Debit/Credit card advice

FreQ

Hi,

I've been with Nationwide since I was 12. I'm that longstanding customer that stays forever no matter how bad the card is. So now I need to change.

Current: Flex Acc + Gold CC + loyalty saver + ISA
Potential: Santander 123 taking advantage of the £20k 1.5%.
Could I open the Nationwide Flexclusive Regular Saver 5% saving account now, and then switch the current account to Santander, or would that retroactively cancel the new saving account because there is no longer a Flex active?

How about for Credit Cards? I don't even know what I'd want from a Credit Card. Cashback or JL vouchers I guess?
I'm not a big spender, there's an AMEX recommended, but I'm not sure if that's a good idea. They get refused in a lot of places don't they?
Travel card - covered on this. Either Barclay or Clarity.

Thanks

Ben8282

Why do you need to change?
If you don't know what you want from a credit card suggest you take a look at what is available then when you finally decide what you do want apply for it.

bigadaj

FreQ wrote: »

Hi,

I've been with Nationwide since I was 12. I'm that longstanding customer that stays forever no matter how bad the card is. So now I need to change.

Current: Flex Acc + Gold CC + loyalty saver + ISA
Potential: Santander 123 taking advantage of the £20k 1.5%.
Could I open the Nationwide Flexclusive Regular Saver 5% saving account now, and then switch the current account to Santander, or would that retroactively cancel the new saving account because there is no longer a Flex active?

How about for Credit Cards? I don't even know what I'd want from a Credit Card. Cashback or JL vouchers I guess?
I'm not a big spender, there's an AMEX recommended, but I'm not sure if that's a good idea. They get refused in a lot of places don't they?
Travel card - covered on this. Either Barclay or Clarity.

Thanks

If you want only on financial institution then nationwide would probably be my choice, but of course you aren't limited to one.

You can get a flex direct account with the 5% interest, or a flexplus which is one of the few fee accounts that is probably worthwhile for some.

Loads of opportunities for switch incentives, including to get the flex direct and get a referral which can earn a couple £400.

Nationwide select credit card has cashback and no foreign fees for purchases.

Intro cashback for Amex is great at 5% up to £100, and as a back up account then TSB classic plus with switch incentives, contactless cashback, 1% cashback on theor credit card would, be my first choice but there are many others.

FreQ

bigadaj wrote: »

If you want only on financial institution then nationwide would probably be my choice, but of course you aren't limited to one.

You can get a flex direct account with the 5% interest, or a flexplus which is one of the few fee accounts that is probably worthwhile for some.

Loads of opportunities for switch incentives, including to get the flex direct and get a referral which can earn a couple £400.

Nationwide select credit card has cashback and no foreign fees for purchases.

Intro cashback for Amex is great at 5% up to £100, and as a back up account then TSB classic plus with switch incentives, contactless cashback, 1% cashback on theor credit card would, be my first choice but there are many others.

Yes, I'd be interested in the Flexclusive Regular Saver (5%), but you need a Flexaccount to do this - which I currently have. The point is, I'll migrate this over to a 123 account afterwards - so I imagine I'd be forced to close the Flexclusive account with no standard Flex account existing any longer.

On a CC, cashback would be my ideal. But I have the mindset that AMEX isn't accepted in many places. Is that true or a myth that I've taken on?

At a glance, it looks like the MBNA Intu or the Amazon Platinum cards are a good bet for lower spenders. I'm asking as a noob who's read quite a bit of the site but doesn't have much practical knowledge of what's out there. Cash or JL vouchers would be my ideal pick, but there is no mention of the JL Credit Card anywhere, so I assume it's not a good option. I don't really shop at Tesco or Asda so that rules them out.

Thanks

bigadaj

You can have more than one current account, I've got 12 and plenty of people on these boards have more. Given issues around banks and it systems it's probably advisable to have two in any case.

Amex acceptance isn't universal but the answer is to have at least one back up visa or MasterCard.

All this information is freely available on these boards and often on the main site so do some reading and comeback with any specific questions if you are unsure.