Choosing a Student Account

Nitro89

I am currently with Barclays and I want to open a new student account. I keep comparing current accounts and getting lost, I am slightly leaning towards Natwest as they offer a 5 year Railcard where as Alliance & Leicester offer high interest rates. I will need the railcard as I will be travelling into London a lot, but I also want the best with my money, any help please?

Sol00

The advice at the moment is to wait as not all of the banks have released their 08/09 accounts yet.

sunil237

a&l account will give you high intrest.. if you have the money already saved but to limits.
natwests card will save you loads more if you do live a distance from london.

pretty sure a&l dont have a student banking account, so you can get both accounts and transfer money from your student account(natwest) to a&l for intrest building while getting your freebie

melancholly

martin does an article each year when the offers are announced, so if you drop in here regularly, that's usually the place with the best summary! it'll be on the main site but also linked from a thread in here.

Voyager2002

By all means get the NatWest account for the railcard. Once you have got it, you might consider switching to Smile: an on-line bank that offers good service and seems to give an unusually large interest-free overdraft to students.

You can also open a savings account to earn the highest possible interest on any spare money you have. A and L offer higher than average interest, but be prepared to waste time and frustration dealing with their poor levels of service. And don't forget to complete the form that enables you to receive interest without deduction of tax.

jendifa

I have a student account with the co-op. They have a 1400 overdraft in the first year and 1700 in second and third year. They have been really helpful and are ethical. I think they are part of the same company as smile.

baby_fuzz

I got a railcard through a different bank (many moons ago!). I absolutely caned it - saved me a small fortune. I'd vote railcard over other bank bribes - although I'd also have a look at what their overdraft facility is like (and how long it lasts for after your graduate).

natweststaffmember

Student account offers on most banks come out in June.
You have to choose what is in your best interests. Will you need to use a railcard to go back home during the term for the weekends? Do you want an ethical bank? Do you want a high interest account? Do you want a bank that has a branch close to where you are studying? All those questions are for you to answer when deciding which account is best. I am way too biased to say which is the best.

The_doomed

One thing many students dont take into consideration when getting a student account is what happens after you stop being a student. For example, Halifax / Bank of Scotland offer one of the largest interest free overdrafts going. However, when you graduate (and account becomes a graduate account) you only have 12 months before you start paying interest on the entire balance.

In contrast; lloyds, rbs and natwest (for example) will let you borrow up to 2k over the 4 years, and when you graduate your interest free limit is reduced slowly over the following 3 years.

melancholly

just had a thought, HSBC have been a nightmare for the last two years with changing the goal posts on the status of graduate accounts and how long overdrafts will be allowed to be interest free. based on the reports on here (and last year's campain by the NUS!), i'd recommend avoiding them unless they have something far better than anyone else as a sign up offer (and even then, might be worth steering clear!).

Nitro89

I have applied to Natwest and I am getting my rail-card soon. I need to have another account with high interest for when I get a job during university, is Alliance of Leicester the best for this?