Natwest Student Account 2009/10: We Want Your Feedback

Wiggynut

no hassles with Natwest at all!

I applied last year online and got the webcam (sold on ebay ;-p) and the rail card (I'm 37!) which was also automatically renewed this year.

I got the full overdraft - I can't remember if I ticked a box asking for the overdraft - I don't think I had to specify how much either but got the full amount.
I've only just started using the overdraft now (not much work at the moment) so it does come in handy - I'm not sure if I'll apply for the higher rate this year (if not done automatically), if the ISA rates go up then I might put it into a savings account.

When I moved house I did have to go into the branch but it was still quick and painless - I made sure I there was a bank branch near my Uni when I opened the account.

It took about 2 weeks for the account to be opened and all the bits & pieces to come through but as I opened it a month before starting my course it didn't cause any issues.

all in all - I think the Natwest account is great... no pain or hassle which I've had with other banks!

miss_holly01

I have just applied online, as reccomended by an instore advisor as I will get a free memory stick, all sounds easy but the online application was annoying sometimes, stupid questions like asking you to put which subject area your course comes under, Im studying english, but their options were very limited, im studing at the school of 'arts and humanities' so what do i choose 'arts' or 'humanities',.?! grrr. Then finally got though the application and the overdraft they have offered me is £500!..not exactly what their advertising is it?... there is an option to up it on the form, so selected that, except it wont actually let you do this, I haven't put in any information about my income or anything like that so not sure why its so low. So im hoping after reading on this fourm that in my second term I can request more I will get something more realistic...so il let you know what happpens, fingers crossed! Saying all this I still think natwest is a good account as from what Iv heard from friends already at uni most student accounts never actually give what is advertised.

Wiggynut

miss_holly01 wrote: »

I have just applied online, as reccomended by an instore advisor as I will get a free memory stick, all sounds easy but the online application was annoying sometimes, stupid questions like asking you to put which subject area your course comes under, Im studying english, but their options were very limited, im studing at the school of 'arts and humanities' so what do i choose 'arts' or 'humanities',.?! grrr. Then finally got though the application and the overdraft they have offered me is £500!..not exactly what their advertising is it?... there is an option to up it on the form, so selected that, except it wont actually let you do this, I haven't put in any information about my income or anything like that so not sure why its so low. So im hoping after reading on this fourm that in my second term I can request more I will get something more realistic...so il let you know what happpens, fingers crossed! Saying all this I still think natwest is a good account as from what Iv heard from friends already at uni most student accounts never actually give what is advertised.

apparently they have changed the overdraft to help with budgeting!
so £500 for the first term, more in the second then the full amount (I think) in the 3rd term.

I got the full amount but I'm only using it now in the summer term (end of first year)
The memory stick is probably a more useful item than the webcam - I have a mac so I didn't need it but did sell it on ebay.

Absinthe_Fairy

Just wanted to share my experience of applying for the NatWest student account as a postgrad (three years after originally graduating!).

Had an appointment yesterday with my local branch and explained that I wanted to open a student account as I was doing an MA. The advisor sounded surprised and said, "Oh, I don't think we do postgradate accounts here" :eek:

She went off to ring someone, came back and said "that's right, it's a three year package for undergraduates". By this time I'd flicked through the 'Students and Graduates' booklet and found the bit about full time postgraduate courses being eligible! Showed it to her and she seemed surprised, rang back from the room we were in, got through to a different person who said yes, I was eligible, and could have a £1800 overdraft as technically an MA counts as a fourth year :j

So if the same thing happens to anyone else take in the T & Cs or the Students and Graduates booklet! To be fair it wasn't the advisor's fault, she was really nice, it wasn't a student branch and she was told the wrong information at first. Just thought I should warn everyone else in the same position just in case!

Interestingly I got an email with a code for the free railcard - I thought only undergraduates were eligible for these - I filled in the form online and sent a photo and it seemed to go through ok - it will be interesting to see if I get it!

Felix_Machina

I was stuck between Barclays and Natwest, Barclays has a bigger overdraft, whereas Natwest offer the 5 year railcard.
So, swayed by positive reviews in this thread, I went into Natwest to try and make an appointment, unable to get one today I asked for the branch's direct phone number and was handed a business card with an 0845 number on it...
AN 0845 NUMBER!
Filled with rage I marched on down to Barclays, got an appointment today, much friendlier service, and a local rate geographical phone number.
Plus the £750 higher overdraft really does offset the £25 a year saving of a railcard in my opinion.

MissPop

I walked into my local Natwest yesterday, and walked out 20 minutes later with a student bank account, £500 overdraft and a student credit card (just for emergencies, obvs!) Piece of pie, the adviser who sorted it for me was lovely and very helpful. I need to sort my rail card out, but my current one doesn't run out for another month so will wait a couple of weeks (do I have to apply before October?). I shoudl receive my card/PIN/chequebook in about 5 working days, yay!

Assuming the railcard application goes through smoothly, I recommend it! :j

Absinthe_Fairy

Bit of an update - I logged into my Railcard application online and it said it was 'on hold' because 'you have not yet turned off paper statements on your account'. This isn't true - I turned them off yesterday. Does anyone know how long this will take to update? I don't really want to phone up, in case someone at NatWest figures out I'm not really supposed to be getting a railcard at all!

Absinthe_Fairy

Update: online application now says "welcome back, your benefits have been sent'! Will have to wait and see if I get a Railcard through the post before someone spots the mistake and cancels it! :beer:

MissPop

So to get the free railcard you can't receive paper statements...?

Absinthe_Fairy

MissPop wrote: »

So to get the free railcard you can't receive paper statements...?

It seems not - though you might be able to switch on paper statements again once you receive the railcard...