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| DON'T believe the fake 'Martin Lewis' or 'MSE' ads |
| Martin's seven accounts every saver needs-know-about Boosting interest is usually simple: take your money out of a pee-poor interest account, then put it somewhere that pays more. Yet millions leave money earning diddly squat (check your savings, if it's under 4%, that's you). So it's time for some savings self-care. Recently a spate of providers have bucked the trend and launched top payers - we've told you about some, but I wanted to bring 'em together as the magnificent magnifyeverycent seven (feel free to groan). All accounts have full UK £85,000 savings safety protection. The top 5.2% variable easy-access cash ISA beats even normal savings... A cash ISA is just a savings account you can put up to £20,000/tax year in and the interest's never taxed. Usually they pay less than normal savings, but right now Trading 212's 5.2% cash ISA* (min £1) smashes all-comers. It accepts new money and, usually, transfers from existing ISAs too, though it's paused transfers for now due to over-demand (but open it now, and it says you will be able to do it later). As it's offered by a share-trading platform, not a bank, the underlying structure's a bit complex as we explained in last week's Trading 212 briefing, but in essence it's still just a cash ISA.Next top: Kent Reliance 4.86% (min £1,000) for new money & transfers. App-only Plum 5.17% for 12mths (min £100) new money only & max 3 penalty-free withdrawals a year. See Top cash ISAs for more help & options. Earn an an unbeatable 50% boost on your savings if you're on Universal Credit or Tax Credits. I know it's not a new product, but I've sneaked it in as nowt else comes close and word needs spreading. With Help to Save, you can put in up to £50/mth and get a 50% bonus on the most you have in it over two years (eg max it for a year and you've £600, yet if you then take all that out, and put no more in, you still get a £300 bonus after two years). A second bonus is paid after year four. Easy explanations in our Help to Save guide. 5.1% variable easy-access savings on up to £1million (plus perks). Easy-access savings are the bog-standard place to start saving, though right now as the top cash ISA pays more, unless you're using your ISA allowance elsewhere, you could fill that first. Rates had been dropping until a rate boost from giant JPMorgan-owned app bank Chase to 5.1% AER* (min £1, max £1m, but like all savings, it's only safety-guaranteed up to £85,000). The rate applies to all new customers and any existing ones who had under £50k saved on 2 May. To get it, open its free current account, which you needn't switch to, there's no credit check (just an ID check), then open the savings. Its other perks include 1% cashback on most spending (max £15/mth) and near-perfect rates abroad. See our full Chase review. Next top: Oxbury 5.02% (min £20k), Cynergy 4.91% (min £1). Big name: Yorkshire BS 4.8%* (min £1). Earn more if you can give notice to withdraw: Monument 5.27% AER with 60-day notice (min £25,000), Investec 5.25% AER with 90-day notice* (min £5,000). Full info & options in Top savings. Nationwide customer? You may be able to get an unbeatable 5.5% fixed savings. Fixes give you a guaranteed rate, often at higher interest, if you're prepared to lock cash away without access during the term. If you were a customer on 22 May, Nationwide's offering you an unbeatable 5.5% AER fixed for 18mths (min £1, max £10,000). The interest's accessible only at maturity, so all will count to your personal savings allowance in the 2025/26 tax year. Next top: SmartSave's 5.17% 1yr fix (min £10,000). Full options in Top fixed-term savings. First-time buyers' 5% interest Lifetime ISA, on top of up to £1,000/yr state boost. 18 to 39-year-olds who've never owned a home can start a Lifetime ISA (LISA) to get a massive 25% boost on up to £4,000 savings per tax year (so £1,000/yr boost if you max it). This can then be used to buy a property worth up to £450,000 (do read our LISAs guide for full pros & cons). Moneybox's just upped its cash LISA interest to 5% AER variable for the first year (4% after, so check then if you can transfer elsewhere to beat it) for new LISAs, or transfers in (if you're new to Moneybox). Next top: Tembo 4.3%. Full options in Top Lifetime ISAs. Ends 30 June. Saving over £10,000? Get a £100 bonus (can be equiv 1% boost) on near best-buy savings... MSE Blagged. Savings marketplace Hargreaves Lansdown* lets you save and move money via different banks after filling in just one form. Until the end of this month, via this link, newbies who open an account, deposit £10,000 within 60 days, and keep it there for six months get £100 cashback. While it misses the very top picks, if you put exactly £10,000 in, the bonus effectively adds 1% over a year. As its current top easy-access savings is 4.72% and one-year fix is over 5%, add one percentage point to those and they smash the best buys. A year's 7% easy-access savings up to £4,000 for Santander Edge customers (or switchers to it). By far the highest easy-access savings rate available is for switchers to, or existing customers of, the Santander Edge* current account. The linked savings account pays 7% AER (4.5% variable plus a year's 2.5% bonus) on min £1, max £4,000. The current account pays switchers a free £175, and for the £3/mth fee gives 1% cashback on most household bills paid through it by Direct Debit (max £10/mth) and 1% cashback on spending at supermarkets and on fuel, train & bus travel (max £10/mth) - making it a top bank account pick anyway. See our full Santander Edge review. |
| June coupons: Free £1.15 Kinder | £3.50 off Persil | Sainsbury's £15 off £80 for newbies online. These and far more in our list of 40+ supermarket coupons. New. £50 off energy STANDING CHARGES via new discounted Price Cap tariff. The new EDF Ensure tracker tariff* promises to remain £50 cheaper on dual fuel standing charges for a year. The unit rates will be the same as the Price Cap (though for launch it's already at the cheaper July unit rates). This is a decent option for lower users (say under £100/mth). It's open to most payment methods (incl prepay), though you'll need to get a smart meter if you don't already have one. Full pros, cons & alternatives in our EDF Ensure tracker review. Mid-to-high users: You'll likely pay substantially less by fixing, as while the Price Cap will fall in July, it's predicted to rise in October. Do a Cheap Energy Club comparison to find your cheapest. Ikea £20 off £100+ app spends. For Ikea Family members (sign-up's free). Works on its current sale too. Ikea £20 off Top 0% balance transfer card, a DEFINITE 28mths with a lower fee. You can shift existing card debt(s) to the new Virgin 28mth 0% card for a one-off fee of 3.25% and, crucially, all accepted definitely get the full 0% period. For a slightly higher 3.45% fee, you get another month with Tesco's 29mth 0% card. Links go via our eligibility calculator so you can see if you'll likely get them, but also see full help and options in Top balance transfers. Golden rules: Repay at least the monthly minimum & clear the cards before the 0% ends or they jump to 24.9% rep APR. £127 of No7 beauty & skincare £35. Eight-piece 'Beauty Vault' set. How to get early access Urgent. Tomorrow (Wed) 5pm is the deadline to apply for a postal vote. If you're in Eng, Scot or Wales (the NI deadline's passed), can't vote in-person in the general election and want to by post, apply online now. Postal vote 'I reclaimed £600 in energy credit.' Our success of the week comes from Amelie: "Thanks for your detailed explanations on gas and electricity and what time of year it makes sense to be in credit and debit. My partner and I were able to secure a £600 repayment. Of course, our supplier at first suggested leaving the money in our account and only after I explained to them why it didn't make sense did they say 'OK'. We had the money in our account within days. I've always thought I'm money-savvy, but your tips are next level." If we've helped you save (on this, or owt else), send us your successes. £90 Kärcher window vac £50 with code. MSE Blagged. 2,000 available. Kärcher New. Will you pay inheritance tax? New inheritance tax & probate help... The new Not The Martin Lewis Podcast, where Martin asks specialists key questions on subjects he doesn't cover, includes 5 IHT need-knows | What counts as your main residence? | How to pay IHT during probate | Gifting rules | Are trusts worth it? | Plus far more. And it's now embedded in our Inheritance tax guide. |
| Credit cards want you to spend on them, so much so that some pay you to do it. They of course hope they'll earn far more in interest. Yet just neuter that by setting up a Direct Debit to repay the card IN FULL each month, then provided you don't withdraw cash on it, bust your credit limit or see it as an excuse to overspend, it's interest-free and you're quids in (don't do it if not). And now a long-standing top pick has boosted its sign-up offer, clearly targeting middle Britain... New. Free £140 shopping + Deliveroo cashback + airport lounge passes. The American Express Preferred Rewards Gold credit card (link goes via eligibility so you can see if you'll be accepted, or you can just apply*) has increased the points you get for signing up to it, making it a powerful deal for some. You get...1) Enough bonus points to get £140 at Amazon/M&S/Sainsbury's if you spend £3,000 within 3mths. For those who haven't had an Amex card within the last two years, and who'll spend a total of £3,000+ over the first three months (so it's for higher spenders, but many families do £1,000/mth if they put all spending on it), you can currently get 25,000 bonus points (normally it's 20,000) on top of the standard one point per pound spent. So hit the trigger and you'll have at least 28,000 points, which is enough to be exchanged for... - £140 in Amazon, M&S, Currys, or £140 worth of Nectar points. - Or 28,000 air miles with Avios, Virgin, Emirates and other airlines, or 42,000+ Hilton, Marriott or Radisson hotel points. 2) Two £5 Deliveroo cashbacks a month (worth up to £120/yr). Save the offer to your card (found under 'offers' in the Amex app or online banking) and use the card to pay for Deliveroo (min spend £5), and you'll automatically get £5 credit on two orders a month. 3) Four free airport lounge passes a year (worth around £50 each). These should come within six weeks of acceptance and they're usable in many airport lounges worldwide. Warning. The card is fee-free in year one, but £195/yr after. Diarise to cancel before year two if you don't want to pay the £195. Plus if you don't repay IN FULL each month, it charges 31% APR on purchases. Make sure you've a Direct Debit in place to ensure that never happens. When we say pay off IN FULL, we mean IN FULL, not nearly in full. The words IN FULL are Martin's catchphrase for a reason. If you spend £1,000 in a month and clear the card entirely, there's no interest. Spend £1,000 and pay off £999, and you usually pay interest on the whole £1,000, not just the £1 left. |
| Martin's new podcast: How credit scoring really works | Insider flight tips | Warranty schmarranty & more. The new The Martin Lewis Podcast covers how credit scoring works, has a back to basics on credit cards and lots more thrown in. And just to confuse you, it's totally separate from the Not The Martin Lewis Podcast on inheritance tax above. All this and more via BBC Sounds | Spotify | Apple or wherever you like to get your Martin fix. Car finance reclaiming update. We'd hoped to publish the results of our survey and 'next steps' help in this week's MSE email, but it's not quite there and we want to get it right, so it'll be next week. Sorry for the delay. Not put in a claim yet? See our Car finance reclaiming, are you due £1,000s? free guide & tool. Hot Diamonds 40% off code, eg, £50 earrings £30. MSE Blagged. Hot Diamonds Cheapest personal loan rates creeping up. If you're looking to borrow and it's NEEDED, budgeted for & affordable (don't do it otherwise), be aware that we're seeing some top loan rates starting to edge up, especially for larger amounts. Cheapest loans (rep APRs): Up to £3,000: Santander* 13.5%. £3,000 to £5,000: Novuna* 9.7% to 9.9%. £5,000+: Tesco Bank* 7.2% up to £7,499 and 6.1% above (for Clubcard holders). Yet far better to use our eligibility calculator to see if they'll likely accept you. Full pros & cons and best buys for all amounts in Cheap personal loans. FREE Homebuilding & Renovating Show tickets (normally up to £13.85). Including Surrey (29 to 30 June) and London (27 to 29 Sept). Free tickets Want an MSE Charity grant? Now worth up to £10,000. Our charity's latest funding round opens tomorrow (Wed), and this time grants are worth up to £10,000. If your non-profit group helps people to improve their financial skills, and would benefit from a cash boost, check whether you're eligible to apply for a grant. |
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| AT A GLANCE BEST BUYS
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| THIS WEEK'S POLL Would you get an app-only bank or savings account? We've seen an increasing number of app-only accounts in our best buys, but attitudes range from delight at the convenience to uncertainty about the lack of online or in-branch services. So we thought we'd ask your opinion. Would you open (or have you opened) an app-only bank or savings account? And if not, why not? Vote in this week's poll. Two-thirds of MoneySavers say their rent has increased as a proportion of their income over the last year. Last week, we asked the renters among you what proportion of your income you spend on rent and whether that's changed over the past 12 months. Around half say they spend between 30% and 50% of their income on rent each month, and 66% say that proportion's recently increased. See the full renting poll results. |
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| MONEY MORAL DILEMMA Should I ask my ex-fiancée to give back the engagement ring I gave her? I asked my (then) girlfriend to marry me and she said yes, but not long after she changed her mind and we soon broke up. No one was to blame, we just grew apart (we have two children and are still on good terms). I now have some money struggles - nothing too bad, but it will take some time to pay off what I owe. I hadn't asked my ex for the engagement ring back as I hoped one day we might get back together, but I no longer think this will happen. So is it OK for me to ask for the ring back to try and sell it to pay down the debt? Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should I ask my ex-fiancée to give back the engagement ring I gave her? | Suggest a Money Moral Dilemma (MMD) | View past MMDs |
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| MARTIN'S APPEARANCES (TUE 18 JUN ONWARDS) Wed 19 Jun - The Martin Lewis Podcast, BBC Radio 5 Live (listen to previous podcasts) |
| WHAT'S THE BEST FREEBIE YOU'VE RECEIVED? That's all for this week, but before we go... after Krispy Kreme gave away free doughnuts last week (which several MSEers dutifully claimed... solely to check it was a good deal, of course) we asked you what the best freebie you've ever received was. Food and drink freebies were pretty common... one MoneySaver got a peri-peri nice deal with two whole chickens from Nando's for free as the store had to shut early. Many others (sausage) roll with free Greggs each week. And one tennis fan bagged 10 drink vouchers at the Dubai Open. Though one MoneySaver got more than they bargained fur (sorry) when the 'neutered' cat they adopted turned out to be pregnant - so they got three for the price of one! Let us know the best freebies you've nabbed in our Facebook and Twitter conversations. We hope you save some money, |
Important. Please read how MoneySavingExpert.com worksWe think it's important you understand the strengths and limitations of this email and the site. We're a journalistic website, and aim to provide the best MoneySaving guides, tips, tools and techniques - but can't promise to be perfect, so do note you use the information at your own risk and we can't accept liability if things go wrong. 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 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 MoneySavingExpert and Martin LewisWhat is MoneySavingExpert.com? Who is Martin Lewis? What do the links with an * mean?Any links with an * 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 products at all and the editorial line (the things we write) isn't changed due to them. 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 Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Note MONY Group Financial Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA FRN: 303190). MoneySavingExpert.com Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales. Company Registration Number: 8021764. Registered office: One Dean Street, London, W1D 3RB. MoneySavingExpert.com Limited is an appointed representative of MONY Group Financial Limited. To change your email or stop receiving the weekly tips (unsubscribe): Go to: www.moneysavingexpert.com/tips. |
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