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| DON'T believe the fake ads on Facebook |
| Warning. British Gas hikes prices AGAIN... but don't get angry, get even Grrrr. The 3m+ on a British Gas standard tariff face an avg 3.8% rise in Oct, its 2nd hike in 2018. But turn anger into action and many can save big amounts by ditching expensive standard variable tariffs (SVTs) - whether with BG or others. Dyann did: "I switched from British Gas using MSE, saving £450/yr." Here's how... British Gas customer? Save £100s/yr by giving it the boot. While anyone on a fix isn't hit, those with typical use on BG's SVT will pay an avg £1,205/yr after the hike, yet the best deals from rivals start at £853/yr. It's the same for the Sa insbury's standard tariff, as it's supplied by BG. So check if you can save now via a full market comparison on our Cheap Energy Club. We know many worry about switching, so we've more help:- Nervous about switching to a firm you've not heard of? This is the biggest turn-off for many, so we've a 'Big Name Supplier' filter which removes all firms bar the Big 6, Co-op, First Utility & Ovo. Moving to the cheapest big name from a British Gas SVT typically saves £265/yr, incl MSE cashback. - Want to avoid poor service firms? We've filters for that too. Use our 'good' or 'superb' service filters to weed out the flops. Switching to the cheapest good service firm from a British Gas SVT typically saves £305/yr, incl MSE cashback. - Still determined to stick with BG? We'd urge you to check if you'll save by switching as it's easy. It's the same gas, elec and pipes. Your supply remains throughout and only service and price change. But if you're determined to stay, BG has a tariff that freezes today's price for a small saving vs post-hike prices - see our 'My Current Supplier' filter. Other energy giants hiking too - millions overpay on standard tariffs. E.on's raising prices on Thu, EDF on 31 Aug. Like BG, it'll be their 2nd this year. And the other Big 6 trio - Npower, SSE & Scottish Power - have hiked once in 2018 with a 2nd likely. Many smaller suppliers have hoicked costs too. SVTs are expensive. After the hikes, the avg Big 6 SVT on typical use will be £360/yr more than the cheapest deal. So the steps above apply to anyone. See our Cheap Energy Club for full help. |
| New. 16 Center Parcs tricks. Incl half-price Euro stays, £199 4-night UK breaks & 50% off activities. Center Parcs McDonald's HACK - pay 59p, get £2 Big Mac & fries again & again. Please eat responsibly. McD's hack New. 1.8% fixed savings for 9mths + possible cashback. This isn't for everyone, as you can earn more by locking your money away for 12mths with the top 1yr fix at 2%+. But decent 9mth fixes are rare and if you'll need your cash a little earlier, ICICI Bank via 'savings marketplace' Raisin gives 1.8% AER fixed for 9mths + £20 cashback on £10k-£19,999, up to £80 on more. See all top savings, incl easy access at up to 1.4%.Two pairs of prescription specs for £16. MSE Blagged. Incl free delivery. Spec-tacular 3 holiday helpers if heading away soon |
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| Lloyds is the latest to cut rewards. In the coming months it'll slash the number of Avios points - BA's frequent flyer miles - you earn on its Avios Reward card and cull flight upgrades. Rewards elsewhere have dropped in recent years too, as fees shops pay banks - which fund 'em - are now capped. But you can still get PAID for everyday spending to turn your plastic into a perk powerhouse. We've picked out the best below - good if you're a disgruntled Lloyds customer or just want to start earning. - The fee-free Amex Platinum Everyday (eligibility calc / apply*) gives 5% back for the first 3mths (max £100), up to 1% after. Cashback's paid annually, but you need to spend £3k+/yr to get anything (22.9% rep APR). - The best non-Amex - so accepted more widely - is the Tandem Mastercard (eligibility calc / apply*) which pays 0.5% monthly (18.9% rep APR). See Cashback Credit Cards (APR Examples) for lots more help and options. Either £100 shopping vch OR 20,000 Avios/Virgin points. The Amex Rewards Gold (eligibility calc / apply*) gives 20k 'Membership Rewards' points if you spend £2k+ in the first 3mths. You can swap them for a £100 vch for big stores, eg, Amzn/M&S; 20k airline points and more. You also get two free airport lounge passes and 1pt per £1 spent. It's fee-free in y r 1, £140/yr after, so cancel if you don't want it then (57.6% rep APR). See full Amex Gold help. Want airline miles? Up to 25,000 Avios or 15,000 Virgin miles + 'free' companion ticket. Top picks are: - British Airways flyer? The fee-free BA Amex offers 5k bonus Avios + 1 per £1 spent. Or for £195/yr the BA Premium Plus has a 25k bonus + 1.5 Avios per £1. Both require you hit a min spend in 3mths for the bonus. - Virgin Atlantic flyer? Its Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard gives 5k bonus miles, plus 0.75 pts per £1. Or the £160/yr Virgin Atlantic Reward+ pays 15k pts plus 1.5 pts per £1. Both just require a spend of any sort for the bonus. - All come with a 'companion voucher' where you can take a 2nd person for zero points if you pay in points, but you both pay taxes - see the links for full help. More info in Top Airline Cards, incl how many points are needed for a flight. Full info and more options, incl Sainsbury's, Tesco, M&S and Amazon cards, in Credit Card Rewards (APR Examples). |
| How to make old £1 coins spendable again. A whopping 169m are still down sofas, in piggybanks etc. £1 coin help Get £100 on £1,000+ investment. MSE Blagged. Can be risky, but if you'll open a stocks & shares ISA anyway, this gets a 9%-ish head start after fees. 500 avail. £100 cashback Kurt Geiger shoes from £9 via 25% off code. MSE Blagged. Via its outlet, £5 delivery. Kurt Geiger 10yr mortgage fixes - worth it? With more now available, should you lock in for so long? We crunch the numbers. 20% off Odeon, Pizza Express, Gap & New Look gift cards. Stackable with offers. Ends Sun. Gift card trick |
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| AT A GLANCE BEST BUYS
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| 40+ eBay buying tips - incl 'is it cheaper on eBay?' photo checker Know how to play the online auction giant right and it can be a bargain hunter's dream You can buy just about anything on eBay - whether a TV, clothes, toys or even a Love Island water bottle. Our 40+ eBay buying tips guide has the top techniques to cut prices - here are our opening bids... New. 'Is it cheaper on eBay?' fun checker app. Spot a skirt, scooter, sideboard etc in a shop and you can take a pic, then the bots behind the scenes will find similar items on eBay to see if you can save. It won't necessarily find identical items and you may need to do more research but it can be a good starter. See eBay photo search. Exploit speling mishtakes. Typos meanz fewer searches, so cheep prices. Use mistake spotters to trawl for erors. Snoop on sellers' histories. A tool shows past bids they've accepted to gauge the best offer to make. Bag hidden local eBay bargains. Sellers often specify items as 'collection only' - which puts people off, so prices are lower. We built the Local eBay Deals Mapper to find 'em because you can't search for them direct. It's not just eBay - also try local Facebook groups. People often harness the social network's power to sell in their communities. See 10 Facebook Buying Tips for a crash course. |
| 20% off Family & Friends Railcard. MSE Blagged. Gets 1yr card for £24 (norm £30). Ends Sat. Railcard code BIG BANK SWITCH WIN - SUCCESS OF THE WEEK: "Just wanted to say a big thank you for helping me get free money by switching current accounts in the last 18mths or so. I've made over £1,000 for doing very little."(Send us yours on this or any topic.) |
| THIS WEEK'S POLL How do you rate your broadband provider? We can tell you which the cheapest broadband providers are, but to keep our customer service ratings updated, we need your help. So tell us how your broadband provider has performed over the past six months. How do you rate your broadband supplier? Four in 10 have moved savings in the last year. Last week, we asked when you last moved your savings - 43% of you said you'd done so in the past year, suggesting our message of ditching sub-1% rates is getting across to some extent. See full savings poll results. |
| MONEY MORAL DILEMMA Should I keep quiet about my 'free' broadband? I signed up for Vodafone fibre broadband and then changed my connection date. This seems to have confused its systems - the broadband works, but several months down the line I've realised I've not been charged. Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should I keep quiet about 'free' b'band? | Suggest an MMD | View past MMDs THE QUICKIES - Debt-Free Wannabe chat of the week: Am I being silly not using savings to pay off debt? |
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| MSE TEAM APPEARANCES (MOST SUBJECTS TBC) Fri 17 Aug - BBC South West stations, Good Morning with Joe Lemer, from 5am, car insurance tips |
| QUESTION OF THE WEEK Q: I have two current accounts with the same bank - one's a standard account, one's a basic account. Can I switch the basic one to another bank to get the rewards offered to new customers? Anon, via email.
MSE Rosie's A: You can indeed. The fact it's a basic account makes no difference, and it'll all happen within seven working days as long as the banks you're switching from and to are signed up to the Current Account Switch Service. Under this, all your direct debits and other payments will be moved too. For more on bank switching and the top accounts to switch to, including one offering up to £185 in M&S vouchers, see Best Bank Accounts. Please suggest a question of the week (we can't reply to individual emails). |
| 'I PUT ESSENTIAL OILS IN MY LOO TO KILL NASTY SMELLS' That's all for this week, but before we go... MoneySaving ways to freshen your loo caused a bit of a stir - or should we say, stink - in our forum this week. Our crafty MoneySavers came up with makeshift sprays using essential oils or simply lighting a match to burn off nasties in the air. Share your bad-smell cover-ups over on our how to freshen my loo forum thread. We hope you save some money, |
Important. Please read how MoneySavingExpert.com worksWe think it's important you understand the strengths and limitations of this email and the site. We're a journalistic website, and aim to provide the best MoneySaving guides, tips, tools and techniques - but can't promise to be perfect, so do note you use the information at your own risk and we can't accept liability if things go wrong. What you need to know This info does not constitute financial advice, always do your own research on top to ensure it's right for your specific circumstances - and remember we focus on rates not service. We don't as a general policy investigate the solvency of companies mentioned, how likely they are to go bust, but there is a risk any company can struggle and it's rarely made public until it's too late (see the Section 75 guide for protection tips). We often link to other websites, but can't be responsible for their content. Always remember anyone can post on the MSE forums, so it can be very different from our opinion. Please read the Full Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy, How This Site is Financed and Editorial Code. Martin Lewis is a registered trade mark belonging to Martin S Lewis. More about MoneySavingExpert and Martin LewisWhat is MoneySavingExpert.com? Who is Martin Lewis? What do the links with an * mean?Any links with an * by them are affiliated, which means get a product via this link and a contribution may be made to MoneySavingExpert.com, which helps it stay free to use. You shouldn't notice any difference; the links don't impact the products at all and the editorial line (the things we write) isn't changed due to them. If it isn't possible to get an affiliate link for the best product, it's still included in the same way. More info: See How This Site is Financed. As we believe transparency is important, we're including the following 'un-affiliated' web-addresses for content too: Unaffiliated web-addresses for links in this email americanexpress.com, tandem.co.uk, mbna.co.uk, santander.co.uk, confused.com, moneysupermarket.com, comparethemarket.com, gocompare.com, directline.com, aviva.co.uk, sainsburysbank.co.uk Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Note MoneySupermarket.com Financial Group Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 303190). MoneySavingExpert.com Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales. Company Registration Number: 8021764. Registered office: One Dean Street, London, W1D 3RB. MoneySavingExpert.com Limited is an appointed representative of MoneySupermarket.com Financial Group Limited. To change your email or stop receiving the weekly tips (unsubscribe): Go to: www.moneysavingexpert.com/tips. |
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