MSE’s Money Tips Mortgage alert, ditch your ISA?, 2.7% loan, £260 beauty £31, energy bill rising 54%+?, cheapest way

In October, there were over 50 mortgage deals below 1% and the cheapest fix was 0.84%. Today, the cheapest is 1.79%. That's equivalent to an extra £800 a year on a £150,000 mortgage.

And things are likely to get worse. The Bank of England last week made its third base rate hike in four months, to leave the rate at 0.75% (see our lender-by-lender rate reaction round-up). And further hikes are widely expected - City analysts Capital Economics expect it to hit 1.25% by the end of 2022 and 2% in 2023.

Yet while mortgage rates have increased, in a longer historical context, they're still cheap (see our mortgage comparison). This is especially true of the cheapest longer fixes which are currently only a touch more expensive than shorter ones, and give certainty for much longer...

That means everyone who has a mortgage which isn't already locked in to a decent rate for the foreseeable future should be checking if there's a better deal out there. Even if your deal ends in six months, there are options to lock in a rate...

Remortgaging simply means getting a new mortgage deal to replace your existing one. Here's how to bag a cheap deal...

1. Dig out the details of your current mortgage. Gathering the following info will help you when searching for a new deal:

- What's the rate? Plus monthly payments & outstanding debt.
- What type is it? Is it a fix, tracker or SVR? See fixes v variables.
- When's the intro deal over? For example, when does your fix end?
- When must it all be repaid? In 10, 20 or 25 years?
- Will you be penalised to switch deals? Does your fix or tracker have an early repayment charge? If so, it isn't usually worth switching, though it can be on rare occasions. See Ditch your fix?
- What's the loan-to-value (LTV)? This is the proportion of the home's current value you borrow - for example, £280,000 borrowing on a home currently worth £350,000 is 80% LTV. Rates get cheaper the lower your LTV. See LTV help.

Our free PDF booklets take you through it step by step
	- Our FREE 62-page Remortgage guide 2022 - Our FREE 53-page First-time buyers' guide 2022

2. Check out your existing lender's cheapest deal. Switching to a new mortgage with your existing lender is known as a 'product transfer'. It didn't used to be a great option, but these days as your existing lender is allowed to forego affordability checks if you're not borrowing more, it can work out well. Plus there'll likely be less paperwork and lower fees involved. The savings can be huge, as Adam tweeted: "@MartinSLewis Just went for a new deal with my existing provider at the end of a five-year fix, was able to save £175/month [£2,100/year] - same terms. I used the mortgage tool on MSE."

Yet even if your lender has a cheaper deal, do the next step as well to compare all products (like Adam did).

- A note on mortgage prisoners. Up to 250,000 mortgage holders are stuck paying expensive mortgages to companies that don't issue new mortgages, meaning they can't take advantage of existing lenders' affordability check carve-outs. Our Mortgage prisoners guide has help on what to try, though sadly we know it won't fix the issue for everyone - in fact, it won't help the majority - but it is worth a go.

3. Use our comparison tool to see the market's cheapest deals - are big savings possible? Sub-1% mortgages have gone, but there are still historically cheap deals out there - though we don't know for how long. Spend a few minutes on our Mortgage comparison tool to find your cheapest deal. Do note that low-rate deals can mean higher fees - so our tool factors these in to the 'MSE total cost' to make comparing easier.

The biggest factor affecting rate is your LTV. Mortgages start at 95% LTV, but you'll get a cheaper deal at 90% LTV. It's cheaper again at 80%, at 75%, and then bottoms out at 60% of a home's value. There can also be minor gains at each 5% in between.

Example cheap rates available today (£150,000 mortgage)
Type (1)	Intro rate + arrangement fee	Annual cost (2)
Typical SVR	4.14%	£9,630
Fix, 2 years 60% LTV	1.79% + £2,019	£8,393
Fix, 2 years 80% LTV	1.84% + £2,019	£8,436
Fix, 2 years 90% LTV	1.90% + £2,019	£8,488
Fix, 5 years 60% LTV	1.86% + £999	£7,701
Fix, 5 years 90% LTV	2.19% + £2,019	£8,203
Tracker, 2 years 60% LTV	1.49% + £995	£7,655
(1) All links go via our Mortgage Best Buys comparison. (2) Based on monthly payment & including the fees spread across the intro deal period (hence why a 5-year rate can look cheaper than 2 years) on a 25-year term.

Should you fix? The more you value certainty and being able to stick to a budget, the more you should hedge for a fix, and for fixing longer. If you're worried about interest rates rising, which City experts predict is likely (though there's no guarantee), then fixing is a bit like an insurance policy against this.

Trackers and discount mortgages are often slightly cheaper, but the rub is most move in line with the base rate - for example, people on trackers have seen their rates increase three times since December. Yet if today's rate is your prime concern and you can ride out moves upwards, you may want to go for it. See our full fixes vs trackers analysis for more.

Top tip Six months or less till your current mortgage ends? Lock in a rate now to insure against future hikes

A few lenders will let you lock in a rate six months in advance - and many more let you lock in a rate three months ahead. So it's worth checking deals now if your fix or tracker ends before September.

Locking in can incur a non-refundable booking fee of £100-£250. Yet with interest rates widely expected to rise even further, you could see locking in as a form of insurance policy by securing a cheaper rate deal now, in case they're much more expensive when you come to remortgage. Full info in long lock-in mortgage help.

4. Use our range of calculators to make it easy to compare deals. To simplify the process, plug your numbers in here...

- Basic mortgage calculator - including what it'll cost
- Compare two mortgages
- Compare fixed-rate mortgages
- Should you ditch your fix?
- How much can I borrow guesstimator

5. It's not just about the cheapest mortgage - it's about the cheapest mortgage you'll be accepted for. There are two key financial checks the lender will do on you when you remortgage. Unfortunately each lender is different, so there's little point trying to second-guess it all, but there are ways you can improve your prospects.

- Are you creditworthy? A poor credit history can torpedo a remortgage application, or at least mean you don't qualify for the cheapest deals. So check your credit file (for free) to ensure there are no errors, then minimise other credit applications, and pay down debts if you can. See 37 tips to boost your creditworthiness.

- Can you afford it? Lenders must also do strict checks to see if you can afford mortgage repayments. And with the rising cost of living, it's only getting tougher, as they'll look at how much you spend on essential bills when working out whether you can afford a mortgage. They'll want evidence of income, bills, expenses and sometimes even eating out.

Yet lenders don't just assess if you can afford to repay at current rates. They also 'stress-test' how you'd cope if interest rates rocket, so you'll need to have a bit of leeway in your finances.

Likely to be close to the wire? Being frugal in the months leading up to application and not applying for unnecessary credit can help. For more tips, see 18 ways to boost mortgage acceptance.

Top tip Try to go £100 beyond any LTV threshold

If you've worked hard to get enough together to reach the next LTV band, for instance, 90% or 75%, try to push to £100 beyond that. It can ease acceptance as it means it no longer looks to mortgage underwriters like you're scraping to get to the limit.

6. As mortgage acceptance gets tougher, a good broker is more important than ever. Lenders' acceptance criteria differ from one to the next. For example, one lender might include overtime or commission in your income assessment, and another might only count your base salary. Or some lenders are wary of non-standard properties, such as those above shops.

To navigate the maze, we strongly suggest you use a mortgage broker. They do the 'finding a deal' work for you and have details of most lenders' acceptance criteria, which aren't easily obtainable by the public, plus many deals (even some product transfers) that can only be accessed via brokers.

Nationwide 'fee-free' brokers (they earn via commission from lenders) include L&C Mortgages*, Habito* and Trinity Financial* (it normally charges a fee, but not via this link). Some with more complex situations may want to pay - for example, CMME* specialises in mortgages for the self-employed. Full help in top mortgage brokers.

Self-employed? It can be tougher to get a mortgage, so to help smooth acceptance, ensure you've got 2-3 years of trading accounts ready, plus three months of business / personal statements. Yet your pandemic employment record and finances over that time can have a big impact too. If your income's been patchy over the last few years, a good broker's likely to be vital.

7. Can you save with a green mortgage? (Spoiler alert: for most, the answer's no). Some lenders are now offering so-called 'green mortgages'. Typically these give you a discounted interest rate or cashback if your home has an A or B efficiency rating, or if you're planning on carrying out energy efficiency improvements. Yet even if you're eligible, it's best to go for the cheapest rate deal you can get - and these aren't usually green mortgages. See how they compare in our new Green mortgages guide.

DON'T believe the fake 'Martin Lewis' or 'MSE' ads
Lots of scam ads litter social media and even newspaper websites - some of these lie that we or Martin promote Bitcoin, binary trading etc. See Fake ads warning.

Martin's urgent cash ISA tax-year end alert...
Should you USE 'em, LOSE 'em, or DITCH 'em entirely?

(Spoiler alert: 85% should ditch 'em and bag 1% easy-access savings or 1.9% fixed)

Rewind pre-Covid to March 2015 and picture a devastatingly handsome man talking about money with his wife in a coffee bar. Well, he has nowt to do with this, but I on the other hand was on telly at the time, as usual urging savers to use their cash ISA allowance or they'd lose it. Back then money was nicer in an ISA...

Now the personal savings allowance (PSA) means most DON'T pay tax on savings interest. The PSA launched in 2016, allowing basic (20%) taxpayers to earn £1,000/year of any savings interest tax-free and higher (40%) taxpayers £500. At today's top easy-access 1% rate, you'd need a hundred grand saved to generate £1,000 interest. So these days, most people - over 19 in 20 in fact - don't pay tax on savings anymore.
A cash ISA's just a savings account you don't pay tax on. And its interest doesn't count towards the PSA, so for the few who have big enough savings or earnings to break that limit, it's a boon, as they can protect more savings from tax (if so you've only till 5 April to use this year's £20,000 ISA allowance - it then stays tax-free year after year). Yet for MOST PEOPLE there's no benefit of saving in a cash ISA, so you simply should focus on getting the highest interest...

Cash ISAs have WORSE rates than normal savings in all categories *All accounts below have the full* *UK £85,000* *savings safety* *guarantee*
	Top savings	Top cash ISAs
Easy access (AER variable)	- Virgin Money 1% (on up to £25,000 via its bank account - see below) - Cynergy Bank 0.84% (min £1)	- Paragon 0.8% (min £1, 3 withdrawals/year) - Yorkshire BS 0.77% (min £10,000)
1-year fixed rate	- Shawbrook Bank 1.6% (min £1k). No access allowed within the year	- OakNorth Bank 1.28% (min £1). Withdrawals allowed, but there's a 90-day interest penalty
2-year fixed rate	- JN Bank 1.96% (min £1k). No access allowed within the year	- UBL UK 1.6% (min £2k). Withdrawals allowed, but there's a 180-day interest penalty

So most should DITCH cash ISAs for accounts that pay more. I did a Twitter poll on Monday, and found 85% of the 9,000 who said they had cash ISAs don't pay tax on savings. So why keep them? I know for years many had it drilled into them (often by me) that cash ISAs were nicer - but now people need deprogramming. Most should simply focus on the highest interest rates which come from normal savings. Though there are a few niche reasons some who don't pay savings tax may want to keep cash ISAs...

- If you're close to paying tax on savings. If you're near the limit, as interest rates are likely to rise, keeping money in cash ISAs now can protect you from future tax.
- You can withdraw from fixed cash ISAs (unlike normal fixes). Though there are big interest penalties for doing so.
How to get the top 1% Virgin easy-access savings account. Open Virgin Money's M Plus bank account* and you get access to its linked 1% AER variable savings (max £25,000) even if you DON'T SWITCH your existing account to it - so you can grab it just to get the higher easier-access rate. Alternatively, switch to it and you get a £100 experience days voucher, though if you're looking to switch banks you could use Virgin just for savings and then look at other switching deals, for example, First Direct's FREE £150 & top service*. See my 'How to play the system' info from 2 March for full help and more options.
While cash ISAs aren't much cop for most, other ISAs can be. If you're a first-time buyer, check out the Lifetime ISA's 25% boost worth up to £1,000/year on your first home. If you're looking to invest, a stocks and shares ISA is a really good way to start. There are other ways to boost interest too (more options in our savings section)...

- 50% bonus for many on universal credit or tax credits: Help to Save
- Got expensive debts? Pay 'em off: Repay debts or save?
- Earn up to 5% if you save monthly: Regular savings accounts
- Earn '1%' easy access, capital is safe but the interest is a lottery. See Are Premium Bonds worth it?

Important energy updates from Martin

WARNING. The 'top up energy prepay meters before April tip' WON'T now work for all. New information has come to light that for E.on and Scottish Power customers, and probably for any gas customers, topping up pre-31 March WON'T mean you keep that cheap rate in April. Please read FULL INFO in Martin's prepay trick WARNING.

Is your energy bill going up by MORE than 54%? Martin's been inundated with questions from those seeing rises far above the price cap hike. So he's recorded a new 'Why's your energy bill gone up by over 54%' video & transcript explaining why and what to do about it. Related: Help if struggling to pay energy bills

As the war in Ukraine continues, here's a reminder of the ways you can donate money or help.

Last-minute Mother's Day pressies, including FREE gift cheques & in-store flowers from £1. It's this Sunday, but you don't have to spend a lot or at all to treat Mum for Mother's Day.

Now GUARANTEED rates on the cheapest loans from £1,000 to £15,000 (for example, 2.7% on £5,000+). Personal loan rates are usually 'representative APR', meaning only 51% of accepted applicants need get the advertised rate. Yet now, for the first time our Loans Eligibility Calculator has cheap guaranteed rates (via 5+ competitive lenders) for most amounts, depending on your creditworthiness. They may not always win, but at least you'll know if accepted exactly what you'll get. For instance, Barclays offers from 4.9% at £3,000, Ratesetter from 2.7% at £5,000. Checking doesn't impact your future creditworthiness. Please only borrow if you NEED to - ensure it's for a planned, affordable, budgeted-for one-off purchase. If in doubt, don't.

£260 of Benefit, Rimmel, NARS and more make-up & skincare for £31 delivered. MSE Blagged. Via code that works on any beauty box at Latest in Beauty.

Cheap private medical insurance and / or cashback if you pay for physio, glasses, dentist and more. Find out more by reading last week's Martin's medical money masterclass.

Ends 11.59pm Wed. 108Mb fibre broadband AND line from Virgin '£17.40/month'. MSE Blagged. This is the cheapest megafast deal we can remember. Virgin Media newbies (available to 55% of the UK - check via the link) pay £22.95/month, but get £100 credit on the first bill, so you pay nothing for four months (barring calls, though weekend calls to landlines are free). Factor the bill credit in over the 18-month contract and it's equivalent to £17.40/month. Customer service ain't the best rating though. Want a different provider? Use our Cheap broadband comparison.

48 'lucky dip' plug plants & five packs of seeds for £9 delivered (normally £33). MSE Blagged. Includes geraniums and begonias, 2,500 available. Thompson & Morgan

Want to watch the Chancellor's Spring Statement with Martin and MSE? (12.30pm Wed). Follow Martin's live Twitter analysis and get MSE's Twitter updates, then hit MSE News as we explain what it means for you.

BLAGGED FOR MSE

- £260 of Benefit, Rimmel and more beauty for £31 Ends Sun
- Virgin 108Mb fibre broadband & line '£17.40/month' Ends Wed
- 48 'lucky dip' plug plants for £9 2,500 available
- iPhone SE 2022 with 100GB data '£21/month' Ends 31 Mar

DID YOU MISS?

- Martin video: '3 urgent tax checks - do 'em now or risk £1,000s'
- FREE solicitor-drafted wills (normally about £150) if you're 55+
- Tesco DOUBLES price of cheapest sanitary pads
- FREE Homebuilding & Renovating Show tickets Birmingham

Going abroad this year? Tool up with the cheapest way to spend NOW, and save £100s while you're away

All Covid travel restrictions for returning to the UK were lifted last week, and despite the cost of living crisis, many are already booked for summer, and some for Easter. So wherever you're headed, or even if you're just shopping on foreign websites, STOP PAYING TO PAY. Many just grab foreign cash (in which case, use our TravelMoneyMax comparison), but the top cards for using abroad give you near-perfect, bureau-beating exchange rates every time you travel. So sort one of those now, and you're sorted every time.

Option 1: Top specialist CREDIT cards - near-perfect rates & cashback. Usually, when you spend on plastic abroad, the banks give near-perfect rates but add a 'non-sterling exchange rate fee' of roughly 3% - so £100 worth of euros ends up costing you £103.

Specialist credit cards don't add this, so you get the same near-perfect rates the banks do. Yet only get one if you'll repay IN FULL each month or the interest dwarfs the exchange rate gain. You will need to pass a credit check.

TOP PICK: Barclaycard Rewards* (best to check eligibility chances first) like others has a top exchange rate and no ATM fee. It's the top pick as, unlike other top specialist cards, it doesn't charge interest on overseas cash withdrawals repaid in full and gives 0.25% cashback on all spending worldwide (fail to fully repay and it's 22.9% rep APR interest). This is why Barclaycard pips our long-term top pick Halifax Clarity* (check eligibility) - which charges 19.9% rep APR on spending if you don't clear it each month, and on cash withdrawals from day one.

Poor credit score? The 118 118 Money card (link is via our eligibility calculator, as it'll tell you if you'll likely get it) also has no ATM withdrawal fee or interest and is designed for poorer credit-scorers. Yet do fully repay or it's a horrid 34% rep APR. Full info and more options in Top travel credit cards (APR examples).

Beware the travel debit and credit cards from HELL... is yours one? While here we highlight the best cards to use abroad, it's worth knowing how your normal card fares - some are hideous, charging up to £1.50 per transaction. Use our what does my card charge abroad? tool to check your card's fees.

Option 2: Top overseas DEBIT cards, cashback and only a soft credit check. Here you're opening a new bank account, but there's no hard credit check (provided you don't apply for an overdraft), so it won't affect your creditworthiness. You can just have them as a secondary account without switching bank, but unlike a credit card, you will need to add cash to your account before using it, which some find a pain.

TOP PICKS: App-only Chase Bank charges no overseas fees on spending and up to £700/month of cash withdrawals on its debit card. You can also activate a year's 1% cashback on most purchases worldwide. For a higher cash withdrawal limit as standard, app-only Starling Bank's* card has no overseas fees on spending or up to £300/day in cash withdrawals. Full details and more options in Top travel debit cards.
Option 3: Want to lock in a rate? Get a top prepaid travel card. The cards above give you the top exchange rates when you spend. To lock in a rate, specialist prepaid cards let you load on to them in advance and convert from pounds into your chosen currency before you go. You won't be credit checked, but these firms do ID checks.

TOP PICK: App-only Revolut* gives perfect interbank rates (marginally higher than Mastercard/Visa rates) during the week, though only on up to £1,000 exchanged per 30-day period. It charges 0.5% above this, and 1% at weekends. The card costs £4.99, plus you pay ATM fees after five withdrawals or more than £200/month (so it's best to limit cash if you opt for Revolut). Full review and more options in Prepaid travel cards.
Option 4. Just want cash? Use TravelMoneyMax. Our travel money comparison tool compares 15+ bureaux to find the best rates.

Barclays Blue Rewards customer? It's a dead duck for many from April, so DITCH IT now. Barclays has upped fees and slashed cashback, so many will pay £5 to get £5 back - making it pointless. Cancel to free up cash, or even better, grab a top switching deal, such as First Direct's FREE £150 and top service* or NatWest's FREE £150 and £36/year cashback*. Full details & eligibility criteria in Best bank accounts.

New. Cheapest 64GB iPhone SE 2022 contract with 100GB data '£21/month'. MSE Blagged. Last week, Apple launched a new version of its lower-spec iPhone SE. It's not strictly MoneySaving, but if you want to be an early adopter, Three newbies can get a 64GB iPhone SE 2022* (via Affordable Mobiles) with a 'virtually unlimited' 100GB/month data, unlimited mins and texts for £9.99 upfront, then £21/month. It'll cost a total £514 over the two-year contract, saving £407 compared with a similar deal from Three itself. Want a different phone? See MSE's Cheap Mobile Finder. Note: Three is responsible for the contract, Affordable Mobiles for the handset.

75,000 FREE Grand Designs Live London tickets. For 30 Apr-8 May, normally £12-£15 each. Grand Designs

'I reclaimed £6,800+ for my packaged bank account.' Our latest Success of the week. Chris used our Reclaim packaged bank account charges guide & tool to "obtain a refund of more than £6,800 in packaged bank account charges from NatWest. Although it wasn't easy (NatWest twice refused my claim), having submitted the request I was not prepared to give up, and after nine months and several emails, letters and phone calls, I received my refund." If you've saved via MSE, please send us your MoneySaving successes on this or owt else.

Extra 15% off code at Adidas and Reebok outlets. Plus M&S sale boosted 'up to 70%' and 'up to 50% off' at H&M. High street sales

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AT A GLANCE BEST BUYS

Longest 0%: Sainsbury's Bank (check eligibility / apply*) - up to 32 months 0%, 2.24% or 3% fee (21.9% rep APR interest)
No-fee 0%: Santander (check eligibility / apply*) - 21 months 0% (20.9% rep APR) or NatWest - 22 months 0% if you're a NatWest/RBS customer (21.9% rep APR)

Top standard easy access: Cynergy Bank 0.84%, min £1 deposit
Top one-year fix: Shawbrook Bank 1.6%, min £1,000

Get comparison site quotes in this order:

Cheapest, £5k-£7.5k: Sainsbury's Bank (check eligibility / apply*) - 3.3% rep APR interest for Nectar holders, 3.4% for others
Cheapest, £7.5k-£15k: M&S Bank (check eligibility / apply*) - 2.8% rep APR

Standard (10Mb+): Shell Energy '£13.83/month'
Fibre (30Mb+): Shell Energy '£16.58/month'
Ends Wed (today). Megafast fibre (100Mb+): Virgin Media '£17.40/month'

£150 to switch + TOP service: First Direct
£150 to switch + £3/month cashback: NatWest/RBS

4GB-9GB data: Virgin Mobile, '£3.92/month' for 5GB, unlimited mins & texts
10GB+ data: TalkMobile, '£4.50/month' for 10GB, unlimited mins & texts

THIS WEEK'S POLL

What proportion of your income is spent on your mortgage/rent? Take what you pay on your mortgage or rent (including any service charges or ground rent, but NOT council tax, insurance or other bills), and let us know roughly what percentage of your monthly take-home pay/income it is.

Most MoneySavers spend more than £500 a month on household bills. Last week, we asked how much you spend on your household bills each month. Of the 5,750 people that responded, 60% spend £500+ a month, while one in four said they spend an eye-watering £1,000 a month or more. See full monthly household bills poll results.

MSE NEWS

- Top story: Post Office card account holder? Set up an alternative now or certain benefit payments will stop on 5 April
- Currys trials 'Cash for Trash' scheme, offering vouchers for broken and unwanted tech
- Together Energy customers wrongly charged £40 exit fee
- HSBC to close 69 branches across the UK
- E.on Next customers given refunds after some paying by direct debit were overcharged

MONEY MORAL DILEMMA

I bought a friend gig tickets as a gift - should they have invited me? I bought two concert tickets for a friend as a birthday gift, but they took another friend to the gig. As it was a present, was my friend free to take whoever they want, or should they have invited me? Enter the Money Moral Maze: I bought a friend tickets as a gift - should they have invited me? | Suggest a Money Moral Dilemma

MSE TEAM BLOG

- Cat pee, coupon fairies & noisy tables: last week's MSE Forum highlights

MARTIN'S APPEARANCES (WED 23 MAR ONWARDS)

Wed 23 Mar - Ask Martin Lewis, BBC Radio 5 Live, 1pm - reaction to the Spring Statement. Listen to past episodes

MSE TEAM APPEARANCES (SUBJECTS TBC)

Tue 29 Mar - BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, Mid-morning with Jeremy Sallis, from 12.40pm
Tue 29 Mar - BBC Radio Manchester, Afternoons with Becky Want, from 4.10pm

KNEE-HIGH SEQUIN BOOTS OR COFFEE FOR A FUTURE SPOUSE... WHAT'S THE BEST £1 YOU'VE SPENT?

That's all for this week, but before we go... frugal MSE Forumites have been discussing the best thing they got for £1. For one, it was a pair of black knee-high sequin boots and for another, a hand mixer bought 20 years ago that's still going strong. But it's hard to beat the story of the forumite who bought a coffee for a girl who'd missed her train back in 1970... they've now been married for 45 years and have three kids. Read more in the best £1 you've ever spent MSE Forum discussion and add your own.

We hope you save some money, stay safe,
The MSE team

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MSE’s Money Tips Newsletters

MSE’s Money Tips Mortgage alert, ditch your ISA?, 2.7% loan, £260 beauty £31, energy bill rising 54%+?, cheapest way

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