Can you have to many?

madlyn

So my homework for this weekend is to open a RS account and another EA account and take it from there.

Bridlington1

madlyn said:

So my homework for this weekend is to open a RS account and another EA account and take it from there.

That would be a good start, though I would say prioritise opening a spare current account for the reasons I've already mentioned. May I ask who you already bank with?

Albermarle

though I would say prioritise opening a spare current account for the reasons I've already mentioned

Also it is a good idea to make sure you have at least one card ( debit or credit) that is part of the VISA network, and at least one that is part of the Mastercard network, as it is not unknown for one or the other to go down very occasionally.

Barclaycard- First Direct - HSBC and Nationwide use Visa ( possibly some smaller operators as well)

The majority though are with Mastercard.

ForumUser7

For Debit Cards:

Mastercard: RBS, NatWest, Ulster Bank, Santander, Metro Bank, Starling, Monzo, First Direct, Virgin Money (among others)

Visa: Lloyds, Bank of Scotland, Halifax, Nationwide, Barclays, HSBC, TSB (among others)

N.B. This is based on my own cards, they may have changed providers since my cards were issued

Bridlington1

ForumUser7 said:

For Debit Cards:

Mastercard: RBS, NatWest, Ulster Bank, Santander, Metro Bank, Starling, Monzo, First Direct, Virgin Money (among others)

Visa: Lloyds, Bank of Scotland, Halifax, Nationwide, Barclays, HSBC, TSB (among others)

N.B. This is based on my own cards, they may have changed providers since my cards were issued

Co-op is also Visa.

BooJewels

I'd concur with the idea of more than one bank and card system, I've needed this more than once, when one system was down and I was at a supermarket checkout and needing to pay, or needed cash out.  There are a multitude of ways a bank account can potentially get snagged up, so having options will save you a lot of stress at such times.

Jopo1

katejo said:

Rheumatoid said

I wouldn't be surprised if some on here had 50 or more.

Keeping track of lots of different login passwords is part of the problem!  :

Try using Bitwarden for a secure way to store passwords

madlyn

Bridlington1 said:

madlyn said:

So my homework for this weekend is to open a RS account and another EA account and take it from there.

That would be a good start, though I would say prioritise opening a spare current account for the reasons I've already mentioned. May I ask who you already bank with?

My current account and credit card are with Nationwide, both Visa.
If I were to open an additional current account, would I need to use it? 

Albermarle

madlyn said:

Bridlington1 said:

madlyn said:

So my homework for this weekend is to open a RS account and another EA account and take it from there.

That would be a good start, though I would say prioritise opening a spare current account for the reasons I've already mentioned. May I ask who you already bank with?

My current account and credit card are with Nationwide, both Visa.
If I were to open an additional current account, would I need to use it? 

If you just open a new current account, then no. Although maybe after a long period of inactivity it might get closed.

Bridlington1

madlyn said:

Bridlington1 said:

madlyn said:

So my homework for this weekend is to open a RS account and another EA account and take it from there.

That would be a good start, though I would say prioritise opening a spare current account for the reasons I've already mentioned. May I ask who you already bank with?

My current account and credit card are with Nationwide, both Visa.
If I were to open an additional current account, would I need to use it? 

My recommendation then would be to open a Natwest or RBS current account (both are mirror images of each other so it doesn't matter which you pick) and open one of their digital regular savers (currently at 6%).

You don't need to use it much at all. If I were you I'd just open the account and use it to deposit something in the regular saver (even £1 would do). At least this gives you a spare current account with a different banking group should you ever have any issues with Nationwide (main advantage), but also one of the highest paying savings accounts there is.

Plus you can use the Natwest, RBS and Nationwide card readers interchangeably so it's handy to have a spare card reader in case one breaks.