had three power cuts to my house, of 11 hours, 8 hours and 45 minutes. These happened within three weeks and coincided with BBQs I planned. Can I claim anything for food loss/inconvenience? Barbara, by email MSE Marcel's A: You can claim between £22 and £54 compensation if a power cut affected your household, depending on the cause and how long it lasted. Under regulator Ofgem’s rules, you can claim money back from your regional distribution network operator (DNO). These firms provide the power for your supplier, and are ultimately responsible for your supply. If the power cut was caused by a DNO’s faulty fuse, and lasted four continuous hours or more, you can claim £22. For most other causes in normal weather, if the power cut lasts 18 continuous hours you can get £54. When a storm or severe weather’s to blame for the blackout, you're entitled to £27 if you're in the dark for 24 hours. Contact your supplier to find out how to claim from your DNO. You can find out which DNO is responsible on the Energy Networks website. Please suggest a question of the week (we can't reply to individual emails). |
 Archna's free game of the week: Need Water |
| Ever wondered what happens at any given minute on the internet? This cool infrographic shows statistics for 19 popular at any given minute online. Did you know that 204 MILLION emails are sent per minute, while three days' worth of videos are uploaded to YouTube. Check out what happens Every Single Minute. We hope you save some money, Martin & the MSE team |
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What you need to know This info does not constitute financial advice, always do your own research on top to ensure it's right for your specific circumstances - and remember we focus on rates not service. We don't as a general policy investigate the solvency of companies mentioned, how likely they are to go bust, but there is a risk any company can struggle and it's rarely made public until it's too late (see the section 75 guide for protection tips). We often link to other websites, but we can't be responsible for their content. Always remember anyone can post on the MSE forums, so it can be very different from our opinion. Please read the Full Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy, how this site is financed and Editorial Code. Martin Lewis is a registered trade mark belonging to Martin S Lewis. More about MoneySaving Expert and Martin Lewis What is MoneySavingExpert.com?
Founded in February 2003, it's now the UK's biggest consumer help website with over 6 million people getting this email and nearly 10m using the site. In September 2012 it became part of the MoneySupermarket Group PLC. Its focus is simple: how to save cash and fight for financial justice on anything and everything. The site has over 30 full time staff about half of whom are editorial researching, analysing and writing to continually find ways to save money. More info: See About MSE Who is Martin Lewis? Martin set up and runs MSE, he's an ultra-focused money saving journalist and consumer campaigner. He has regular slots on Daybreak, Lorraine, Radio 2 Vine, BBC1 Watchdog, Radio 5 Consumer panel and presents ITV Tonight. He is a columnist for amongst others the Sunday Post as well as an author. More info: See Martin Lewis' biog What do the links with a * mean? Any links with a * by them are affiliated, which means get a product via this link and a contribution may be made to MoneySavingExpert.com, which helps it stay free to use. You shouldn't notice any difference; the links don't impact the product at all and the editorial line (the things we write) isn't changed due to it. If it isn't possible to get an affiliate link for the best product, it's still included in the same way. More info: See how this site is financed. As we believe transparency is important, we're including the following 'un-affiliated' web-addresses for content too:
Unaffiliated web-addresses for links in this email uk.virginmoney.com, americanexpress.com, barclaycard.co.uk, opticalexpress.co.uk, firstdirect.com, santander-products.co.uk, nationwide.co.uk, halifax.co.uk, fairfx.com, capitalone.co.uk, lloydstsb.com, google.co.uk, aviva.co.uk, directline.com, confused.com, admiral.com, sainsburysbank.co.uk, npower.com, edfenergy.com, energyhelpline.com, uswitch.com, moneysupermarket.com, postoffice.co.uk, productsandservices.bt.com.
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