Which Bank shall it be?

houmie

I am right now at HSBC. Beside the crappy customer service I thought they might have better interests.

1) However Martin says even the 8% regular saving gives just 16 pounds more than Halifax 7%? But 1 % of 3000 is 30 pounds right? So why 16?
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?newsid1108401263,93536,


2) Ok Halifax has the cashback account of 1%. Which is amazing. I am wondering, why I would need an Amex , if Halifax gives 1% right away?

3) What about other expenses taken from Halifax current account? Link standing orders (monthly rent). Would that be counted as purchase and so far I would get 1% cashback?

4) What about an Amex Credit cards with full payment from a Halifax current account? Does this count as purchase and cashback? In that case I could make 1% from Amex and another 1% from Halifax?

5) Is Halifax Customer Service less crappy than HSBC?

6) Is there any better overall bank than Halifax (Regarding Mini ISA, Regular Saving, normal Saving, cashback current account and Credit Cards?

Sorry for so many questions,
Thanks in advance,
Houmie

jimclark1967

houmie wrote:

I am right now at HSBC. Beside the crappy customer service I thought they might have better interests.

1) However Martin says even the 8% regular saving gives just 16 pounds more than Halifax 7%? But 1 % of 3000 is 30 pounds right? So why 16?
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?newsid1108401263,93536,


2) Ok Halifax has the cashback account of 1%. Which is amazing. I am wondering, why I would need an Amex , if Halifax gives 1% right away?

3) What about other expenses taken from Halifax current account? Link standing orders (monthly rent). Would that be counted as purchase and so far I would get 1% cashback?

4) What about an Amex Credit cards with full payment from a Halifax current account? Does this count as purchase and cashback? In that case I could make 1% from Amex and another 1% from Halifax?

5) Is Halifax Customer Service less crappy than HSBC?

6) Is there any better overall bank than Halifax (Regarding Mini ISA, Regular Saving, normal Saving, cashback current account and Credit Cards?

Sorry for so many questions,
Thanks in advance,
Houmie

1) You're not saving £3000, you're saving £250 a month so the average balance is only £1500 - Hence the £16 difference. HSBC require you to have your current account with them (Halifax 7% doesn't), and have salary paid in. For this reason it's only worth bothering if you already bank with HSBC (remember the current account only pays 0.1%)

2) Halifax will give you 1% cashback on purchases made with your debit card but only 0.5% interest on the money sitting in your account. Also remember that debit card transactions leave your account immediately so even more lost interest compared to 56 days interest free on a credit card. You also wouldn't get the protection associated with purchases using credit cards.

Basically you're better off with a current account paying 4 or 5% interest and a cashback credit card.

3) No, no and no

4) No

5) I don't know to be honest

6) Halifax certainly have a strong range of products if you're looking to keep everything in the same place.

Fatboy_NSS

If it's all about the interest then A&L is going to be your best bet, combined with the cashback Amex (and get a Conran card as well for the places that don't take Amex). There's no point getting the cashback debit card when you can get the same cashback on the Amex and an interest free period, during which time your money is earning 5%!

pioneer31

Make sure it's not The Royal Bank of Scotland.

They haven't a clue how to run a bank.

buses7675

Hi All,

Also, going by the adverts, the Halifax cashback is limited to £100 per year, no matter how much you spend.

Not sure on the exact limits of other cards, but I'm sure most allow more than this - If not get more than 1 credit card and charge them to the same back account. Also, the extra 56 days or so interest on the 'spent' money still in your current account is useful too, when using a credit card, especially if its at around 4 - 5%.

Cheers

Steve

houmie

Interesting haven't thought throughly about the A&L / Amex combination. It seems A&L has the best Instant Saving account too.

They just do not have a regular saving account like Halifax. right? But well, I could still open just that with Halifax and go for current and instant saving with A&L. right?

Can I already order an Amex and Egg card at the same time and transfer my current bank account meanwhile to A&L? Or might it look like a fraud to the credit card people?

Thanks
Houmie

lipidicman

The credit card option lets you get the best cashback AND the best interest on your current account. Halifax doesnt

Customer service? - they TRY, they really do. They are just a bit like the runt of the litter - you feel sorry for it, but you wouldn't pick it. They just seem to be overwhelmed (emotionally and with customers)

I have 4 halifax savings accounts and a credit card, my partner has the same and a mortgage with them - yet they couldnt open an ISA for us on the spot - we had to wait a week! I had to wait nearly a fortnight to get my original regular saver.

A great range? YES. Regular Saver, Monthly Saver, ISA Direct, Websaver, Halifax One credit card - YES! All good.

But would I want a current account with them? No. Far too much hassle