Best student bank account offers

welshliz

do natwest still do free railcards, if so how long do the railcards last? thanks. liz

muddyfox470

the railcards last 4/5 years, and are automatically renewed each year so long as you use your account regularly.

the offer wont come around until all the banks release their student accounts again, however my bet is that they will offer the rail card again.

Ian

just double checked, it is 5 years so long as you use your account regularly

Roz_V

I got a five year railcard from HSBC that I don't need to renew or anything, it's valid until the end of 2009! (I applied for my student account in 2004)

executiverocker

outofdate wrote:

Just been offered the HSBC student account, but there are no longer any incentives worth having. Thought I would be offered either £50 cash or some CD vouchers, but that was only for last year. Better look elsewhere!

i went into HSBC today and the lady said either an mp3 player or some chart cds! no mention of it online though

pink_phantom

Abbey were crap too. They didn't have any incentives either when I went into the branch.

techno_geek

The NatWest Student account is available now!

I've just applied for one, and it was set up within 2 days!! However, I've got to wait until I've got my A-Level results to get the Maestro card and the student overdraft.

Also, for any in-credit students out there (rare as you might be), if you opt for the "max out your student overdraft and put it into a high-interest savings account" approach, I would recommend either the HSBC Online Saver or First Drect's e-Savings accounts - both offer 4.75% AER.

The limitation is that you forfeit any interest in a month where you make a withdrawal from that account... as all interest is paid on the first of the month, I'm sure you can work out the best time to take your money and run!

CrispyUK

zabbyh wrote:

But It is much better than the railcard, because the railcard only gives you discount after 10am I think. So if all your lectures start at 9am then go for the £50.

People seem to get confused on this one, the railcard is basically a bank-branded version of the Young Persons Railcard which is £20 a year normally.

You can use it before 10am however minimum fares apply to some ticket types, these are either £8 or £16 depending on the ticket. So you might still get a discount, even if not the full one depending how far you're travelling.

I don't have a free one but always buy one, it saves me money when I travel home by train at Xmas / Easter and for the odd weekend and I tend to use the train a lot visiting friends over the summer so it's well worth it for me.