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Monzo, Starling or Chase

Hello,

I’m looking to open an additional current account for spending, to try and help me keep my outgoings under control.

Previously I have been using cashback credit cards, which I do pay off in full each month, but my spending can get out of control.

My choices are narrowed down to Monzo, Starling or Chase. I’m mainly looking for the one that is going to give me the most insight into my spending and provide ways to budget - such as the pots Monzo offers.

I’m not sure how Starling and Chase compare on this front and wondered if anyone has any advice.

I am autistic and for me, having something very visual is my top priority.

Chase sounds great with the 1% cashback, but I’d only want to go for that if the app/spending controls are decent.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks :-)

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Comments

  • Daliah
    Daliah Posts: 3,792 Forumite
    1,000 Posts First Anniversary Photogenic Name Dropper
    The easiest, and only reliable, way to asses whether any - or all - of them meet your needs is to try them out, one by one. They are all easy and quick to open, and close if you don‘t like / need them. 
  • Daliah said:
    The easiest, and only reliable, way to asses whether any - or all - of them meet your needs is to try them out, one by one. They are all easy and quick to open, and close if you don‘t like / need them. 
    Thanks for your reply. :-)

    I guess I'm worried about multiple credit checks opening all three, however am I right in thinking Monzo, Starling and Chase only do soft searches at the moment?
  • Daliah
    Daliah Posts: 3,792 Forumite
    1,000 Posts First Anniversary Photogenic Name Dropper
    Correct. All three do not carry out hard searches.

    Not that a few hard searches for current accounts are anything to be worried about, not even if you are planning to apply for moderate credit in the short term. I have well over 10 hard searches in the last 12 months, and while my meaningless credit scores have taken a bit of a hit, these searches appear to have impacted my ability to get credit cards. Only got a new Santander one to add to my 4 existing ones last week, with a £6K credit limit, and Lloyds keep offering me a credit card, too. I would, however, probably not have made all those current account applications if I was in the market for a mortgage in the next 12 months.
  • One thing to bear in mind is that you can't have direct debits with Chase. Therefore, if you have any bills that are paid by direct debit, Chase is a bit of a no go at the moment which is annoying given its 1% cashback.

    If I were to use one as my main bank account, I would use Starling. Great app and still has good features such a no fees on overseas spending and ATM withdrawals.
  • That’s good about the soft searches only. I currently have two current accounts, the second of which I keep switching to make the most of the switch incentives. I have recently moved that account to Nationwide, Santander and now Virgin Money, so had a few hard searches recently. I will be remortgaging around the end of 2022, so will try to avoid hard searches from now on if I can. I’ll just have to resist the temptation if any new switch offers come up!

    My main account is with Lloyds, which I’ll keep for direct debits. I was hoping to use Monzo, Starling or Chase just as a spending account. I’ve heard good things about Starling. The 1% cashback with Chase appeals to me, I just need to make sure it doesn’t entice me to spend more!

  • ccdorset said:

    The 1% cashback with Chase appeals to me, I just need to make sure it doesn’t entice me to spend more!

    The simple way around that is only put in the Chase account what you have budgeted to spend.

    That's how I use mine anyway.
  • ccdorset said:

    The 1% cashback with Chase appeals to me, I just need to make sure it doesn’t entice me to spend more!

    The simple way around that is only put in the Chase account what you have budgeted to spend.

    That's how I use mine anyway.
    True, I think I need to get myself into a budgeting mindset. I currently use YNAB, but in reality I'm just tracking expenses and not actually budgeting.

    I'm hoping the fact that I'll see the balance in my spending account going down will help me avoid a lot of unnecessary purchases.

    Does the Chase app have similar budgeting features to Monzo?
  • Mrs_Ryan
    Mrs_Ryan Posts: 11,834 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    I’m a Monzo fan. The app is very clear and straightforward and easy to use. I like the pots as well. I also like the instant notifications. 
    *The RK and FF fan club* #Family*Don’t Be Bitter- Glitter!* #LotsOfLove ‘Darling you’re my blood, you have my heartbeat’ Dad 20.02.20
  • ccdorset said:

    Does the Chase app have similar budgeting features to Monzo?
    In a word no. Well, not in my opinion anyway.

    My Monzo account allows me to set a budget for the period I desire, as a whole, however, it also allows me to micro-budget by setting budgets for each category too, if I so desire. Whether you keep to those individual budgets, of course, is down to you and self-control.

    When I used Monzo as my main spending account, i.e. pre-Chase, I just used the global budget feature of £x per month. You can set a toggle so it shows you how much of your budget you have left to spend, aside from your main account balance. Monzo provides a Summary feature, that allows you to see what categories you are spending your money in, and these categories can be amended should they not fit the actual spend. For example, Asda defaults to Groceries, however, you may have only made purchases within the clothing range that day, so could change it to Shopping for example. Many find it useful to see where their money truly goes. They also have a Trends feature, though, in all honesty, I have never bothered with it as I am fortunate enough to now be in control of my spending and budgeting so do not need mega insights any more. Many are not.

    Chase, on the other hand, provide basic insight into spending. You can set your budget for the month and, like Monzo, it will tell you how much you have left of that budget as the month goes on. This appears just below your account balance. It will also provide you with a simple bar chart, reflecting this period's spend against the previous month, however, I take little notice of that particular one personally, as does not mean anything to me. If I buy theatre or football tickets at the end of November, say, then start of December, the chart will look like I am heading for a massive December overspend, based on November's first half spending, where in fact they will probably even themselves out and both fall in budget.

    Chase currently has the bonus of 1% cashback for up to 12 months on eligible spends, and the 5% interest on top-ups, although the latter, imo, is just a gimmick as will amount to just pence. As may the cashback for some :smile:

    My Chase Rewards, i.e. save the change, are currently far exceeding my cashback, on normal spend. Just over double, as I type.

    Hope this helps.
  • Daliah
    Daliah Posts: 3,792 Forumite
    1,000 Posts First Anniversary Photogenic Name Dropper

    My Chase Rewards, i.e. save the change, are currently far exceeding my cashback, on normal spend. Just over double, as I type.
    I was with you until that last para. All that Chase does there is move some of your money into a different pot of yours, called Round Up. How is that a reward? Obviously, they give you the 5% interest on it, but as you said, this is merely a gimmick as it will  be just pennies.

    I do have the gimmick switched on myself (FOMO, probably 🤣). It contains just over half of what I have in the cashback pot. So my spending has been very different to yours. I would never have chosen Chase for its Round Up feature, but the cashback is worth it IMO. I will drop Chase the minute my cashback period is over, unless they come up with some other worthwile scheme, such as cashback for DDs when they eventually support them, or a great interest rate on substantial balances.
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