MSE’s Money Tips Free £100 railcard trick for age 20-25, £20/mth fast broadband, "I got 50% off home insurance", Free

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From: MSE's Money Tips - Tuesday Apr 22, 2025 08:28 pm
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 22 April 2025 | View in browser
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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.
 
 
 

Q. 'Martin, what's the top cash ISA savings paying interest monthly and why are the interest rates lower?'
A. The top ones pay up to 5.07% tax-free (and the rates aren't really lower)

Martin Lewis, MoneySavingExpert.com founder, who wrote this article. Link takes you to his biography page on MoneySavingExpert.com.Some put money in savings to see it grow, others to earn interest for income to live off - and for that, interest paid monthly is usually better. I've talked a lot about top cash ISAs recently, as the new 6 April tax year means every adult has a brand new £20,000 tax-free ISA allowance, and the most common questions I'm being asked (that I haven't already answered) are on monthly interest, such as Julie's on Facebook: "I'm at retirement age so want my ISA to me give me a monthly payment. Could you compare the best rates that offer this? I spent ages scrolling T&Cs trying to find this out." So I want to answer them today...

PS: It's also worth all savers listening to my new Is the £20,000 cash ISA going to be killed? podcast.

First, a nicer ISA reminder... A cash ISA is simply a savings account you never pay tax on. You can put up to £20,000 each tax year in a cash ISA and the interest stays tax-free year after year. Just like normal savings, ISAs can be easy-access, notice or fixed accounts. Not only is the interest tax-free, it also DOESN'T count towards your personal savings allowance (the amount of interest you can earn tax-free each year from any form of savings) - so it's an extra allowance on top. See my full how savings are taxed video for a detailed explanation.

  • Many top easy-access accounts pay interest monthly, though it's tougher with fixes. If the aim is to use the interest, you want it to a) be paid monthly, and b) not have withdrawal interest penalties. We've focused on the accounts that do both in the table below. There's a wide choice with easy-access, so there's little or no rate sacrifice to do it.

    With fixed accounts (where you lock money away in return for a guaranteed rate of interest), monthly interest works by them paying it into your normal bank account. It's fine with ISAs, where many top rates allow it, but with normal fixes, there are fewer higher payers offering monthly interest, so I've included top non-monthly payers there too, to let you compare (see top cash ISAs & top savings for a full comparison).

    • Top cash ISAs Top normal savings     Easy access 
    All are variable rate, ie, the rate can change, so monitor it and ditch & switch if it drops Top rates
    - Trading 212* 5.07% variable (min £1). Rate includes a year's 0.72% newbie bonus.
    - Tembo 4.8% variable (app only, min £10). Transfers in from other cash ISAs delayed currently.

    Top bigger name 
    - Marcus (owned by Goldman Sachs)* 4.3% variable (min £1). Rate includes a year's 0.49% newbie bonus. Top rate

    - Charter Savings 4.59% (min £1). You can choose if interest is paid monthly or annually.

    Some top bigger names
    - Marcus (owned by Goldman Sachs)* 4.3% (min £1). Rate includes a year's 0.49% bonus.

    - Post Office* 4.05% (min £1). You can choose if interest is paid monthly or annually. Rate includes a year's 2.8% bonus - effectively a year's minimum rate guarantee, but then it'll plummet, so be ready to ditch & transfer.

    Top fixed savings
    Guaranteed rates of interest Cash ISA fixes can't lock your money away, so charge interest penalties if you close the account early. Still, a useful get-out-of-jail-free option if you need the money in an emergency.

    1yr fixes:     Charter Savings Bank 4.27% (min £5k) or Lloyds 4.25% (min £3k). Interest choice: Paid into your bank account monthly or at the end of the term.
    2yr fixes: Charter Savings Bank 4.2% (min £5k). Interest choice: Paid into your bank account monthly, annually or at the end of the term.
    3yr fixes: Ford Money 4.2% (min £500). Interest choice: Paid into your bank account monthly, annually or at the end of the term. Here your savings are locked away without access during the term of the fix. 

    1yr fixes: UBL UK 4.46% (min £2k), Virgin Money 4.31% (min £1) or NS&I 4.05% (min £500). Interest choice: Paid into your bank account monthly or at the end of the term.
    2yr fixes: RCI Bank* 4.4% (min £1k) or NS&I 4% (min £500). Interest choice: Paid into your bank account monthly (or, for RCI Bank, annually too) or at the end of the term.
    3yr fixes: RCI Bank* 4.45% or NS&I 4.1% (min £500). Interest choice: Paid into your bank account monthly (or, for RCI Bank, annually too) or at the end of the term.

    Top paying fixes NOT monthly interest
    1yr fix: Cynergy Bank 4.65% (min £1k).
    2yr fix: Close Brothers 4.58% (min £10k).
    3yr fix: Cynergy Bank 4.55% (min £1k).
    Top monthly interest savings with unlimited withdrawals (AER)
    All accounts have the full UK £85,000 savings safety protection

    All the accounts above allow you to transfer existing cash ISAs in (unless stated). Check the rate of your existing cash ISAs - if they're worse, ditch & transfer. You do this by filling in the transfer section on a new ISA application, then it moves the money for you. This doesn't affect your annual ISA allowance, it's only saving new money in an ISA that does that (and you can transfer without adding new money if you choose).

    However interest is paid, it's usually calculated DAILY. You earn interest for each day you have money in the account, regardless of when the interest is paid out. So if you had an annual interest account and closed it halfway through the year, you'd still get the interest up to that point.

    Monthly interest rates may look lower, but you still get paid the same. Savings providers show two rates: a) the annual equivalent rate (AER), which we use as it allows easy comparison, and b) the gross rate, which is the flat rate of interest that's actually paid.

    With monthly interest, the gross rate is usually listed as less, eg, a 5% AER account has 4.89% gross monthly interest. This is only a technical difference. It's because the annual rate includes compound interest (interest on the interest), but the monthly rate has to assume you withdraw the interest each month, so you don't get that, yet if you don't withdraw it, it would compound and you'd have the same amount.
      A taxing issue: how you choose to take fixed savings' interest (not cash ISAs' interest) can impact tax. Savings interest is paid gross (ie, without tax deducted) because most people get a personal savings allowance (PSA), which means a basic 20% rate taxpayer can earn £1,000 interest a year without paying tax on it, while a higher 40% rate taxpayer can earn £500 interest a year. Of course, interest from a cash ISA is never taxable and doesn't count for this.

    If you earn interest above your PSA in normal savings, so pay tax on it, it's worth understanding that it is not when it's credited to your account that triggers the tax, it's the point you can ACCESS it (not when you do, when you can). Some fixed savings don't allow you to access the money until the fix ends, meaning you may have three years' interest all in one go, which could mean paying more tax. So monthly interest, even if not accessed, may benefit you. It's worth being aware of. Read fixes: a taxing question for full help.
     
    Aged 20 to 25? FREE £100 four-year railcard (trick) via Santander... Santander is giving any UK resident who'll be aged min 20 & max 25 on 30 June a free four-year 16 to 25 Railcard (as long as it hasn't given you one before) worth £100. Martin's Santander railcard trick video explains it, but in brief, you need to a) save a min £50 and keep it there till at least 30 June and b) set up its online or mobile banking by the end of May. To just play it for the railcard: Put £50 in its simple 1.2% easy-access saver and then close it when the railcard arrives - the poor interest is easily outweighed by the railcard. To actually save: Its 4.25% 1yr fixed cash ISA is decent interest, but needs a min £500 to open. Or its Edge Saver pays 6% on up to £4,000, but for that you must first open its top-rated for bills Edge cashback current account* (which also gives a £30 Amazon voucher). Student? The Santander Edge student* bank account also offers a free four-year railcard.

    London (& Manchester) Marathon runners FREEBIES... pizza, burger, bath bomb etc. They're this Sun and people are coming from across the country raising a fortune for charity, so we thought we'd let you know what freebies are available. Marathon freebies

    Ending? Biggest free cash bank switch bonus, £175, for top service account. First Direct newbies switching to its top service (92% 'great') 1st current account* get a free £175 bonus, but we're not sure for how much longer (nowt firm, this is a hurry, just in case). The account has a linked 7% saver you can put £300/mth in. Many get a £250 0% overdraft, and its debit card gives perfect exchange rates abroad. To qualify for the free cash: You need to switch over 2+ Direct Debits or standing orders, and within 45 days, you need to have a total of £1,000 going in and make 5+ debit card payments. Full info and more options in Best bank accounts.

    Must-listen pod for savers. Is the £20k cash ISA going to be killed? What you should be doing now. Everything you've ever wanted to know about ISAs but were afraid to ask! All in the new The Martin Lewis Podcast. Listen via BBC Sounds | Apple | Spotify or wherever you get your Martin fix.

    Coupons: Free £2 Activia yogurt, £2 off ice cream, 50p off Monster energy drinks. 50+ April coupons

    New. Top all-rounder credit card: up to 2 YEARS' 0% spending and 21mths' 0% balance transfer. The new Barclaycard up to 24mth 0% spending card is the joint longest, letting most accepted borrow without it costing a penny till April 2027 - plus it also lets you shift existing card debt to it for 21mths 0% (for a one-off 2.95% fee). Go via our eligibility calc (link takes you there) and if you're shown as 'pre-approved' you'll get the full 24mths - subject to ID checks. The other joint longest spending card is M&S 24mth 0%. How to use 0% spending cards: They're best if you NEED to borrow for a planned, one-off, budgeted-for purpose, but never use as a willy-nilly way to supplement your income. Golden rules: 1) Always pay at least the monthly minimum and don't bust the credit limit or you can lose the 0%. 2) Clear the debt before the 0% ends or it's 24.9% rep APR. Full info & best buys in 0% spending cards. 

    Went to an employment tribunal between 2013 and 2017? Can you reclaim £100s? 10,000s who overpaid tribunal fees are now due a share of £13m. See reclaim tribunal fees.

    Get £50 cashback for investing £100+. 1,500 more available. It was so popular last week, it's added more. Newbies to InvestEngine's fund platform who open its stocks & shares ISA* and add £100+ to their account (there are 800 funds from a range of providers to choose from, you can leave it in its cash holding account while you decide) will get £50 cashback paid into their account within a week. To keep the cashback, you need to keep your money invested for a year. Full info & options in our Stocks & shares ISAs guide.
     
     
     
     

    'Ta. Your new Compare+ Home Insurance tool cut our cost by over 50%'
    Home insurance prices are starting to drop. Don't simply accept their renewal price, aim for cheaper
    Our Compare+ tool & its unique Price Impact Indicator finds your cheapest insurers, then shows how to cut the cost even more

    Since we launched our new Compare+ Home Insurance tool earlier this year, dominantly positive feedback and success stories have flooded in. So we wanted to breathe a sigh of relief celebrate. It's especially pertinent, as while the Association of British Insurers (ABI) said home insurance prices rose 16% in 2024, research firm Pearson Ham's more recent analysis says prices have dropped month-on-month this year. That's good news, but it does risk people being complacent at renewal, as if the quote's only a little more than last year, you may settle for it, whereas in fact far cheaper may be available (similar is true with car insurance - you can use Compare+ Car Insurance for that). So here are three quick need-to-knows...

    1. Compare+ Home Insurance, as the name suggests, does far more than just compare... Before we get to it, to spur you on, Chris emailed us last week: "We've just renewed our home & contents insurance, reducing it from £579 to £289 using your online tool, saving a whopping £290!! Thank you!!" So what does the tool do?

    You speedily fill in a questionnaire. Answer our Compare+ Home Insurance question set (we borrow MoneySupermarket's - we're part of the same group. If you've used that before, your answers are auto-filled).

    As you go through the questions, you get the unique... PRICE IMPACT INDICATOR. Eg, during the questionnaire, when asked what locks you have, you'd probably assume better locks cut the cost of cover. Yet the data surprisingly shows it has an almost negligible impact on price. Which is why every question in the tool has a 'low', 'mid' or 'high' label, telling you whether - and by how much - the answer impacts the price of your cover. You can click each label to read the full info.

    Examples of the high, mid and low 'price impact' buttons. High is red, mid is yellow and low is green. There is also a red mouse cursor, and text that reads "Low impact - locks. We were surprised by this one too. Yet when we looked at the stats, there was very little difference on average from having the 'best' locks compared with the 'worst." Link takes you to our Compare+ Home Insurance tool.

    You then get your benchmark quote to start the saving. This is your cheapest quote from the MoneySupermarket comparison, so you can see a price straightaway, but let's try to beat it...

    Compare+ shows which other comparisons to add in, and in what order. We've always told you to use as many comparisons as you've time for, and the new tool doesn't change that. Different comparison sites include different insurers, and even where the same firms are listed, they can have different prices for them.

    And comparing has an impact, as Stephanie emailed: "Thanks for your guidance on home insurance. We've seen escalating premiums with Saga every year. Changing provider always seemed just too time-consuming and complicated. This year's renewal was the last straw. Last year's quote was £470, the new quote was £898, a 91% increase! I used your guidance and was amazed how easy it was. Some of the cheapest quotes came out at around a quarter of Saga's figure. We settled on a policy with excellent reviews, but still came out at less than last year - a saving of £400+/yr."

    We'll tell you if you're too early, too late, or pure Goldilocks. While it sounds crackers, how early before renewal you get a policy can have an up to 25% impact on what you're charged (we get this info from analysing up to 650,000 quotes). So the tool will tell you when to come back if you're too early (don't worry, you can save info so you needn't re-enter it), and if you're too late, we've calendar reminders so you time it right next year.

    Personalised tips on how YOU can cut costs. After analysing your data, we'll show you other ways to try to cut your costs further (all are trial and error though), such as...

    - Will upping the voluntary excess (the amount you pay towards a claim) save you money?
    - Can you pay annually rather than monthly?
    - Can you save by combining your home and car insurance?
    - If you want to stick with your existing insurer... benchmark the cheapest and haggle.
    - Can you get cashback on the policy to lower the cost? 2. Are you sure you're covering the right thing? Everyone, including renters, should consider contents insurance, but buildings insurance is usually only for freehold homeowners (otherwise it's generally the management company or landlord's responsibility - check your lease if you're not sure). This is how to think about it...

    "If you turned your home upside down, everything that'd stay is usually covered by buildings insurance; everything that'd fall is usually covered by contents insurance." This text appears on an image that displays a damaged, upside-down house with items including a TV, washing machine and chair that have fallen out of it. The image links to our Cheap home insurance guide, specifically to a point about what home insurance is.

    - Contents insurance: Beware UNDERinsuring. Many underinsure, thinking: "I'd never claim for everything"... but insure only half your contents' value, then claim for, say, a TV, and you may only get half the TV's value once they assess whether the cover was accurate. Use a contents calculator.

    - Buildings insurance: Beware OVERinsuring. Many wrongly insure for their home's market value, but what counts is how much it'd cost to rebuild if it was knocked down. Use a rebuild cost calculator to find out.

    3. Make sure the policy's right for you, and complain if you're unfairly treated. As with any insurance, check the policy details to ensure it's the cover you want, and that the insurer's regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority before you buy (all on Compare+ are). If a claim's unfairly rejected, you've a right to take 'em to the free Financial Ombudsman.

     
    Sat only. FREE £5 Auntie Anne's pretzel. At 31 locations, but only 100 per store, so go early. Free pretzel

    Grüum face, body & hair bundle £5 delivered (normally £39). MSE Blagged. Just pay for postage. Includes four bars: shampoo, conditioner, facewash and body butter. 20,000 available. Grüum

    'We got £1,040 in compensation for an old flight delay using your template.' Our success of the week comes from Helen, who said: "We flew from Manchester to Phuket via Dubai with Emirates last Jan. The plane was late leaving due to technical issues. Although we arrived in Dubai less than three hours late, we missed our connecting flight and arrived into Phuket 16 hours late. We used the template in your Flight delay compensation guide to claim directly with Emirates. Six weeks later, £1,040 arrived in our bank account. Thank you MSE for making the process so easy." If we've helped you save (on this, or owt else), please send us your successes.

    Get freebies & vouchers for recycling, eg, free £10 Lush face mask, £5 off at M&S, £5 Boots Advantage points. Today (Tue) is Earth Day, so a reminder that 10+ high-street stores offer rewards for recycling.

    Can you bag £30 theatre tix for MJ The Musical, Starlight Express, Titanique etc? Want to see these & other recent Olivier Award winners? If you're ready to pounce at the right moment, you can get great seats on the cheap with TodayTix's 'rush' tickets. Related: See £4 'secret' West End tickets.
     
     
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    AT A GLANCE BEST BUYS
     

    MONEY MORAL DILEMMA

    Should I have to pay full cost for a break with friends when I can only stay for half of it? Six friends and I have hired a barge for a seven-day Easter break for many years, with the cost divided equally between us. Last year, I could only stay for three nights of the trip, so I suggested that I should pay a bit less. My friends disagreed, deciding that - as it was my decision to leave early - I'd have to pay my full share. I couldn't stay any longer than three nights this year, so I didn't join the trip as I object to paying the full cost. Am I right in thinking I shouldn't have to? Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should I have to pay the full cost for a break when I can only stay for half of it? | Suggest a Money Moral Dilemma (MMD) | View past MMDs
     
     
     
     

    MARTIN'S APPEARANCES (TUE 22 APR ONWARDS)

    Thu 24 Apr - Ask Martin Lewis, BBC Radio 5 Live, noon (listen to previous podcasts)
    Tue 29 Apr - This Morning, phone-in, ITV1, 10.20am
     
     
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    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).

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    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 Lewis What is MoneySavingExpert.com?
    Founded in February 2003, it is now the UK's biggest consumer help website, with more than 12 million users each month and about 8.5 million receiving this email. In September 2012 it became part of the MoneySupermarket Group PLC. Its focus is simple - saving cash and fighting for financial justice on anything and everything. The site has over 80 full-time staff, more than a third of whom are editorial - researching, analysing and writing to continually find ways to save money. More info: See About MSE.

    Who is Martin Lewis?
    Martin Lewis CBE is the founder and executive chair of MSE, as well as the founder of the MMHPI charity. He's an ultra-focused MoneySaving journalist and consumer campaigner with his own prime-time ITV programme The Martin Lewis Money Show, Radio 5 Live Wednesday show Ask Martin Lewis and weekly slot on This Morning, among others. More info: See Martin Lewis' biography.

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