Top Student Accounts 2007/08 Article Discussion

elliewild

i really need help with getting the best student accounts

when i went to uni i got a halifax (o/d £1000) and natwest (o/d £2000) accounts. they both gave me a year after graduating interest free o/d. but then i started my teacher training course - and what a nightmare!

Natwest were great and i just showed them a letter saying i was a student etc and they let me keep my account. Halifax however changed my account without informing me to a non-student bog standard acount (with interest on my -£1000 o/d) although ive been battling with them since sept they havent helped me at all.

im trying to slide all my finances onto 0% interest credit cards/od but i cant balance transfer from o/d account to credit card. cant apply for credit cards because im a student (work p/t) and cant get student accounts with the current benefits because i already have them (with poor benefits). i was thinking of reapplying for a halifax student account (with current benefits) and transfering money from old student acc. but i doubt they'll accept me. what do you think? any suggestions???

Christopher_James

I currently hold an unconditional offer for a university and will soon have my confirmation letter. Would it be best to open a student account with Halifax now and get as much of the interest free overdraft as I can and put it into an ISA? As I'm currently working full time I stand a good chance of getting a decent proportion of the interest free overdraft I think.

Or would it be better to wait until the Summer and ascertain the 08/09 account offers for each bank? I know the Halifax £2750 interst free OD is a year old offer but as no other bank came anywhere close to matching them I assume it will just happen again this year...

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Chris

Rob_07

Christopher_James wrote: »

I currently hold an unconditional offer for a university and will soon have my confirmation letter. Would it be best to open a student account with Halifax now and get as much of the interest free overdraft as I can and put it into an ISA? As I'm currently working full time I stand a good chance of getting a decent proportion of the interest free overdraft I think.

Or would it be better to wait until the Summer and ascertain the 08/09 account offers for each bank? I know the Halifax £2750 interst free OD is a year old offer but as no other bank came anywhere close to matching them I assume it will just happen again this year...

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Chris

I would personally hold out a little longer until the banks reveal the offers to go with the student accounts, i cant say too much but i have been privy to some infomration relating to some of the offers which will be offered with student accounts, due to some market research that i take part in, reportedly there are the usual railcard offers, free cash, but possible new ones offering a slightly lower overdraft than halifax do at the present time but alongside that offering free cash and also a possible account offering a wii to the first so many people that open the account. I can't say which banks these relate to as i am bound by client confidentiality but it should only be a few more months before the offers are revealed.

You need to weigh up the benefit of having the money in an ISA for a few extra months assuming 3-4 months around £30 - £40 compared to if you didnt have the money for 3-4 months, so you need to decide whether you would have this extra interest and bear in mind that interest rates have just fallen so ISA rates are likely to fall unless fixed, against other possible benefits which may arise in the summer.

Christopher_James

Thanks for the reply Rob!

I'm hoping to keep the cash in there for longer than a few months though, I'm trying to get through my entire first year without actually needing to "spend" the overdraft.

However with what you have said I think I will hold back some more. After the banks have released their offers if you could inform me that'd be really helpful (I am trying to keep an eye on the major ones but I'm worried I'll miss one or more of the "special" ones you mentioned).

Chris

gertie

Hi

Can anyone help me please.

My daughter is applying for a student exchange (not eramus) for her 2nd year and wishes to study in the USA. Can anyone help and advise as to the best way forward re banking.

should she stay with her uk bank and arrange for transfers of money or is it easy to apply for a USA bank account for the duration of time she is there. Or is a student credit card the best option (as long as she pays the full amount each month.

Struggling with this and would appreciate some pointers

Thanks very much

Gertie

ladyhepburn

gertie wrote: »

Hi

Can anyone help me please.

My daughter is applying for a student exchange (not eramus) for her 2nd year and wishes to study in the USA. Can anyone help and advise as to the best way forward re banking.

should she stay with her uk bank and arrange for transfers of money or is it easy to apply for a USA bank account for the duration of time she is there. Or is a student credit card the best option (as long as she pays the full amount each month.

Struggling with this and would appreciate some pointers

Thanks very much

Gertie

I was an Erasmus student this year, so I don't know anything about how the American banking system works, but how I managed my money may still apply.

I opened a Nationwide current account, as card use abroad was free of charge (and I later discovered I got a pretty decent exchange rate too :money:). So, free and instant cash from a cash machine (even if there was a sign saying there would be a charge), and it was Visa debit, so easy to use the card in shops for spending that bit more. I could do all the necessary swapping-money-about online, so relatively quick and easy (but make sure you can get a secure connection at uni or somewhere, NOT in internet cafes!), and changed my student loan to go into the Nationwide account to make things even quicker. I also had a £250 overdraft with a practically 0% interest rate, which came in useful at one point. There is still a withdrawal limit of around £250 (can't remember if it was per withdrawal or per day), so remember, even if the cash machine has an option for taking out $700, it probably won't let you - I forgot about this and started panicking about what had happened to my money!

I only needed to open a foreign account as the uni insisted on my halls rent being paid by direct debit, and didn't use it for anything else. Didn't have any problems with it, despite the language barrier - like here, just look for the best deal.

I avoided doing bank transfers whilst out there, so not too sure about charges, but I had to do one transfer as quickly as possible before I left and, surprise surprise, got lumbered with a hefty charge! Most UK banks tend to have 'partner' banks in other countries (a bit like with mobile networks) - ask in your branch for a list. Sometimes it only relates to business accounts or large transfers, but it's worth finding out, and you may want to take it into account if you do have to use an American bank. The other thing to consider is, if you have a lot of dollars in your account at the end of the exchange, will they still be worth a decent amount in pounds when you transfer it back?

You should check to see if the Nationwide card is still charges-free - at the time it was the only one, and there may be other banks doing the same now - and you can end up with a credit or a debit card (I didn't have the choice, presumably being a student, but I wouldn't know which would be best anyway). I don't know whether travellers' cheques would also be useful, there may be some stuff in this article: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cards/cheaper-spending-.

Hope this helps!

ellsleeds

Hi,
I tried to get the HBOS account but they turned me down due to 'lack of history' on my Experian credit report. I have an exemplary history, a mortgage, credit cards, no missed payments etc. although perhaps a low credit score. However, I don't have any history with a Halifax current account which apparently they need.
Has anyone else managed to get this account??
Anyone know why the HBOS credit score requirement is so much higher than other banks?
The advice given was to open the 'no credit check' account and shuffle money around from my other accounts to pay in money regularly and re-apply in six months. Seems like a lot of hassle for that extra 750 overdraft.

Thanks

Christa1

elliewild: Not surewhen/if you are at Uni but my son graduated last year and his student OD with Nat West is interest free for 3 years. He could have had the max £2000.00 but only went as far as £1600.00. The first £600.00 has to be paid by the end of June this year and £500.00 next June and final £500.00 the following. Does this not apply to you too?

andrila1234

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brettcta

wrong place that mate.